(As of the time I’m writing this review, I have yet to even finish the game)
And yet I’m already confident in saying that this is the first full fledged FNAF game that is worthy of 5 stars. I’m not kidding when I say that this is the most fun I have ever had not just playing a FNAF game, but also a VR game in general. It takes the basic formula that made FNAF: Help Wanted 1 work and just makes it even better with better levels (and more advanced controls with it being on the PSVR2) FNAF: HW1 had it’s fair share of bad levels, and even HW2 has a few iffy ones, but the number of levels in this game that I enjoyed is significantly larger then the number of ones I didn’t enjoy to the point where it’s not even a fair comparison. Absolutely worth buying a PSVR2 for, and overall, my 2nd favorite game that happens to have a bowling mini game.

i never in my life expected this game to be a top 3 game for 2023 but here we are

steel wool meant to impress with this one, the animations are stellar, there are very little unoriginal minigames unlike the first one and even the ones that are supposed to be based off of previous games are insanely different and stuffed with new mechanics that makes it so much more fun and interesting

the game looks phenomenal compared the first one with infinitely better lighting and modeling work, it was incredibly easy to get immersed with how great the atmosphere is.

my only major gripe is one that applies many, if not all fnaf games, the story is confusing

i didnt beat every minigame yet but i got to the first credits sequence and was left really confused by the cutscene that played before it. the game obviously has a lot of ties to RUIN but it makes it very unclear as to how.

i have a lot of nitpicks as well but they are in a really small amount so it doesnt mean all that much to me

help wanted 1 was my favorite in the entire series so seeing this blow the old one out of the water in almost every way possible leaves me incredibly hopeful for the future of the steel wool fnaf era

"Yes, Matt, GREAT plan; you, a FNAF hater, actually giving the series a chance with a VR game, that way you can be CLOSER to the jumpscares that you hate."

First off, very bold of you to use my first name, and second...you can turn the jumpscare volume down...that's a big selling point.

All jokes aside, even as someone who isn't a fan of this franchise at all, it's pretty good. It fits the IP well, and I think those who are bigger fans will probably enjoy it a hell of a lot more.

This is definitely my favorite FNaF game that both Scott or Steel Wool have produced so far! (with Pizzaria Simulator being my previous favorite!)
It not only delivers in terms of engaging gameplay that's impressively improved from the first VR title, but the story as well. As a heavy tie in with the Security Breach DLC: Ruin, it provided some much-needed clarifications on existing lore while giving me a little bit more to chew on with the fantastic secret ending which really caught me off guard in terms of its spectacle.

Also, I just wanted to say something that may be a little pretentious, but I heavily enjoyed the direction and mise-en-scene of this entry, especially compared to the first VR title. While going through my initial playthrough I was constantly impressed by how immersive the environments, and staging of the mini-games were, and was shown just how talented Steel Wool is at creating VR experiences which utilize the medium to its fullest extent!

The more time I lend this entry in the FNaF series thought, the more it really strikes me as having some of the best gameplay of the series, and may just be the most engaging of them all, with only two minor hiccups in my mind where a mechanic wasn't entirely explained leaving me at a loss of what to do in a given moment.

This game honestly shot up the list alongside Half Life Alyx to be one of my two favorite experiences within VR!

as a huge fnaf fan, i am biased, but i loved this game. i have always had faith in steel wool after their entry with the first help wanted game, and this was everything i really wanted from it!

there are what feels like so many more minigames in this one, and the quality of the models and sets and overall atmosphere has really developed into something special with the more experience they get under their belt. security breach was many things, but i always appreciated just how beautiful and full of life the expansive pizzaplex felt, despite the lack of scary atmosphere with all the neon lighting. they seem to have struck a good balance between the visual flare of SB and the atmosphere of ruin/HW1, which i appreciate a lot.

i think despite the praises, there just wasn't a way to really compete with how insanely good help wanted 1 was. the endings and secrets to this installment are genuinely fantastic and feature some of my favorite animatrionics/game concepts to date, but the mystery tapes were so much more captivating to me than the story things we are given in this one. i think that this might have some of the best fnaf reveal moments since... idk, ruin? the books' conceptions? so many moments in this one that were more hype on their own that i am struggling SO HARD not to spoil, because if there is a chance for you to discover it on your own, i would hate to ruin it for you. the highs in this are AMAZING, and there aren't really any "low" points i'd say unless a minigame really didn't resonate with you, but my experience as a game OVERALL was less exciting than the first game. maybe because it was more of a hunt to find all the tapes and coins, maybe because it was the first VR game in the franchise, or maybe because it was setting up a story rather than spending time clarifying and continuing an existing one, i couldn't say. i just know they did a great job here, and this is a must-buy for any fnaf fans who are able to purchase a VR headset.

that said, pick up and play HW1 first, even if you've seen a playthrough. come back to this one after.