It genuinely baffles me how the full priced game could be so messy and unfinished, but the free DLC expanding on the story could be such a well-done modern FNAF experience. I had such a great time with Ruin. The jumpscares, atmosphere, and animatronic designs were all so enjoyable. I saw a tweet that showed the Pizzaplex in the base game (looking very bland) vs the Pizzaplex in Ruin (looking.. well.. ruined... but filled with personality and dripping with dark atmosphere) with the caption "They created the Pizzaplex to be destroyed". I thought it was funny and, more than likely, pretty true. Ruin felt like an outlet for what the Security Breach team WANTED to create with the base game. It explores the story of the sinkhole beneath the building, something only explored in a singular ending of the base game that many people missed, and ties in a new, absolutely horrific animatronic straight from the Five Nights at Freddy's novels that plays on one of my worst fears. Along with introducing new content, Ruin expanded upon characters that were more-or-less cast aside in Security Breach. Roxy has a heartbreaking story with our new protagonist, a little girl named Cassie, and fan-favourites like Bonnie and Foxy get their long awaited acknowledgements.
I want to clarify, briefly, that I don't hate Security Breach. This might be surprising considering all of the criticism I just threw at you, but I really love the idea of the game. The Glamrock designs are some of the best in the franchise, Kellen Goff's Freddy is a loveable cutie (Goff's portrayal of both sides of The Daycare Attendant are incredible as well), and the idea of a giant, flashy, popular "Pizzaplex" harbouring sinister beginnings (as opposed to an already creepy looking pizzeria) could've been very interesting. There are plenty of aspects to be enjoyed, but the performance issues completely take you out of the experience. I have to emphasize again that I love the designs and aesthetic of the Glamrocks, and the game is very charming.
Anyways, back to Ruin.
Great character design is extremely important when taking a cute, personable animatronic and turning them into a menacing, disheveled mass of frayed wires, ball-joints, and rusted metal. One of the greatest examples that comes to mind is Withered Bonnie from the first FNAF game, a design that goes in the history books as one of the ways I traumatized myself as a child (...the entirety of FNAF 4 is also in those books, but that's not important right now). In this design, his face plate is completely removed, leaving no semblance of his otherwise unassuming face. Two small white lights, once used to light up his eyes, simulate a beady, blinkless stare through the dark void where his face used to be. When dealing with a DLC defined on RUINed animatronics... my hopes were high, and I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.
Roxy has lost her eyes (a product of the base game) and her hair is singed from the Pizzaplex fire. Most of her outer suit has broken or melted off, leaving exposed wires and endoskeleton pieces. Her face is missing, but unlike Withered Bonnie, her endoskeleton still has the rough shape of her wolven skull. Also unlike Withered Bonnie (he has become the benchmark of missing faces now I guess) Roxy's lack of eyes isn't made more unsettling with a small, beady stare. Her eye sockets are set deep in her skull, and are pretty large in comparison to the rest of her head. While she still definitely isn't suitable for children's entertainment anymore, the illusion of those giant eyes (traditionally associated with something cute) lessens the terror factor. I don't have a problem with this, in fact I think it really heightens her relation to Cassie. Cassie's favourite animatronic, despite being destroyed, still has some resemblance to Roxy and is still welcoming to some degree and allowed their positive relationship to be explored more.
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Freddy is by far my favourite ruined design. Freddy was, for the first time ever, a source of comfort and reliability in Security Breach--and the designers took a very purposeful approach to his RUIN design in order to remove that feeling. First, his head is missing completely. Not only was he just adorable, but his reassuring "Superstar!" centred voice lines physically cannot play anymore. Being headless completely removes his humanity... and Freddy had about the maximum humanity that a robot can have. Without a head, his chest cavity is the main focus and is cracked and broken. This creates long, sharp, jagged teeth that move like a mouth when his chest opens. In Security Breach, Gregory could climb inside this chest cavity and be in complete safety from the other animatronics for a limited time. It very quickly went from a safe haven to a cause of imminent death. These design choices were chosen to flip the exact traits that you found comfort in with Freddy, to make them terrifying. It's genius.
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Monty is another design I really like. I had NOTHING in my notes when thinking about Monty's design, but everything clicked together after a little epiphany... and I actually really like it. Monty's design dumbs him down to nothing but the feral animal he always was (those anger issues...). He barks and growls instead of speaking, and he crawls with two front legs like a real alligator. His outer suit is completely removed, which could be another hint to him being feral or animalistic by being down to his sheer, robotic basics.
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Chica. I have to be honest, I have relatively nothing symbolic on Chica. You can tell that she was most affected by the fire, considering her outer suit is visibly melted against her leg and across her face. She also has the most suit intact, besides Freddy, which I think is interesting. She's missing an entire arm, which is now hanging wires, which is very reminiscent of Withered Chica from FNAF1. Her abdomen is completely removed, revealing garbage inside of her, and her mouth is melted over. These could have some symbolic meaning towards her eating habits, especially the visible garbage.
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Eclipse is a new character in the DLC, and is the result of Sun and Moon merging inside their shared animatronic. I love how their suit has clearly malfunctioned, along with being partially destroyed. Sun and Moon's costume is the only one that flips and changes under certain circumstances, so I like the added layer of that mechanic malfunctioning (you can see that the pant leg that's in tact is partially sun and partially moon's designs, as well as the arms being different colours). This malfunction doesn't only affect them visually, but mechanically too. They fight for control of the animatronic until you can reboot and merge them into "Eclipse". Extremely cool name by the way. I love it. A very interesting design detail that someone on twitter pointed out (thank you to that person) is how Moon's intense aversion to light is made worse by the broken cover over his eye (the red one). His entire eye is exposed, and therefore much more sensitive. Keep your flashlight on, and he won't even look your direction. Super cool detail.
RUIN left most players with a TON of questions (me included). This section is entirely speculation on my part, and entirely my personal opinions on these unanswered mysteries... because I have a lot of ideas on possible answers.
✰ Unanswered Mysteries ✰
1. Gregory V.S. Mimic
At the end of the DLC, it is revealed that the "Gregory" you have been speaking to and searching for isn't him at all (could've told you that one). His voice, through the radio, was being mimicked by a new character in the franchise named... Mimic. I would make a joke about this name being incredibly obvious but, to be fair, you are consistently given tips and help by a character named "Helpy"... so. You speak to Mimic throughout the game until you encounter it and have to escape. While it is chasing you, you get directions from Gregory over the radio. He leads you inside the elevator, where "he" describes the vague history of Mimic over the intercom before severing the elevator cables and letting you (assumably) fall to your death. Which Gregory is real and which is fake is up for debate. Personally, I think that first and last Gregorys are Mimic, while the one in between (the one giving you directions to the elevator) is real.
In this between segment, Gregory doesn't seem to have a lot of information regarding Mimic, saying "something is trying to trick you!" which is a pretty obvious observation at this point. He also responds, when Cassie asks if it's really him, with a frantic "Is there any other option? You need to get out of there, now!". This line stuck out to me. If this was Mimic, I'm pretty sure it would've tried to reassure Cassie that it was really him, as opposed to prioritizing her safety. As far as I can tell, his voice doesn't glitch over the radio through this section, and he does guide you correctly to the exit. After you enter the elevator, Gregory's voice begins to come out of the intercom inside the elevator. This whole conversation starts with a "Cassie. It's me.", helping to support my idea that Mimic would probably reassure Cassie of its false identity before speaking in the other section. "Gregory" gives a little backstory on Mimic, saying it was "something in the sinkhole" and, more notably, says "It's been trapped down here a long time". Clear emphasis on the "Here", because if this is Gregory, who isn't in the Pizzaplex, why would he refer to the sinkhole (or anywhere inside the building) as "here"? It's pretty much confirmed that this elevator Gregory is Mimic, because he inevitably murders you... and I'm going to safely assume a 14 year old wouldn't willingly murder his friend who just went through hell to save "him".
There are obviously still holes in this idea. How would Gregory get a hold of Cassie? How would he know she was there in the first place? Stuff like that. Wishful thinking, just to prove myself right, leads me to believe he got all of this knowledge from Vanessa. In the section where I believe the real Gregory is speaking, he mentions a "friend" who has the maps of the Pizzaplex. Vanessa, who may still have a connection to the V.A.N.N.I network, could have potentially been made aware of Cassie's presence through the network while she was using the mask. I think this can be a likely explanation, but we can't know for sure.
2. Real Freddy?
When you first find Freddy, he is laying face down in a pile of deactivated service robots. "PROTOTYPE" is written in large font on the bottom of his foot. When you approach him, he contorts into a standing position, and chases you. Because of this "PROTOTYPE" label, it is up for debate if this is the Freddy we know and love from Security Breach, or if it's just another discarded model.
In a mixture of Security Breach endings (the Burntrap ending and the one where he gets dismantled by the bots he is conveniently laying in) his condition, being headless and broken, and location make perfect sense. The Freddy from Security Breach may also very well be a prototype, considering he malfunctions on stage in the intro of the base game.
For reasons why it isn't Freddy, we have to consult the gift box you can see clearly in his abdomen between those jagged, broken teeth. It is very obvious and an intricate detail to include, which leads me to believe it's important to his identity. In Security Breach, Gregory removes this box from inside Freddy, getting the "Fazwatch" you use throughout the game. Along with getting the Fazwatch, removing the box allowed Gregory to fit inside the space. In RUIN, this box is still inside Freddy's chest cavity, meaning that Gregory never removed it. Maybe the bots that dismantled Freddy tried to "fix" him, placing another box back inside? Either way, it seems very important.
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Okay, that's the end of my analyzing of symbolism and game theorizing. The Five Nights at Freddy's franchise always has so many layers and purposeful decisions, that I instantly go into analysis brain when a new one comes out. The mechanics and story of this DLC were so awesome, and the game was so damn fun to play.
If you made it this far (you're a real one) I posted a highlight video of my first playthrough with Cass on my YouTube channel! It took about 4 straight days of editing, so if you wanna see some silly goofs and me getting scared... like a lot... check it out!! I hope to make more in the future because it was a ton of fun :) Thanks for reading!
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