Five Theories About ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s Sister Location’

Andrew Hawkins
Games
Games

Sister Location is the newest game in the Five Night’s at Freddy’s series, and fans are chomping at the bit to know more about this mysterious and very scary title. Following the release of the teaser trailer, FNaF communities were blowing up with theories and ideas about Sister Location. Now that the game is out, we’ll examine some of the Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location fan theories, to see which are confirmed, which are debunked, and which are still undetermined at this point. When you start to put the pieces together, the clues begin to form an outline that proves Sister Location may be the most terrifying FNaF game to date.

This preview made people very excited for Sister Location. At the time, fans were freaking out about the style of the trailer. The excellent electronic music fits the visuals perfectly and sounds like it comes from the era of soundtracks that accompanied films like The Terminator and The Running Man. The trailer made the game look intense, and the final product did not disappoint. Let’s see what other FNaF Sister Location theories we can confirm and debunk now that the game is out.

NOTE: MAJOR FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S: SISTER LOCATION SPOILERS FOLLOW!

DEBUNKED: Sister Location Happens in the Future

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Theory:

Some fans claimed that because of the look of the environment in the trailer and the seemingly advanced design of the animatronics that Sister Location occurs in the future. However, there was no way to know until you see the dates displayed during gameplay. Nobody knew if Sister Location would take place after the events of the first game where you play as Mike Schmidt or if Sister Location took place sometime between the opening of the original Fredbear’s Family Diner and the events that took place while the second location was open.

We hoped the new game would give us some answers to the mysteries of the story established so far. The main character in Sister Location was not named before its release.  Some wondered if there would even be a connection to Jeremy Fitzgerald, the Purple Guy or the Phone Guy. There were tons of questions and ideas floating around regarding the quick mention of an “unfortunate event” that took place at the sister location. We couldn’t wait to find out what “spring lock failures” occurred where and when.

Fact:

This is the biggest reveal of all: Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location takes place in 1983. The “Bite of ’83” incident plays a major role in the game. Sister Location reveals that Baby was responsible. By playing and beating the 8-bit minigame that pops up after the main character dies, you see a quick cut scene where a young girl approaches the animatronic to get served ice cream only to be grabbed and sucked inside the body of the robot. The end of the game also reveals the origin and identity of the Purple Guy.

CONFIRMED: The Animatronics Can Talk

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Theory:

The first time most Five Night’s at Freddy’s players heard Balloon Boy speak was one of the scariest and most effective moments in the series. FNaF has not had any of its characters talk up until the point when Baby was first heard saying, “The show will begin momentarily. Everyone, please stay in your seats.” Any kid who has visited a Chuck E. Cheese’s or a ShowBiz Pizza knows those words, but in the trailer we heard even more dialogue. Freddy and Foxy both appeared to have speakers on their chests. The theory was that they would actually speak while they stalk you.

This is just one example of how these new animatronics are terrifying. The way their faces separate is unsettling and almost appears to be inspired by the jack-in-the-box creature from last year’s holiday horror hit Krampus. Each robot moves with jarring motions that feature their facial panels popping in and out of place, and that ending when Baby’s inner design is revealed is a violent looking cybernetic nightmare. The metal skull and teeth are straight up kindertrauma, and her glowing eyes couldn’t be creepier. Ballora’s eyes don’t open at all and her teeth look needle sharp as well, so we could only theorize what deadly abilities these animatronics were going to reveal.

Fact:

Of the eight animatronics in the game, almost all of them speak during the course of each night. We already knew from the teaser and FNaF World that Baby could talk. And recently a clip of leaked audio was found to contain the haunting voice of Ballora. As you progress through the game, you also hear the voice of Bidybab, Freddy and the Bonnie hand puppet. Freddy’s voice is particularly upsetting considering he actually sounds like a deranged maniac with a high pitched voice.

UNDETERMINED: You Will Not Be Guarding a Public Place

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Theory:

The area in the trailer looked completely new and almost factory-like. One theory was that is was some kind of Freddy Fazbear’s corporate facility. The sterile and industrial conditions looked like they pointed to a type of research and development test center. The new control panel appeared to be more advanced than anything we saw before in a previous FNaF game. The theory held that Sister Location may not be set in a pizza place at all.

In fact, the animatronics in Sister Location may have never seen the light of day. Despite the fact that the characters were all shown set up on a minimally designed stage while performing, there may not have been a public audience involved. It was also very unlikely that anybody would be having a birthday party “deep below ground where memories sleep, anger is restless and secrets don’t keep.” The theory was that something very sinister is going on in Sister Location that could reveal a bit more about just what was going on in FNaF 4 and why the “Bite of ‘87” even happened.

Fact:

It’s never clear whether you’re actually in a real restaurant entertainment center in Sister Location. The game’s intro when you go down the elevator states that you are now an employee and technician, but it is never fully disclosed just where. The official store page for Sister Location on Steam reads that Circus Baby’s Pizza World is hiring for a late night technician, but in the game you are several stories below ground and the whole building is so dark and unfurnished that you can never really tell what’s around.

DEBUNKED: Every New Character Is in the Trailer

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Theory:

It was revealed that a total of seven characters would be in Sister Location. In the trailer, we got glimpses of the shiny new “Funtime” versions of Freddy Fazbear and Foxy the Pirate. We also get to finally see the animatronic version of Baby, who was first introduced in FNaF World as a set of glowing eyes. The final new character is the robotic ballerina called Ballora who dances on stage behind the rest of the group and looks the most humanlike out of all of them.

At the time, we didn’t know who the remaining three characters were. The small hand puppet that resembles Bonnie the Rabbit could have been one of them. The two figures in the control room look like they could have been toy versions of the other two.

Fact:

The three characters Ennard, Minireena and Bidybab were not in the teaser trailer. The new animatronics Baby and Ballora are the dominant antagonists of the game and Minireena and Bidybab are their counterparts. Similar to miniature versions of the main characters, the Minireena robots are dancing and twirling versions of Ballora, and the Bidybabs are small bots that resemble Baby. The scariest animatronic of them all is Ennard. He’s the ultimate bad guy who hides in the shadows.

DEBUNKED: Sister Location Has Free Roaming Segments

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Theory:

From the looks of the first person perspective shots featured in the trailer, it seemed like a guarantee that the player would move to multiple areas. We saw what looks to be a large freight elevator descending down a lit shaft, a control room with a theater-style setup with advanced panel controls, and a ventilation shaft that appeared to be a path between rooms. This would have changed the gameplay strategy completely and made it even harder to keep the animatronics from attacking.

Free roaming has been a highly talked about feature since the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game came out. The static nature of FNaF helps the player manage the different tasks that need to be accomplished to keep from being overrun by the animatronics in-game. A chance to actually run has been requested by fans for years. Games like Night Trap can be fun for their theatrical aspects, but FNaF is a very effective horror game filled with jump scares that could easily benefit from the ability to run away.

Fact:

The gameplay in Sister Location is pretty on the rails. As the main character —  who many fans believe to be the inventor of the possibly first gen of animatronics — you follow a structured narrative that takes you through five nights of horror. An electronic voice tells you what to do each night and then Baby starts giving you directions closer to the end. There are a few options to deviate from the path, but almost every independent choice made in the game leads to death.

Prior to the release of Sister Location, creator Scott Cawthon had Five Night’s at Freddy’s fans hyped up. Even gamers that had never even attempted to play the series were interested in the game. In fact, Cawthon had a little fun at the expense of fans just prior to the release of Sister Location when he announced a fake delay due to the game being too dark.

Now that Sister Location is finally here, one fan theory is definitely confirmed: Sister Location is one of the most terrifying horror games this year. Fans and casual gamers alike will be thinking over and over about the meaning of Sister Location and what it reveals about the lore and backstory of Five Nights at Freddy’s. We still don’t know what the trailer meant with the phrase, “Don’t hold it against us. You don’t know what we’ve been through.” You can bet the FNaF community will be trying to get to the bottom of that and all other Sister Location theories for quite some time.

A version of this article originally ran earlier this year prior to the release of Sister Location. 

Andrew Hawkins
Andrew Hawkins is a producer and publicist known for Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, Jan Svankmajer’s INSECT, and Athanor: The Alchemical Furnace. Follow him on Twitter @mrandrewhawkins