Five Nights at Freddy's is a series of horror games that follows a franchise of "child-friendly" restaurants that take a terrifying turn when their animatronic mascots become haunted. Although the games started out as comparatively simple jump scare-filled fun, the lore of the game has expanded into a knotted mess of insane story beats that the community loves to pick apart.

Related: Horror Games That Came Out Before Resident Evil (That Are Still Terrifying)

Naturally, fans have been inspired to create their own games based on the series. There are literally thousands of Five Nights at Freddy's fan games. Some of them are simple, following the expected progression of the story or the mechanics, but others dive into territory no one ever anticipated, and it's absolutely wonderful.

Updated July 5, 2023, by William Quick: So many years after the release of the first game, the Five Nights At Freddy's series continues to hold the attention of many. While there hasn't been a main entry in the series for quite some time, people haven't stopped exploring the universe or adding to it themselves. The next big FNAF thing to come down the line is the Five Nights At Freddy's film, which has some people excited and others concerned. Still, it has helped reignite interest in the series, and there's a plethora of fan games to prove it. Here are some of the best ones you can hope to play.

18 The Freddy Files

FNAF The Freddy Files: stylized view of Freddy

From creator Awfy (formerly AwXthority) comes The Freddy Files. Not to be confused with the canon guidebook of the same title. It's a charmingly pixilated experience, where the 16-bit protagonist puzzles their way through the pizzeria in a manner reminiscent of Kings Quest: by finding items and clues while avoiding the dangerous animatronics.

Perhaps the most impressive part of it is the jump scares, where the pixelation detail is drastically amped up to really show off what Awfy is capable of. There are also segments of the game that are more akin to the mechanics found in the official titles, just to balance it out.

17 Sinister Turmoil Sewers

FNAF Sinister Turmoil Sewers Sample Image

From the production team ANGUs-GAMEs, Sinister Turmoil Sewers is an incredible snippet of what could have been, as only a demo was ever released before they canceled the project. The demo alone, however, is enough to feel just how compelling the entire experience was planned to be.

RELATED: Five Nights At Freddy's: Scariest Scariest Animatronics

You explore a vast sewer system to perform generator maintenance while avoiding a rabid Mangle and his tattling pal Cupcake. It might only be two animatronics to deal with, but Mangle stampedes through the tunnels at heart-stopping speeds, making them a force to be reckoned with. Trust us, Mangle is enough.

16 Dayshift At Freddy's: Remastered

FNAF Dayshift At Freddys Remastered Sample Image

From creator DirectDoggo, Dayshift at Freddy's: Remastered is less of a horror game and more of a parody visual novel. There's plenty to do and even more to mock in this game that clearly is exhausted by the somber tones of its official counterpart.

Visually, the game is a number of stock images and memes spliced together to make something both comical and (hopefully) ironically terrible. There are eleven unique endings to explore, along with an entire cast of familiar faces to taunt and tease. Go ahead; see what happens; see who lives!

15 Five Nights At Freddy's NES

FNAF Five Nights At Freddy's NES Cover Image

There are many who would say that the Nintendo Entertainment System is a flawless machine, and for the time that it was released, that view makes sense. Even today, there's a huge NES community with people making new games for it, including a Five Nights At Freddy's game.

The creator ENDOBLANCE has put a lot of effort into recreating the horror sensation for the classic console. Considering that the mechanics and presentation of the game can be quite simple, the game elements transition smoothly. For a retro look at a modern horror entry, Five Nights At Freddy's NES will not disappoint.

14 Super FNAF

FNAF Super FNAF Sample Image

From creator LSFDevelopment, Super Five Nights at Freddy's is a beautifully polished pixilated side-scrolling adventure title that has you controlling the animatronics from FNAF 1 instead of the 'helpless' security guard. The object of the game is to investigate the missing children cases... as the missing children.

Related:

FNAF: How To Unlock All The Mini-Games In Every Game

Super FNAF is lovingly crafted and boasts everything from side quests to mini-games to even a free-play mode, and handily carries the weight of nostalgia for a vanishing game style with more elegance than a story about dead children piloting furry mechs has any right to.

13 Tyke & Sons Lumber Co

FNAF Tyke And Sons Lumber Co Sample Image

From creator Mixlas, Tyke & Sons Lumber Co is the perfect kind of meta-nonsense that keeps a fan community thriving long after its founder is gone. The game is modeled after Scott Cawthon's pre-FNAF work, specifically a Christian video game called Chipper & Sons Lumber Co.

It quickly derails into a full horror experience as you fend off the very monsters that Cawthon's reviewers claimed that his original games were full of. Once the penny drops and day fades into night, T&SLC plays exactly like a standard FNAF title. As the game progresses, the atrocities that plague the nighttime gameplay begin to wander into the day.

12 Baby's Nightmare Circus

FNAF Babys Nightmare Circus Sample Image

From creator Peeblo, Baby's Nightmare Circus is a fan game that is primarily based on Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location and features the characters that were introduced therein, namely Circus Baby. Instead of being set in a pizzeria like the original games, this game is set in a circus.

Baby's Nightmare Circus is fairly similar to the original games in that the main objective is to keep the nightmarish animatronics away from you. But in this one, You are free to explore the different circus tents, and it's the flashlight that keeps the creatures at bay.

11 Thermomorph

FNAF Thermomorph Map Sample Image

While the Aliens franchise is often viewed as a baby of the 80s, the first film actually came out in 1979, just two years after the first Star Wars film. Since then, Alien has influenced all manner of horror and sci-fi with its disturbing designs and take on technology. This has spilled into the FNAF fan community with the creation of Thermomorph.

Creator Varun R. takes you back to a time when we thought anything futuristic came with digital green lights. You are trapped on a spaceship in deep space with a creature hunting you in the dark. You'll have access to a map to keep track of your position while you keep an eye on it. You're not defenseless, but it's best not to run into the beast of Thermomorph.

10 The Joy Of Creation: Story Mode

FNAF The Joy Of Creation Story Mode Sample Image

From creator Nikson, The Joy of Creation: Story Mode is a fan game based on the original Five Nights at Freddy's games but with a unique twist.

Instead of being set in a fictional world like the original games, this one is set in the real world and stars the creator of the franchise: Scott Cawthon. You control Cawthon as he tries to find the horrors that have invaded his home and survive through the night before it's too late.

9 Jolly 3

FNAF Jolly 3 Sample Image

From creator IvanG, Jolly 3 is the third game in a series of fan games based on the Filipino restaurant chain Jollibee's. It breaks the FNAF tradition by existing chronologically after the former titles in the fan franchise. It's also considered to be the favorite of most in the community. Jolly 3 is divided up into chapters, similar to how the original games are divided into nights.

RELATED: Horror Games Turning Years Old In 2023

The game is set 30 years after the events at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A horror attraction called Fazbear's Fright has opened, and it seems to have awoken an evil spirit that is now descending on the abandoned Jolly Entertainment Factory.

8 TEALERLAND

FNAF TEALERLAND Animatronic Attack Sample Image

The FNAF universe is far larger and more complex than you could imagine, and it's possible for it to take various forms. The formula and mechanics have been applied to a number of different IPs and styles while trying to maintain the original tone. However, a darker and grittier take on it can be found in TEALERLAND.

Welcome to an abandoned facility created by NeeTroo. The place may at once have been an amusement park, but it's all closed up now due to the monstrous and disturbingly humanoid animatronics wandering around. As you look for your brother, there are plenty of materials and tools for you to use to fight back, but the machines never stop in TEALERLAND.

7 Fredbear's Fright

FNAF Fredbears Fright Sample Image

From creator Garrett McKay, Fredbear's Fright is a fan game that takes on the rumors and legends about what happened at the restaurants in the original series and puts a unique twist on them.

In this game, a series of horror attractions have opened that are based on Freddy's Fazbear's Pizzeria's dark, "fictional" history. Fredbear's Fright features the same locations and characters from FNAF, but that's where the similarities stop. In this game, you can explore the area freely.

6 Five Nights At Freddy's Reborn

FNAF Five Nights At Freddys Sample Image

From creator Goldguy0710, Five Nights at Freddy's Reborn is unique in that it's not actually a brand-new game or story. Instead, it's basically a remake of the original FNAF, but with some major gameplay tweaks and changes that make it a lot more engaging, fun, and totally more terrifying.

RELATED: Video Game Villains With The Most Comical Laughs

Goldguy0710 added new jump scares, camera glitches, and sound effects to the game. It also gives the animatronics new abilities, like being able to move the cameras and peeking at you in a way that isn't as obvious. All the while, it keeps the same terrifying plot and gameplay.

5 POPGOES

FNAF POPGOES Sample Image

From a group of creators that started as a subreddit called r/2124, POPGOES is a game set in a new animatronic-based restaurant called The Popgoes Pizzeria. A mystery figure named Fritz took over the animatronics and opened his own restaurant.

You control the night security guard, who learns pretty quickly after starting that Fritz wasn't just trying to entertain families and sell pizza when he opened shop. POPGOES mixes the traditional FNAF mechanics with brand-new point-and-click concepts, so there are a lot of creative ways that you can stop the animatronics from attacking.

4 Those Nights At Rachel's

FNAF Those Nights At Rachels Sample Image

From creator Nickson, Those Nights at Rachel's is an FNAF fan game that is set in a new rival location called DnR that has been competing with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza for a long time. In the story, DnR has been able to thrive since the closing of Freddy Fazzbear's Pizzeria.

Related: Horror Games That Need To Be Made Into Movies (And The Directors That Should Make Them)

In Those Nights at Rachel's, you control a night security guard who was hired by DnR to make sure that all the animatronics at the restaurant stay in their place at night instead of trying to come out to perform after the restaurant has closed. Unfortunately, the restaurant has a very dark secret.

3 Five Nights At Candy's

FNAF Five Nights At Candys Sample Image

From creator Emilmacko, Five Nights at Candy's is a fan game set in a new location that competed with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza until it ultimately shut down.

Unfortunately, the animatronics at this competing restaurant are no less haunted and terrifying than Freddy, Chica, and the other animatronics that called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza home. Five Nights at Candy's is the first in a series of two fan games that feature some original and terrifying animatronics.

2 Jollibee's

FNAF Jollibees Sample Image

From creator IvanG, Jollibee's was the fourth game in the Jolly fan game franchise. While it was an incredibly popular title, Jollibee's has since been taken down for copyright infringement. Apparently, not all fast food chains enjoy name association with evil animatronic murderers.

When it was playable, however, it was essentially a reskinned version of the original Five Nights at Freddy's game with Jollibee-themed animatronics instead of more evil versions of the Chuck E. Cheese mascots.

1 One Night At Flumpty's 2

FNAF One Night At Flumptys 2 Sample Image

While a lot of the Five Nights at Freddy's games are on the more somber and intense side, Jonochrome and Clickteam's One Night at Flumpty's is slightly more of a quirky, funny game. Now, it's definitely still creepy and full of jump scares, but it's a lot less serious and lore-driven than most titles.

In this game, you have been kidnapped by a cartoon character named Flumpty Bumpty, a comically horrific egg monster who wants to play a deadly game of hide-and-seek. It's up to you to try to stop Flumpty and his friends from coming into the room... or else.

Next: Short (But Scary) Horror Games Worth Playing