Five Nights at Freddy’s is an extremely popular indie horror game with a bunch of spin off games, along with a movie and another on the way! I have personally grown up on these games, specifically by watching YouTubers play it because I was always too scared. One of the many aspects of this game that captivated me the most was the character design for each animatronic. Scott Cawthon, the creator of the franchise, has a really unique way of making designs. The animatronics are supposed to be cute, as they’re entertainment for kids in the story, but Cawthon makes that cuteness terrifying. I will be ranking my top five character designs, both in terms of how appealing they look but also how scary!
Number 5: The Puppet
The Puppet is a character in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, in which the player has to keep rewinding a music box to keep her away. With only a black body, a couple of white stripes, and a terrifying mask, The Puppet has an extremely simple design compared to other characters, but she’s still just as scary. The lack of expression and her lanksy body makes her a terrifying villain to encounter if you let her music box run out.
Number 4: Mangle
Also inhabiting the game of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Mangle is a rarer character to witness in game but not any less terrifying. Their body is completely, well, mangled, with wires all over the place and an extra head on their shoulder. Their jaw sits open, baring rows and rows of sharp teeth, and on top of it all they’re missing an eye too! Mangle is a mess, the mixture of their outer shell and their inner workings makes them freaky to look at but also a bit charming; that might just be my opinion!
Number 3: DJ Music Man
Straying away from Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, DJ Music Man is in the sequel game Security Breach. He is one of the biggest characters in the entire franchise, dosed in neon colors, wearing his headphones, and wielding piano keys as teeth, you wouldn’t want this guy chasing you through any vents! His design is based on a spider, so he crawls around with each leg having a glove, as he is a DJ of course. DJ Music Man may not be the most intricate design, but his size and the music attributes added to his design really puts it up there for me.
Number 2: Ballora
Ballora is in the game Sister Location, another Five Night’s at Freddy’s sequel. Unlike the other characters, you barely see Ballora as you go through her section of the game trying to avoid her by listening to her music and stop moving when it gets louder. Looking at her on her own as a design though, she’s beautiful, dressed like a robotic ballerina in a blue, purple, and pink color scheme. Don’t worry though, she’s still absolutely terrifying spinning around looking for you.
Number 1: Withered Bonnie
This is the character design that made me start this list. Withered Bonnie is a character from Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, with a completely ripped off face; we can see the entire inside of his wires along with his beedy red eyes staring right at you. Along with this, he’s missing an arm and a hand, his whole body is falling apart and he’s still trying to kill the player. I had actual nightmares about this character as a kid, so he deserves to be number 1 in terms of character design!
Final Thoughts
I love a bunch more character designs in these many many games, but these are the top five I chose. There are so many more insanely cool designs that I wish I could go over as well, but I can’t write forever! If you’re looking to see someone go indebt into all the Five Nights at Freddy’s characters and in turn their designs, you can click here: