Beginner's Guide - Basics and Features - Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach Guide - IGN (2024)

Although Steel Wool's latest addition to the series is its 8th mainline entry, Security Breach is far from a standard Five Nights at Freddy's game. You're not confined to a claustrophobic office, you don't have to conserve power and there's no phone guy badgering you as you progress. Security Breach even does away with the titular five nights mechanic, opting to instead set the game over the course of a few hours.

The biggest change is that you're able to explore freely as you attempt to escape Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. Naturally, this comes with a whole host of new mechanics, and even if you're a Five Nights veteran, that means there's a lot of new things to learn. So, for players looking for a quick rundown of everything you need to know, here's a beginner's guide to Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach.

Looking for a specific section? Jump between them here:

• Main Storyline
• How to Save Your Game
• Exploration
• Animatronics
• Stealth
• Using Cameras
• Using the Flashlight
• Freddy Fazbear

Main Storyline

As mentioned before, Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach opens with a simple premise. You take on the role of Gregory: a young boy who finds himself trapped in Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex overnight. Your goal is simple. Survive until 6:00 AM when the front doors open. However, as with every Five Nights at Freddy's game, that'll be a tall task.

Standing between Gregory and his goal is a legion of blood-thirsty animatronics, with returning faces such as Chica, Foxy and Music Man being joined by new names like Vanny, Monty Gator and the Daycare Attendant. Luckily, Gregory isn't entirely on his own. For the first time in the series, Freddy Fazbear is an ally to the player, helping Gregory escape the Pizzaplex.

Although other Five Nights at Freddy's games have centred around surviving five nights, Security Breach is separated into hourly sections. You'll begin the game at 11:00 PM and will have to venture around the Pizzaplex and complete objectives to reach 6:00 AM. Don't worry, the hour-based framing device doesn't mean your adventure through Security Breach is time-sensitive, so take a minute to explore if you're curious.

How to Save Your Game

One of the most important things to learn during the beginning of your adventure is how to save your game. There are no checkpoints in Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, so if you fall into the grasp of a roaming animatronic, you'll have to return to wherever you last saved. To make sure you've got a checkpoint nearby, look for one of the various Save Your Spot terminals positioned throughout the building.

You'll be shown what these look like during the game's first hour, although for those who've forgotten, they are wall-mounted screens with a video of Helpy walking past a queue of people. Head up to a Save your Spot terminal and hold the interact button to save your progress.

It's worth noting that saving will take a few seconds, leaving you open to potential attacks, so make sure you're not being followed. There's nothing worse than being grabbed seconds from logging your progress.

Exploration

Thanks to the switch to fully-explorable environments, a major focus of Security Breach is adventuring through the Pizzaplex, finding items to progress and accessing new areas. A lot of locations you arrive at during the early hours of the game will be locked off, requiring passes grabbed during later hours.

The main thing to remember while exploring is to look for small wind-up gift boxes. These contain items essential to your adventure, whether that's passes to access new buildings, items required to finish a quest or fun collectables that reference prior games.

You might also come across collectable bags. These offer messages that Gregory can read on his Faz-Watch, meaning you can get fresh insights into the world of Security Breach. Seeing as the lore of Five Nights at Freddy's is one of the franchise's main attractions, they're definitely worth seeking out. They'll crop up throughout the campaign, appearing in several major areas.

Exploration can often be pretty difficult due to patrolling enemies. Speaking of which...

Animatronics

Your main threat as you explore Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach are the animatronics that patrol its halls. There's a number of different threats to worry about and each comes with its own set of abilities and quirks. The main thing to remember with animatronics is there are no second chances. If they catch you, you'll instantly be killed and sent back to a save point.

To escape that fate, you'll need to outsmart your robotic adversaries. A lot of the enemies in the game stick pretty rigidly to a set routine and learning that routine is crucial to evading them and escaping alive. A good example from the early game is Chica. During certain sections, Chica will stop momentarily to eat garbage, giving you a good few seconds to sneak past her and through to the next area. Keep your eye on their patterns and where they patrol and use that to your advantage.

Stealth

As expected for a Five Nights at Freddy's game, hiding from roaming animatronics is a major part of the experience. You'll find yourself faced with a lot of different foes during your adventures in Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, although the techniques used to avoid them mostly remain the same.

When trying to manoeuvre around an enemy, press the right analogue stick / CTRL button to crouch. This will allow you to pass by enemies quietly and remain undetected. You'll know whether you're in danger of being caught thanks to the silhouette icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. If it's blue, you're safe. If it's yellow, you're in danger. If it's red, you've been found.

If an enemy spots you, you'll need to evade them, leave the area or hide. Outrunning animatronics is possible, although it's not recommended. You can sprint using the left analogue stick / SHIFT button and you'll be able to run until the stamina bar at the bottom of the screen fully depletes. While sprinting, you'll be faster than most animatronics.

It's best to use this speed advantage to quickly find a hiding spot rather than run away. Hiding spots come in various shapes and sizes, including bins, lockers, pushchairs, photo booths and even Freddy himself. If you get into one while out of sight of an animatronic, they'll end their chase and start searching for you again. Be wary as animatronics can search hiding spots if they know the general area you ran to.

Distractions are also worth looking out for as you evade enemies. They'll usually be something that makes a lot of noise, causing animatronics to investigate. If an enemy is blocking a route you need to go down (or you simply want them to move), activate one of these and get out of the vicinity quickly. It should buy you some time to flee.

You should also be on the lookout for the security bots that roam the Pizzaplex's various areas. These robots are firmly on the side of the animatronics, patrolling areas and grabbing you when you get in their way. If they manage to catch you, an alarm will sound, spawning an animatronic behind you and forcing you to run and hide. They can be a frustrating way to lose a lot of progress, so make sure you avoid them.

Cleaning robots are far more docile than security bots, although they still pose a risk. If you approach one while it's mopping, it'll signal for help, spawning an animatronic behind you.

Using Cameras

An ability you get very early in the game also assists with stealth. Following the first main chase in the game, Gregory will find himself trapped in a security office where he gains access to the various cameras positioned throughout the Pizzaplex. These are crucial to your survival.

When moving around the building, use the cameras to track animatronics and sneak around them. They can be accessed via the Faz-Watch underneath the "Cameras" tab. You can switch between cameras by using the D-PAD and move the cameras using the right analogue stick. If you utilise these in hiding spots, you'll be able to move between safe spots and keep an eye on animatronics as you go.

It's worth noting that Gregory can still be grabbed while utilising the Faz-Watch, so hide when you're checking the cameras for threats.

Using The Flashlight

Another early game tool, Gregory will come across the flashlight while fighting the Daycare Attendant at 12:30 AM. This is a useful way to move through dark areas, but you'll have to make sure you keep it charged if you want to fully benefit from it. As you use the flashlight, the meter on the righthand side of the screen will tell you how much charge is remaining.

If the meter fully depletes, you won't be able to use it until you return to the flashlight charging station. The station is shaped like Freddy Fazbear's head and can be found attached to walls near Save Your Spot terminals.

Freddy Fazbear

As mentioned earlier, Freddy Fazbear will be a quintessential part of your journey, with the titular animatronic joining Gregory as an ally. He has an array of abilities that are crucial to completing your mission, although he'll mostly act as a walking hiding spot that can bypass other animatronics and enemies.

If Freddy can reach the player, they'll be able to climb inside his chest and pilot him like a mech, getting full control to move around. Unfortunately, Freddy won't be able to keep Gregory safe for too long. The animatronic only has so much power each hour, with it draining as you use it to explore the Pizzaplex. If the meter fully depletes, Freddy will have to run to a charging booth and won't become available until the next hour, leaving Gregory to fend for himself.

Looking for more Five Nights at Freddy's Security Breach guides? Check out our Walkthrough of the game or try the Tips and Tricks section.