Five Nights at Freddy's is usually about a child-stuffed animatronic trying to bite your face off in a dark hallway. It's gritty. It's lore-heavy. It’s definitely not a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up where Freddy Fazbear wears a jetpack and blasts alien eyeballs in deep space. Yet, Freddy in Space 2 exists, and it’s arguably one of the most important entries in the series for reasons that have nothing to do with the "Bite of '87."
Scott Cawthon, the creator of the franchise, has a history of being unpredictable. He likes to subvert expectations. But this game wasn't just a random whim or a weird pivot in genre; it was a high-stakes charity project. It was released in December 2019 during a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital livestream hosted by MatPat (The Game Theorists).
People expected a small mini-game. They got a fully fleshed-out, polished, and surprisingly difficult action game. Honestly, if you haven't played it, you’re missing out on the moment the FNAF community actually felt like a community rather than just a group of theorists arguing over a timeline.
What is Freddy in Space 2 actually about?
Forget the haunted pizzerias for a second. In this universe, Freddy is a space captain. While he's away on a mission, a rogue AI named LolzHax (a recurring meta-antagonist in Scott's world) takes over the lunar base. LolzHax brainwashes the other animatronics—Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy—and kidnaps Freddy's son.
It’s absurd. It’s colorful. It’s fast.
The game is a sequel to a mini-game found in FNAF World, but it expands on everything. You start as Freddy, but as you progress and defeat bosses, you unlock the rest of the gang. Each character has a specific playstyle. Bonnie has a high jump. Foxy is basically a glass cannon with high speed. You spend your time collecting "Faz-Tokens" to upgrade your gear, buying better weapons, and trying not to die to the increasingly bullet-hell-style bosses.
The mechanics feel like a love letter to Mega Man or Contra. It’s not a walking simulator. It’s a "twitch-reflex" platformer that punishes you if you aren't paying attention.
The St. Jude Connection and Why It Matters
Most people play games to relax. In 2019, the FNAF community played Freddy in Space 2 to raise $500,000.
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Scott Cawthon hid various amounts of money throughout the game. As MatPat and his crew played through the levels on the livestream, the amount of money they "found" in-game was what Scott would personally donate to St. Jude. It was a brilliant way to gamify philanthropy.
There was a catch, though. Scott made the game hard. Really hard. He even joked during the stream that he might have made the hidden secrets a bit too difficult to find under the pressure of a live broadcast. Eventually, the community raised massive amounts of money, and Scott, being Scott, ended up donating even more than the "final" total found in the game, bringing the donation to over $450,000 by the end of the night.
It changed the vibe of the fandom. For a moment, the bickering about whether Golden Freddy is two souls or one didn't matter. What mattered was a side-scrolling bear in a space suit helping sick kids.
Character Breakdown: Who Should You Actually Play?
You start with Freddy. He’s the "Mario" of the group—balanced, okay health, okay damage. But you’ll want to switch fast.
- Chica: She’s your tank. She has a shield that can block projectiles. In a game where the screen is constantly filled with neon-colored death, Chica is a lifesaver.
- Foxy: He’s for the speedrunners. He’s fast and hits hard, but if you get nicked by a stray bullet, he folds like a lawn chair.
- Bonnie: His verticality is his biggest asset. A lot of the hidden Faz-Tokens are tucked away on high ledges that only Bonnie can reach comfortably without a perfectly timed jetpack burst.
- Puppet: You unlock her later, and she’s arguably the most powerful if you know how to manage her unique attack patterns.
The level design encourages backtracking. You might see a secret area you can't reach with Freddy, forcing you to come back once you've rescued Bonnie. It’s a "Metroidvania-lite" approach that keeps the game from feeling like a one-and-done experience.
The Secret Bosses and the Lore "Non-Lore"
Is this game canon? Short answer: No. Long answer: Sorta?
Freddy in Space 2 is packed with references to the main series, but it’s mostly Scott poking fun at himself. You’ll fight bosses like "Poopet" (a goofy version of the Puppet) or weird, distorted versions of the animatronics that represent different eras of the franchise.
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There’s a specific boss that looks like a giant, buff version of Helpy from Pizzeria Simulator. It’s hilarious. It also highlights the shift in FNAF's tone during this period. The series was moving from "indie horror mystery" to "massive multimedia franchise," and Scott used these spin-offs to vent his more creative, wacky ideas that wouldn't fit in a horror setting.
However, some fans still dig through the game for clues. They look at the background assets or the names of the bosses to see if they hint at the upcoming Security Breach or the "Fazbear Frights" books. While most of it is just flavor text, the game does feature the first appearance of "Glamrock" aesthetics in a subtle way, hinting at the 80s synthwave direction the series was about to take.
Why the Difficulty Curve is a Problem (for some)
If you go into this thinking it’s a casual mobile-style game, you’re going to get frustrated.
The controls are tight, but the enemy placement is devious. There are moments where you have to jump between disappearing platforms while enemies shoot at you from off-screen. It requires memory. It requires "git gud" energy.
The upgrade system is also a bit grindy. If you want the best weapons to take down LolzHax at the end, you have to spend a significant amount of time farming tokens in earlier levels. For a free game, that’s not a huge deal, but for people used to the slow-burn tension of the main FNAF games, the frantic pace of Freddy in Space 2 can be a jarring transition.
How to Play It Today
The game is still free. You can find it on Game Jolt, which has been the home for FNAF fan games and official spin-offs for years.
- Go to the official Game Jolt page.
- Download the executable (it’s PC only, unfortunately).
- Plug in a controller. Seriously. Playing this on a keyboard is a nightmare you don't want to deal with.
The game runs on basically any modern computer. It doesn't need a high-end GPU because it's built on Clickteam Fusion, the same engine Scott used for the original FNAF games.
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Key Strategies for Success
If you're jumping in for the first time, don't just rush to the right.
Look for false walls. Much like the old Mega Man games, secret areas are often hidden behind tiles that look solid but aren't. These areas contain the massive coin stashes you need for the "Hyper" upgrades.
Also, prioritize health upgrades over damage in the first twenty minutes. You’re going to get hit. A lot. Having that extra heart is the difference between clearing a boss and having to restart the entire level.
The Legacy of a "Joke" Game
Freddy in Space 2 proved that FNAF could work outside of the office-defense genre. It paved the way for Fury's Rage (another beat-'em-up spin-off) and showed that the community was willing to follow Scott into any genre as long as the heart was there.
It remains a snapshot of a specific era of gaming—the late 2010s where creators and influencers teamed up for massive charity events. It's a reminder that even a series born from nightmares can produce something genuinely wholesome.
Actionable Next Steps for FNAF Fans
If you want to experience the full scope of this game, start by downloading it from the official Game Jolt page rather than third-party mirrors to ensure you have the latest patched version. Use a controller mapping software if your gamepad isn't recognized immediately, as the platforming requires precision that a standard keyboard struggles to provide. Finally, if you enjoy the soundtrack, look up Leon Riskin's work; he’s the composer who gave the game its high-energy, cinematic feel, and his music is a huge part of why the boss fights feel so epic.