In my opinion HHN 34 will be better than 33. What's available for this years "potential" is not as intriguing as what "potential" 34 will have. Is that in part to the strikes/delays..... maybe, but as of now I'm not optimistic HHN 33 will have the "Big Hitter" potential like 32 had.
My prediction is HHN33 will be a very strong year of originals and story telling for the future of HHN and icons. Maybe a story that will eventually connect to the Vegas location.
I see IP's coming back heavy for HHN34
I'm feeling the same thing as you with next year being an off year for heavy-hitter IP's. which given the monster lineup for 32 is really to be expected.
But honestly, I am 100% okay with that. A bigger IP doesn't correlate to better houses, (My top 3 anticipated for 32 were ST4, TLoU, and Dragons, and they all landed on the bottom quarter of my top 10), and I'd really like to see the new original ideas they've got. Here's hoping whatever IP options they do end up landing are ones the team are passionate about and translate well into a haunt/zone format.
For what it's worth, FNAF translates into a Haunt attraction far better than I think most other game series might.
- Distinctive sets and locations
- Simple premise you could easily elevator pitch into a HHN Map blurb
- A good selection of unique animatronic monster designs
- The game is built around jumpscares which obviously translate
- Lots of sound effects and music cues that would fit perfect as they are
- Comes with an easy way to structure the house with the "Five Nights" idea letting different parts of the Pizzaria be split up by "Night #?" rooms to keep the pace up.
Not to mention the incredible potential for merch, food sales or M&G experiences.