Five Nights at Freddy's Review

The readers post their own reviews.
DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Five Nights at Freddy's Review

Postby DaHeckIzDat » May 17th, 2015, 3:32 pm

Video Game Review— Five Nights at Freddy’s for PC

I don’t usually play PC games. In fact, a mouse and keyboard is definitely my LEAST favorite way of playing a game. I don’t care if it offers more versatility or precision, I just prefer the feeling of a controller in my hand. So, what made me decide to download Five Nights at Freddy’s off STEAM? A mixture of mild peer pressure, the low price tag, and, more than anything else, the controversy. Yes, this little horror game has become even more controversial than Call of Duty, if you can believe that. It already has a massive fanbase that’s growing more each day, but it also has a ton of naysayers that despise it and everyone who defends it. Where do I stand? Ehh, a little in the middle.


So, the concept of FNaF is that you’re a security guard starting his new job working the night shift at Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza, a popular Chuck E. Cheese-esque pizza place complete with arcade games and singing, dancing animatronic animals. Thing is, as the previous night guard tells you over the phone, the robots will walk around at night— some BS excuse about them not letting their gears get stuck. If they spot you, they will think you’re a robot without an animal suit (which is AGAINST THE RULES), and shove you into one so that the metal beams inside it tear you apart. In other words, they’ll kill you. It’s a pretty stupid setup, but hey, it works. There’s a lot of commotion going around about the “hidden lore” behind why everything’s happening, which requires you to do certain things in the game to discover, but as that’s not part of the CORE gameplay, I won’t be mentioning it.

Playing as the security guard, the gameplay is very, VERY limited. You can look left and right, click switches to turn on lights and shut doors, and look at the security cameras to see where the animatronics are. When one closes in on you, you slam the door in its face until it goes away. Everything you do uses up your limited amount of power, though, so there’s some real strategy in managing your resources. If you run out of power, you’re left at the mercy of the freaky furries. Your goal is to survive from midnight to 6am, when your shift ends, five nights in a row— hence the title. And… well, that’s it. That’s literally the whole game right there. You slam doors on dancing animals.

If there’s one thing this game does well, it’s make tension. Most of the robots don’t move when you’re watching them, so you can spot one in one room and then lose track of it the next time you look. There’s a constant “Oh crap, where’d he go?!” type of fear, especially when there’s more than one of them coming to get you. If they get into the guard room, you’re punished with a jump scare. The game constantly creates an unnerving setting as you hear the animatronics moving around and making noise, and it was pretty stressful to me as I tried to decide whether to use more power watching the crazy critters or save it to keep my doors closed. The problem is that since that’s all you do, it gets old really fast. It was a weird feeling, being bored and scared at the same time. I was scared of the animals getting in, but I also wished I could do MORE. FNaF is a puzzle game when it comes down to it, but it’s one that never changes, it just ups the ante. Every night is the same, except that the animatronics move faster. For $5, I guess it’s okay, but really if you’ve played one level you’ve played them all. I don’t understand the hype that surrounds it.

And hype is one thing that this game has PLENTY of. Most of it comes from YouTube gamers like PewDiePie and Markilplier (who I cannot stand— just gonna throw that out there) recording themselves making ridiculous faces in reaction to the jump scares. FNaF serves its purpose as a scary little diversion, but how the heck did it become the internet sensation it is now? I couldn’t bring myself to play more than a couple levels, but there is not one, but THREE Five Nights at Freddy’s games on the STEAM store, with fans begging for even more! I don’t even…

So, all told, Five Nights at Freddy’s is NOT a bad game. It’s not a good game, either. It’s a distraction, and well worth the measly $5 if you go into it with that mindset. If you’re a lore hunter, you might get more enjoyment out of it than I did. Just know that it’s probably the simplest game you’ll ever play, which is why I got bored of it so quickly. While I don’t understand why everyone is so crazy about it, I admit that what it does do, it does well. It’s also one of the few scary games that actually managed to put me on edge. It’s a cool concept, all things considered. Personally, I think the game would have been far better suited as a single level in a bigger, more diverse game. But I seem to be the minority there, so maybe you’ll disagree with me.

I give Five Nights at Freddy’s a middle-of-the-road 5/10!

Hardcore Sadism
Posts: 271
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 7:10 pm

Re: Five Nights at Freddy's Review

Postby Hardcore Sadism » May 17th, 2015, 7:06 pm

The first game has the best use of a claustrophobic atmosphere and a generally uncomfortable aura surrounding the ambient noises and limited power. It's a delicate flower though.

Second game is alright, has about the same creep level albeit overdone in a few ways, but lacks the claustrophobic factor of the first.

Third is eh, creepier than the second, but against the grain of the jumpscare mechanics.

Let's hope 4: The Final Chapter brings us back to a sweltering tiny office with limited use of power.

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: Five Nights at Freddy's Review

Postby DaHeckIzDat » May 18th, 2015, 4:22 pm

I've got no real interest in playing further in the series. I heard they were making a movie, though. Is that true?


Return to “Reader Reviews”