THE REVIEWS Episode 65: Five Nights At Freddy’s: The Franchise Part 1
How well could a survival horror franchise fare?
I’m gonna be honest with you.
I’m not a fan of horror. I’d say I get scared pretty easily by jumpscares and gory things. I would NEVER watch a horror movie in cinemas because I’m just a scaredy cat. The only one I watched at home was The Conjuring 2, but that was with my friends, and they somehow managed to put some comedy to make the movie more light-hearted (Cue in the “MY HOUSE”).
Usually, I would say my mind remembering images, even from a game or movie years ago, is a good thing. Nonetheless, this also applies to me with horror, scary, or creepy stuff. In fact, my mind backfired on me when I came across a video of an eerie missing person notice after a television station’s sign off for the early morning in 1989. That photo, plus the silence, and the fact that I watched that in the late night in my room with no lights gave me the chills, and I didn’t forget that petrifying screen for months as it played in my mind every time I went to sleep. Nightmares, ugh.
However, when speaking of horror, another thing comes to my mind. Something that is popular and well-known, especially right now. I’m sure you’ve all heard this franchise before, whether or not you’ve played its games, read its novels, or seen the movie.
Let me start from the beginning.
Scott Cawthon, a video game developer who had little to no success with his previous games. In his early days of his career, he made Christian games and films because of his devotion to being a Christian, though they weren’t really well-known.
You might have heard of Pilgrim’s Progress and The Desolate Hope before. Those were his creations. For me, I’ve first heard of him when he published the 8-Bit RPG Creator, but didn’t pay much attention to him or his game back then. You would think Scott would’ve continued being a small presence in the gaming industry with the surprisingly high amount of games he had released over almost TWENTY years. To top it off, none of them received any global recognition, which meant he never earned much money off it.
Chipper and Sons Lumber Co., a game he made in 2013, was submitted to the Steam market, and it featured anthropomorphic characters, where you play as one too. Despite it being family-friendly, nobody liked it at all. Players slammed the game, stating the characters looked creepy, like scary animatronics. People called it uncanny. This game’s poor reception and bad financial situation led him to a state of depression. His life insurance even backed out on him after learning he had suicidal thoughts.
In this kind of situation, people probably would’ve just given up on their dreams and changed their professions and leave their past behind them. For Scott, though, with his life in a complete downward spiral, he realized something. After going to God to ‘tell him to use me somehow’, he got his drive back to making games, and then came an idea. The horrible criticism Chipper and Sons Lumber Co. had received inspired him to create a franchise that would soon be remembered for years, even up ’til now.
Five Nights At Freddy’s.
A point-and-click survival horror game, the player takes the role of Mike Schmidt, a night security guard working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Released in August 2014, the objective of the game is to survive five night shifts in the pizzeria without getting killed by the animatronics, or the mascots.
It does sound quite like any other horror games, doesn’t it? Nope, it’s so uniquely different. There’s cameras to watch the animatronics’ movements and steel doors to block them. If you’re not careful though, the animatronics will enter your office and kill you, not before giving you their iconic jumpscare. As each night passes, the animatronics become more active, hostile, and difficult to deal. This is where visual and audio cues are vital to your victory.
To make it even more harder (and realistic), there’s a battery level. That’s right, you can’t just keep using the surveillance cameras for free or shut the door close and open it as you please. All of these actions consume battery level. When it reaches zero, all your power goes out. No lights, no camera, all your doors open. Freddy will just be outside, with the Toreador Song playing in the background…and then he’ll just jumpscare the shit out of you, unless it turns 6 AM before he attacks you. In that case, you’ll win.
This game took over the world by storm, and it gained a huge cult following. Its popularity skyrocketed even more when various YouTubers played this game on their Let’s Play videos. Markiplier, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, Razzbowski, 8-bit Ryan, and of course, how can we forget our theory man, MatPat?
There are reasons to why this game succeeded not just his older games, but was commended by fans and critics. The mechanics are so distinctive yet well-designed. No other game has this kind of gameplay in its time too, making it one of a kind. Not only that, the game is really easy to understand because it only has a few controls, allowing players to pick it up from the get-go without any hassle. It is also a greatly developed horror game making use of its horror elements, such as the silent, eerie atmosphere, with the abrupt, sudden loud noises coming from the animatronics making the players panic, and the frightening and unexpected jumpscares with a spine-chilling game over screen.
I forgot to mention there’s Night 6 and 7. 6th Night is just a harder Night 5, while Night 7, also known as the Custom Night, is a game mode where you can change the A.I. levels of the animatronics. Fun fact and secret: if you put 1 9 8 7 to the respective A.I. levels of the animatronics, Golden Freddy will jumpscare you and crash the game afterwards. Pretty interesting, if you ask me.
Personally, the only downside to this game is that once you play the game one too many times, you’ll get used to it. You know what to do when each animatronic is approaching you, and how to prevent them from murdering you. The jumpscares will now make you frustrated and angry for not passing the night, especially when you’re so close to winning it, instead of scaring you.
In my opinion, this game was what really changed my definition of horror. Not only did it provide traditional horror right in my face, it even gives me panic-inducing vibes because of the silence while I’m playing, not knowing when the animatronics will strike. Playing this as a kid back then, it’d scare the shit out of me I’d get nightmares from it.
Still, I kinda enjoyed playing the game. It was so different from the other horror games I’ve seen people playing. It felt like a new genre of horror. Looking back at it, it was a really fun experience.
Naturally, with FNaF’s financial success, there’s bound to be a sequel, like any other successful franchise. And so…
Five Nights At Freddy’s 2…
…was released 2 months later. The premise is about the same, but there’s a few differences. There’s more terrifying-looking animatronics to deal with, no more doors or openings that can be sealed off, a flashlight, and a Freddy mask.
Like the first game, you have to complete your night shifts in an office setting without being caught by the animatronics. This time, there are two vent openings and the hallway. The animatronics can come near you through those places, but no worries, you have tools to help you.
The cameras work exactly the same as it did in FNaF. To check on the animatronics, just look at the numerous surveillance cameras to determine their location. Your torchlight is used to shine light at the hallway to check for any incoming animatronics, which could be used to prevent Foxy to get to you. You can also shine light on the camera screens to slow those machines down.
There’s a Freddy mask too. This is another way to drive those animatronics away. Wear it to avoid being detected by them when they’re in the vents or the hallway. However, they do not work on Foxy and Marionette. Marionette, also called the Puppet, can be controlled by winding the music box constantly, and you can do that through the cameras. However, if the box isn’t winded, the Puppet will come out of its box, and you only have a few seconds left before it just kills you.
Now, you might think it’s just a little harder than the first game, but it’s still manageable. Just constantly shine the torchlight in the hallway, wind up the box on time, and wear the mask when the animatronics appear in your office. Oh boy, are you wrong. This game is another whole level of difficult.
Every night get increasingly harder, and the A.I. doesn’t give any chances for you to screw up. On top of checking MANY screens to see where the animatronics could be, you have to be attentive to your surroundings in the office too. They could just enter without any warning, and if you’re not fast enough to put your Freddy mask on, they’ll jumpscare you. You know what that means? Game over.
That’s not all. As you advance in night shifts, the music box gets winded down at a faster rate. You have to keep winding it up, or else Marionette would be after you. If you think Scott stopped it at there, he didn’t. Balloon Boy, the only animatronic who won’t kill you, is just as annoying as the others. He first appears in the vents. If you don’t wear the mask when he reaches the vent opening, he will appear right in front of your desk.
It might seem like nothing except his irritating laughter, but he has another use. To disable your flashlight. From then on, just sit back and wait for your incoming death. You can’t fend off Foxy without light anyways. Speaking of light, did you know your torchlight has power too? That’s right, because this game isn’t already a pain in the ass. Besides doing all the things I mentioned earlier, you NEED to watch out for your torchlight’s battery levels. Once it reaches zero, you can’t use your light either. That’s another way to die to Foxy, basically. Foxy in this game is like a boss-tier character; he’s almost untouchable.
You need to have a fast reaction to even get through this game, from Night 1 to 7. Any mistake and you’re punished with a jumpscare and a game over. That’s what makes this game really, really overwhelmingly difficult. There are so many things to concentrate on that it just felt more stressful than scary. Not to say the jumpscares aren’t frightening at all. They still are, but at least you can kinda know when they’re coming. Let’s say if you screw up at not putting the mask on when Withered Freddy is in front of you, you’re bound to get jumpscared. You can expect that, so it doesn’t get that scary.
One cool thing about this game is the minigames that you can play after you get a game over. These minigames provide some kind of lore of the franchise, so I’d say it’s pretty interesting.
Overall, this game feels much more innovative and interesting than the first one, but the numerous actions you need to do at the same time in this game is what brought it down. The difficulty of this game got me panicking a lot, and this wasn’t exactly a game I liked from the franchise because of how the A.I. was being a piece of shit to me.
With FNaF 2 out of the way, let’s move on to the next game in line.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 3
Released in March 2015, this one takes place thirty years after the first game. Like all the first two games, the player must get through the five nights in this horror attraction alive while fending animatronics off.
This game follows the trend of being different from the others. In this game, there’s only one animatronic that can kill you: Springtrap. He roams around the place and if he is outside your office, it’s basically a game over unless the clock reaches 6 AM.
So, where are all the other animatronics? There’s Freddy, Chica, Foxy, Mangle, Balloon Boy, and the Puppet. They’re here, but in their Phantom variations.
Here’s how the gameplay works. The cameras, as usual, help you to check on the animatronics’ movements, especially Springtrap. There’s an audio button, which you can press it. It’ll play Balloon Boy’s laughter, but it’ll also lure Springtrap away. Do remember that you have to use it in an adjacent room, or else it wouldn’t really work. For instance, if Springtrap is in CAM 08, you have to use the audio at CAM 09, and it won’t work if you tried it at CAM 04.
The Map Toggle button allows you to toggle between the cameras on establishment’s grounds and the vents. If Springtrap do happen to appear in any of the vents, you can seal them off, preventing him from dropping by your office. Note that you can only seal one vent at any time.
Periodically, the Phantom animatronics will appear on your camera screen and jumpscare you, shutting your ventilation down, which will blur your vision and gives Springtrap more chances to come into your office uninvited and unnoticed. However, getting jumpscared by these Phantom animatronics does not equate to a game over. Surprising, right?
From time to time, the audio and cameras will stop working too. To fix these errors, as well as your ventilation, just go to the maintenance panel and reboot these systems.
Ah yes, here’s something lore-related. After passing each night, you’ll be treated to a mini-game that shows you what really happened to the murdered kids at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, and the person behind it all. Going through this game normally gives you…
Yeah, bad ending. Where’s the good ending, then? Well, it wouldn’t be a Five Nights At Freddy’s game if there isn’t any secrets or easter eggs. FNaF 1 had animatronics staring at you in the cameras, some crazy disturbing pictures and screens you’ll see in the cameras or when the game starts, as well as the different newspaper clippings on the east hall corner. FNaF 2 has secret animatronics and rare starting screens. For FNaF 3, besides having more uncanny screens when starting a night, there are other mini-games that can be accessible through interacting with the camera screens and the things in your office. Once you finish ALL minigames, you’ll get the good ending.
This game is easier to play than its previous instalment, for sure. There’s only one thing that can cause a game over, and that’s Springtrap. There’s even ways to try and avoid the Phantom animatronics, like just changing to another camera when you encounter Balloon Boy on one of the cameras. Rebooting the systems might take a bit long and be troublesome, but at least I don’t have to keep tabs on like ten animatronics and wind the goddamn music box up while trying to put on the Freddy mask upon coming face-to-face with one of those monsters. I sweat more playing FNaF 2 than actually doing exercises.
FNaF 3 also provided me a better insight on the origins of the animatronics, the murderer Purple Guy, and how this story had a somewhat satisfying conclusion, at that time, at least. The graphics were a step up too. I loved the design of Springtrap, as well as the game generally. Personally, this is one of my favorite Five Nights At Freddy’s games.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 4
The first time I’ve known about this game was the teasers posted in scottgames.com and the trailer Scott published on his YouTube channel. The animatronics in those teasers look fucking scary, like they could just devour me alive. They look like the monsters in my nightmares in the form of game characters.
Needless to say, when I played the game, I was scared shitless. This game is the definition of terror and unrest. It could really give the player the heebie-jeebies. When you get jumpscared by an animatronic, there’s a high chance that fucker’s gonna appear in your next nightmare. He’ll be haunting you for a good week or two.
Basically, this is how FNaF 4 works. You don’t have a monitor, no phone calls, no nothing. Instead, you just move back and forth to four different places. The left door, the right door, the closet, and your bed, which is behind you.
Nightmarish versions of Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Freddy will appear at those places respectively. Your main objective is to fend them off until 6 AM each night, similar to the first three games. Getting jumpscared by any of these animatronics will result in an instant game over.
Controls are alright. Right-clicks are to go to places except the bed, where you press the spacebar to turn back. Holding the shift button would close the door or the closet you are at. Letting it go will open the door/closet. The CTRL button is for the flashlight.
Now, the key to successfully completing this game is the audio cues. Whereas the FNaF 1–3 had you relying more on the cameras, and the audio cues were just a bonus advantage, these sound effects mean business in FNaF 4. They don’t fuck around. They’re the main reason why many players fell victim to these beginner traps and got jumpscared by either Chica or Bonnie on the first two nights.
Whenever Chica or Bonnie approaches the doors, you need to hear for their footsteps. If you can hear them, close the door immediately and wait for them to walk away, which is represented by the footsteps again.
For Foxy, if you’re checking on the wrong side of the room, he’ll enter through the other door and run into the closet. When you check up on him there, you could either see his head, his torso, or his head screaming at you. If you neglect him, somehow forget that he’s in the closet, or are too late to get there, then you’ll get killed by him.
Freddy is the easiest one, compared to the rest of them here. There would be small Freddles appearing on your bed if you don’t check your back. Shine the torchlight at them to chase them away. If three of them are on your bed, there’s a high chance Freddy will spawn and instantly end your game.
After every night, there would be a small minigame named ‘Fun With Plushtrap’. Make sure to catch Plushtrap on the X spot to get a 2-hour headstart on the next night.
On Night 5, Fredbear appears, and he is not to be fucked with. He’s the four animatronics COMBINED. No, you didn’t read that wrong. He does EVERYTHING the other four do. That means he appears in the hallways, closet, and even the bed in the form of his FAT ASS HEAD.
Not only that, he’s faster and harder to shake off than every other animatronic, making him a real pain in the ass. Shining light on him results in a jumpscare and a game over. You gotta have swift reaction and the fingers that keyboard warriors have to even get close to 6 AM.
Night 6 has the four animatronics for the first four hours, then Fredbear for the last two. It’s torture to say the least. And then comes Night 7. An translucent animatronic literally named Nightmare. He appears at 4 AM to literally scare the shit out of you. He makes this night a ‘nightmare’ (see what I did there?). As if Fredbear isn’t aggressive enough, Nightmare does the exact same thing in a way more hostile and faster manner, knocking Fredbear’s mechanism out of the ballpark. Him jumpscaring you will result in the game restarting, like Golden Freddy in the first game.
If you think FNaF 2 is not hard enough, and you want something more of a challenge, then FNaF 4 is for you. I personally don’t like this game because it’s so goddamn hard, save for the lore that is provided in the cutscenes before starting each night and after Night 5. The lore surprisingly tells us more about Fredbear, a crying child, his family, and a major incident that surprised pretty much everyone.
But you know what they say.
Perhaps some things are best left forgotten, for now.
Unfortunately, this is where I going to stop for part one. There will be a part two coming out before the end of the year, where I review the rest of the games, as well as the the movie in the last part.
Stay tuned, and have a nice day.
Sources
- Scott Cawthon’s Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Cawthon)
- Interview with Scott Cawthon (https://www.geeksundergrace.com/gaming/developer-spotlight-scott-cawthon/)
