A Giant's First Steps (Five Nights At Freddy's Review)
Foreword
The year is 2014. I had just graduated from High School and had been hearing around the web about a new horror game called Five Nights At Freddy's. I currently have a shaky history with horror as a genre. I love horror. The dark mysteries that the genre can weave, the images that make your skin crawl, and so on. The issue I have is that most forms of horror media do not inspire those feelings of dread in me. So, full of curiosity, I looked up a Let's Play of Five Nights. I found a popular channel that I never heard of called Markiplier. On a whim, I decided to give both things a shot and I was instantly hooked.Since it be weird to do a review on a YouTuber, let me go ahead and talk about my experience with Five Nights At Freddy's.
To do a quick breakdown for those who are unfamiliar with my reviews, my scoring system is as follows:
10. Big Boi Lovings. Any issues are minor enough that they do not affect the score.
9. P. Awesome. Nearly flawless, has a have issues that are bad enough.
8. P. Great. The media is great. Not perfect but better than most.
7. P. Good. Above average with some rough issues.
6. Hard Enjoy. I want to be a huge fan of it, but it's rough.
5. Aight. Average, just okay.
4. Inoffensive. I didn't enjoy it, but I certainly don't hate it.
3. Bad. Has enough issues to make angry or regret consuming it.
2. Poopie Bad Stuff. Terrible. No enjoyment, but it didn't cause me to rant.
1. Dupid. I hate it. Enough to get angry any time I think about it.
To find my final score for the entire game, I look into four separate categories: Story, Gameplay, Visuals and Audio. Without further delay, here is my review of
And that is the basics of the story as they are presented to the player at the start. Anyone who is familiar with the entirety of Five Nights At Freddy's, they'll know the story is not nearly that simplistic. To keep myself from going insane, I'll try to look at only first game and what it presents.
At the start of every night, you receive a phone call from a man the player base has dubbed “Phone Guy”. Phone Guy welcomes you the job and gives you the basic rundown of how things work and what to do. Most of what I explained above is what Phone Guy explains through his calls.
On the surface, the story of Five Nights seems to not have anything particularly sinister going on. The robots will murder you but only because their programming compels them, not for any nefarious reason. Beneath the surface, a horrendous mystery lurks. An event known as the Missing Children Incident paints a slightly better picture of what is going on.
Some time ago, I don't believe it is ever explicitly said when, a total of five children had disappeared while visiting Freddy's Fazbear Pizzeria. A man, whom police have claimed to have captured, dressed as one of the animatronics and lured children into a back room. Once there, he proceeded to murder them. It is theorized that the murderer then stuffed the children's corpses into the four animatronics we face in the game. This hidden story is only discovered through newspaper clippings that randomly spawn on the walls of the pizzeria. The player is able to read this if they happen to look into the cameras at the right moments.
From here, it is easy to understand that the ghosts of these deceased children are now haunting the animatronics and are looking for revenge. Their vengeful spirits lash out against the only employee they can find during the night time, the player.
Now, of course, there is more to the story than what I described above. There are, after all, ten games and even more novels. But as far as the first game is concerned, that is the basic story for us. Five children were killed and now their spirits haunt this pizzeria, looking for vengeance against whatever employee they can find.
As far as stories go, when you break it down, it seems by the numbers. However, Five Nights was one of the pioneers of hidden lore story telling. This is both used to the game's advantage and disadvantage. The lore of this franchise is fascinating to say the least. Heck, one could call it a game of it's own just theory crafting and uncovering more hidden secrets. I can't recall a game before Five Nights that took this kind of approach to story telling. It is so fun and rewarding to look deeper and deeper into everything the game has to offer. However, if you aren't one for theory crafting and looking for secrets, the hidden nature of the game is going to be lost on you.
Since the newspaper clippings can only be found by random chance, that suggest it is possible for a player to go the entire game and never read them. I only knew of their existence because I've watched other people play and make theories. The average first time player is most likely going to miss some of these integral parts of the lore. Which puts my opinion in a tricky spot. I both love that it is all secretive and hate it. If it didn't require digging and searching for clues, then the task would not feel nearly as rewarding. However, it's a lot to ask your player to look past the satisfying surface layer story.
The basic story, of the animatronics murdering you due to faulty programming, is passable as a story. There is nothing wrong with that premise. The hidden lore of the five children possessing the robots and seeking out their killer is far more interesting and is rewarding to find. Overall, I feel the story of Five Nights At Freddy's deserves a:
To do a quick breakdown for those who are unfamiliar with my reviews, my scoring system is as follows:
10. Big Boi Lovings. Any issues are minor enough that they do not affect the score.
9. P. Awesome. Nearly flawless, has a have issues that are bad enough.
8. P. Great. The media is great. Not perfect but better than most.
7. P. Good. Above average with some rough issues.
6. Hard Enjoy. I want to be a huge fan of it, but it's rough.
5. Aight. Average, just okay.
4. Inoffensive. I didn't enjoy it, but I certainly don't hate it.
3. Bad. Has enough issues to make angry or regret consuming it.
2. Poopie Bad Stuff. Terrible. No enjoyment, but it didn't cause me to rant.
1. Dupid. I hate it. Enough to get angry any time I think about it.
To find my final score for the entire game, I look into four separate categories: Story, Gameplay, Visuals and Audio. Without further delay, here is my review of
Five Nights At Freddy's
The Story
Five Nights at Freddy's is an indie horror game developed by Scott Cawthon. The premise puts the player in control of an over night security guard at a Chuck-E-Cheese style pizzeria. It is the players job to watch the cameras and make sure everything is in it's place, most importantly being the four Animatronics – Freddy Fazbear, Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Bunny, and Foxy the... Fox. These animatronics are AI controlled and work tirelessly during the day to keep the children and patrons entertained. During the night time, to prevent the servos from locking up, the animatronics are allowed to enter a free roam mode. The animatronics will wander the pizzeria during the night and, if they happen to locate that player character in the office, will attempt to stuff the player into an animatronic suit. The robots will assume that the guard is a bare endoskeleton, and are programmed to shove him into a suit containing beams and wires and metal bits that would certainly murder a person.And that is the basics of the story as they are presented to the player at the start. Anyone who is familiar with the entirety of Five Nights At Freddy's, they'll know the story is not nearly that simplistic. To keep myself from going insane, I'll try to look at only first game and what it presents.
At the start of every night, you receive a phone call from a man the player base has dubbed “Phone Guy”. Phone Guy welcomes you the job and gives you the basic rundown of how things work and what to do. Most of what I explained above is what Phone Guy explains through his calls.
On the surface, the story of Five Nights seems to not have anything particularly sinister going on. The robots will murder you but only because their programming compels them, not for any nefarious reason. Beneath the surface, a horrendous mystery lurks. An event known as the Missing Children Incident paints a slightly better picture of what is going on.
Some time ago, I don't believe it is ever explicitly said when, a total of five children had disappeared while visiting Freddy's Fazbear Pizzeria. A man, whom police have claimed to have captured, dressed as one of the animatronics and lured children into a back room. Once there, he proceeded to murder them. It is theorized that the murderer then stuffed the children's corpses into the four animatronics we face in the game. This hidden story is only discovered through newspaper clippings that randomly spawn on the walls of the pizzeria. The player is able to read this if they happen to look into the cameras at the right moments.
From here, it is easy to understand that the ghosts of these deceased children are now haunting the animatronics and are looking for revenge. Their vengeful spirits lash out against the only employee they can find during the night time, the player.
Now, of course, there is more to the story than what I described above. There are, after all, ten games and even more novels. But as far as the first game is concerned, that is the basic story for us. Five children were killed and now their spirits haunt this pizzeria, looking for vengeance against whatever employee they can find.
As far as stories go, when you break it down, it seems by the numbers. However, Five Nights was one of the pioneers of hidden lore story telling. This is both used to the game's advantage and disadvantage. The lore of this franchise is fascinating to say the least. Heck, one could call it a game of it's own just theory crafting and uncovering more hidden secrets. I can't recall a game before Five Nights that took this kind of approach to story telling. It is so fun and rewarding to look deeper and deeper into everything the game has to offer. However, if you aren't one for theory crafting and looking for secrets, the hidden nature of the game is going to be lost on you.
Since the newspaper clippings can only be found by random chance, that suggest it is possible for a player to go the entire game and never read them. I only knew of their existence because I've watched other people play and make theories. The average first time player is most likely going to miss some of these integral parts of the lore. Which puts my opinion in a tricky spot. I both love that it is all secretive and hate it. If it didn't require digging and searching for clues, then the task would not feel nearly as rewarding. However, it's a lot to ask your player to look past the satisfying surface layer story.
The basic story, of the animatronics murdering you due to faulty programming, is passable as a story. There is nothing wrong with that premise. The hidden lore of the five children possessing the robots and seeking out their killer is far more interesting and is rewarding to find. Overall, I feel the story of Five Nights At Freddy's deserves a:
7/10 P. Good
Not a bad start to the series. I do, however, wish the lore and the hidden details were perhaps a little less hidden. What you find here is both intriguing enough to make you ask for more and satisfying enough to make you feel like you have a complete picture. The Gameplay
The gameplay of Five Nights is also fairly unique. In most horror games, the player is forced to travel into the dark, creepy place. They are forced to approach the monster and deal with it head on. In Five Nights, the monster approaches you and all you can do is play on the defensive. You are sat in the security office and you do not leave this spot during the course of the game. At your disposal is a security camera and two doors that you are able to lock. These doors also have lights that allow you to look beyond your camera's blind spot.With these tools, it is your job to keep the animatronics from entering the office while not running out of power. Every action you do causes your power to run out faster. Your batteries are constantly draining, and any time you open the cameras or lock a door – that speed it drains at increases. If you run out of power, you will be unable to lock the doors and the game will be over.
The player must strategically check the cameras to be updated on the robots' position, and to also keep Foxy from leaving his pirate cove. Once the animatronics get too close to the door, the player must shut the heavy security doors and wait until the robot leaves before opening it. The game is a point and click type horror game. You simply drag your mouse to different parts of the screen and click certain buttons to activate your tools. The mechanics are easy to grasp and very intuitive. Everything controls nicely and you'll never find yourself confused on how a particular mechanic works.
The gameplay is anxiety inducing, to say the least. You know what is coming for you and your only recourse is to hope you can keep your door locked long enough for the monsters to lose interest. Since both sound and visuals are integral to your survival, you'll find yourself jumping at every noise and every shadow. You will feel an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The first game does a decent job at spooping the player and deserves a rating of:
10/10 Big Boi Lovings
The Visuals
The pizzeria that you find yourself working in is in a desperate need of deep clean. As stated in the previous section, you spend your time sitting inside a security office. The office is dark and dirty and the main hallways and showroom aren't much better. It is clear that Freddy's is in a state of closure and appears slightly rundown.Each animatronic has a unique look to them. Each clearly defined by the animal their based off and easily distinguishable from each other. Each has a main color that defines them, and all are easily identifiable. Each brings their own level of creep and each is a thankful varied addition.
The overall appearance of the game has a ominous and creepy vibe. Looking at the state of the hallways is enough to make your skin crawl. What will spoop you the most will be the jump scares. One of the biggest criticisms of Five Nights is that it is essentially a jump scare simulator. Which is a, somewhat, fair criticism. You don't ever actually see the animatronics move through the pizza place. Whenever they move from room to room, the security camera glitches or fades to black and the robot magically appears in a new room. The only time the monsters are actually animated is during their jump scares, which all look relatively the same. Again, the look and feel of the game definitely works.
However, which I am not necessarily using this as a criticisms for the first game, the later games do get significantly more interesting. Specifically, Help Wanted, the VR game, revisits the original game in both location and mechancis. The difference this time is that the animatronics are fully animated. From their movements in the camera to how they creep down the hall way, how these creatures move is absolutely terrifiying. It feels wrong to hold the series opener to the standard of the latest game, but I can't help but wonder what could have been. Regardless, the creepy atmosphere and tone of Five Nights lands the visuals a...
8/10 P. Great
The Audio
The music and gameplay audio of Five Nights At Freddy's are subtle, to say the least. To tackle the music first... there basically isn't any. Every now and then you'll hear Foxy singing from Pirate's Cove (that is Foxy, right?) or Freddy's song if you happen to run out power. But other than those instances, there really isn't any music in this game. There is a light undertone of ambiance; the sound of air conditioners and fans and the occasional three seconds of standard horror game noise.
That being said, the lack of music does not necessarily hurt this game. The creepy silence does help to build the tension the player feels while waiting for danger to approach them. If there was music, even horror music, it would build upon one's anxieties as well. And,while it isn't too important of a factor in the first game, sound does tend to be one of your best defenses against the robotic threat. The fourth installment relies heavily on the use of sound and it works so well to the game's advantage.
The only other thing to mention audio wise would be the various sound effects you hear during the game. They all work fine. When you close a door it sounds heavy and like it would truly protect you. When you hear an animatronics footsteps it can quicken your heart rate. The most common sound effects you'll hear are the screeching jump scares and the sound of you opening the camera. By design, the game wants you listening and focusing on what's going on around you. The more fixated you are on the game, the more effective the jump scare will be. And the jump scares are effective – the first couple of times. Perhaps it is just my shaky relationship with horror, but after a few rounds of dying I became quickly desensitized to the jump scares in the first game. It becomes less of a shock and more of an annoyance. Instead of focusing on the horror elements of the game, you start to focus on the random elements of the game's mechanics. This usually doesn't happen unless you decide to take on the Custom Nights – which are purposefully difficult.Either way, it is my opinion that the audio in Five Nights At Freddy's does work to serve the game pretty well, even though it is slightly lacking in any kind of musical score. Overall, I award the game a...
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