The Giant Stands Tall (Five Nights At Freddy's 2 Review)

 

Foreword

Has a video game series ever had so many sequels released in such a short amount of time? I'm sure if you were to take a look at the industry, Five Nights at Freddy's would be near the top of the list - if not the number 1.

Scott Cawthon released the sequel to his critically acclaimed horror game just four months after the first game. Even someone not familiar with the gaming industry can tell that is an incredibly short amount of time. The assumption that is easy to make is that the game must not be of high quality. Well, luckily for you, I'm obsessed with writing and would love to break this game down for you.

Before I start, let me rehash my reviewing scale for those of you who may be new here:

Each game is scored based on four core categories - the story, the gameplay, the visuals, and the audio. Each component is awarded a maximum of ten points, and then the game is scored based on the average of those four categories. To further the explain what the number rankings mean:

10) Big Boi Lovings- A perfect score. Any negatives are insignificant.

9) P. Awesome- A nearly flawless piece of media. A few gripes prevent it from being perfect.

8) P. Great- An excellent piece of media that should not be skipped, despite a few complaints.

7) P. Good- Above average. Some of the problems are a touch painful.

6) Hard Enjoy- Despite the issues that are present, I want to be a fan of the media - even though it hurts.

5) Aight.- Average. The experience is overall hit or miss but does nothing to "wow" or warrant hate.

4) Inoffensive- The media is not an enjoyable experience but also not a painful one.

3) Bad -Enough problems are present that I regret consuming the media.

2) Poopie Bad Stuff- Terrible. I could hardly find any enjoyment, though it didn't cause an angry rant.

1) Dupid- I hate it. You probably know I hate it because I would not have been quiet about it.

And without a further ado, let's find out if Five Nights At Freddy's 2 can live up to the hype of its older brother.

The Story

As I stated in the review for Five Nights at Freddy's 1, the story of Five Nights is... complicated at best. To keep everyone's sanity in check, I'm going to be describing the story, and possible hidden lore, with what, to my knowledge, is the general consensus of the story.

Five Nights 2 is a prequel story, taking place in 1987 - according to the paycheck the player receives for having completed a successful week of work. The check also gives the playable character a name, Jeremy Fitzgerald. The game starts nearly identical to how the first game did. Jeremy has just started work with the company, Freddy Fazbear Entertainment, as a night time security guard in one of the pizzerias.

We once again work alongside series favorite, Phone Guy, who informs us that the restaurant, and Fazbear Entertainment as a whole, are under investigation for what the fans know as the Missing Children's Incident, often abbreviated as MCI. The MCI is the hidden story that was told through newspaper clippings in Five Nights 1. Serving as a true prequel, Five Nights 2 gives just enough information for us to learn about the event the entire series is about.

The information nuggets the game treats us to are mostly told through either phone guy conversation or, new to the series but becomes a staple, Atari-style death mini-games. These mini-games, which are as cryptic as the rest of the lore in this series, display the Missing Children's Incident. You play as the animatronics during these mini-games, either entertaining or serving cake.

We witness a purple character, the infamous Purple Guy, murder a child in the rain outside the restaurant. The child is killed during what appears to be a birthday party. Once the mini-game ends the player is jump scared by the new "Puppet" animatronic. Another crucial mini-game to witness has the player controlling Foxy as he performs his normal routine, running out and surprising a group of five kids. During one of these sequences, we witness the Purple Guy standing in a corner and smiling. Once Foxy arrives in the room with the kids, we see them all gray-scaled and lifeless.

The current theory that explains this lore nugget, assuming nothing has changed since I last checked, is that the spirits of these murder children are currently possessing the animatronics. The five children correspond to the five original animatronics, Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and Golden Freddy.

One of the mini-games, appropriately titled "Give Gifts, Give Life", has the player controlling the Puppet. The Player simply approaches what appears to be four dead children sitting in a room. Once approached, masks resembling the original four animatronics appear next to the children. The working theory is that the child murdered in the rain was the first victim and, having possessed the Puppet, leads the souls of the other children into the animatronic suits, gifting them new life.

On the 6th night of the game, the player is informed by Phone Guy that the restaurant is fully closed down due to the murders. It is here that the reveal of a spare yellow suit, most likely Golden Freddy, was stolen and used during the murders. Phone Guy informs us that there is one final event, a birthday party, scheduled before the forced shut down. Jeremy will be working the day shift and is instructed to "stay close to the animatronics and make sure they don't hurt anyone". Phone Guy would then take the Night Shift the following day.

As any Five Nights fan can tell you, the year 1987 is extremely important because of the "Bite of '87" comment that Phone Guy makes. It is more than likely that Jeremy, having switched to a day shift to work a birthday party before the restaurant was closed down, is the victim of the bite of '87. Jeremy, according to Phone Guy's comments, ultimately survives the incident, losing the entirety of his brain's frontal lobe.

It should be noted as well that, just like the first game, there are two extra nights, with Night 7 serving as a custom night ultimate challenge. Consistent with the story, the Player does control a new character, Fritz Smith, who is working their first shift. It is notable that Fritz is able to operate all the security measures with expert precision and knows how to tamper with the animatronics. This should be kept in the back of the players mind when deep diving into the hidden lore of this serious.

Some minor information to keep in mind as well, during the course of Five Nights 2 the player is facing against a new cast of animatronics. This new cast is dubbed the "Toy Animatronics", due to their kid friendly appearance, and were intended to replace the original cast. Upon completion of the Five Nights 2, it is learned through a newspaper clipping that the Toy Animatronics will be scrapped due to possible malfunctions. The original cast will be kept on hand in hopes that they can restored.

To recap, Five Nights 2 story teaches us that Purple Guy murdered six children that possess the core animatronics as well as the Puppet. The Puppet, perhaps being the first murdered or for another reason, was able to guide the souls of the other 4 animatronics into their suits, helping with the possession. And finally, Jeremy Fitzgerald is the victim of the Bite of '87. The story is still mostly hidden behind cryptic messaging and can be missed if one isn't looking for it. Although, that is also kind of the charm of Five Nights. We are only two games in, but the trope has been established that these games are not going to willingly give you information. If we want to know what is really happening, we must work for it - and that's arguably a good thing. If this series had laid everything bare, especially just two games in, I don't believe it would've had the impact that it did. If it wasn't for the discussion and debate over the lore and secrets, would people have retained their interest?

I'm finding it... difficult to score the story in this game. The complaints of it being easily miss-able in the first game are alleviated in its sequel. Five Nights 2 is not an easy game, so it's reasonable to assume the player is not going to miss any of the death mini-games. As far as deciphering the lore, once the clues are explained it seems almost obvious that they point in the direction they do. The lore in the second game also answers or expands upon plenty of the mysteries in the first game. We witness, in part at least, the MCI. We learn "who" the murderer of the children is, though we don't learn Purple Guy's identity quite yet. We learn why the animatronics are so hostile. And finally, we learn who the victim of the Bite of '87 is.

Clearly, the only kind of score that I can give the story in Five Nights 2 is:

10/10

Big Boi Lovings

If we ignore the many sequels this series has, Five Nights 2 serves as almost a perfect sequel in terms of its story. Questions and mysteries were raised in the first game and a good chunk of those are answered or expanded upon in second game. As far as sequels go, that's kind of what the story is supposed to do. Enough is left hidden that a new game could expand upon the foundation but enough is answered to feel satisfying.

The Gameplay

The controls and main gameplay mechanics are similar enough to the first game to not alienate players while also introducing some new threats. The main task of surviving until 6 A.M. without running out of power is still present. The main defense of checking security cameras is still present but with new threats, new defenses must be adapted.

The newest and most noticeable change from FNAF 1 to FNAF 2 is that there are no security doors. In the first game, once a threat approached, your only recourse was locking your door until the threat wandered away. Doing so, of course, would drain your overall power and once it was drained, the animatronics would attack uninhibited. Now the player is faced with a long dark hallway in front of them and a vent on either side of their station. The hulks of imposing metal are able to attack from any of these entrance points.

At the players disposal is a flash light, which can be used to disorient the animatronics coming from the hallway, tricking them into going back to their starting position. If an intrusion is coming in through the vents, or if an animatronic is not tricked by the flashlight, the player has access to a Freddy Fazbear mask. Phone Guy explains that if you are quick and play dead while wearing the mask, it could fool the animatronics into thinking you are just an empty suit. He does bring up the concern that the animatronics maaay try to stuff you with an endoskeleton but...

Outside of the threats that approach you, the player also has to make sure the Puppet is kept pacified. On one of the security cameras is a "Jack-in-the-Box" style present. The player can also hear some kind of lullaby playing. Should the music box stop playing by becoming unwound, the Puppet will be able to leave the box and attack the player. To prevent this, the player must hop into the cameras and hold down a button that resets the song. For those that have played the first game, the Puppet replaces the role of Foxy - a threat that needs constant attention by looking into the cameras.

In addition to the core four animatronics, an additional five animatronics are introduced. Toy versions of the core four, the puppet, and Mangle - Foxy's new counterpart. With nine threats approaching you at any given time with four separate avenues for attack... It's clear that the main gameplay can get a bit hectic at times. There is so much for the player to pay attention to. Excluding the Puppet, the animatronics do not require special treatment, so you only have to remember four moves you can perform. However, there is significantly more micro-managing in Five Nights 2. Other than constantly making sure the music box is wound, the player does have to keep a watchful eye on pretty much everything. I for one, got overwhelmed by everything quite a bit. Granted, this may have been the intention, however for me it was a bit too much.

Other than the core gameplay, there are the Atari mini-games that we discussed in The Story section. The games are very simplistic, typically consisting of going from point A to B by using WASD. Although, this is a benefit to the mini-games. Were they too complicated in controls or design, I feel that would distract the player from learning the core mechanics and would prevent the player from focusing on the lore these mini-games are attempting to share. With these mini-games, we see the main way the Five Nights series attempts to tell its stories and I am all for it. There is a sense of dread and intrigue that I felt whenever one of these mini-games popped up. I knew I was going to witness something harrowing but my curiosity caused me to press on.

As a writer, story is incredibly important to me. Mysteries and hidden lore, of course, does wonders for my theory crafting brain. The want and need to know more and each hidden detail and allusion is fueled immensely by the mini-games, as were their intention.

But the one thing that must be touched upon since this is a horror game is, of course, the spoops. The main horror element, again, is the jump scares. Whenever a player fails to repel the animatronics, they will be approached by one of the screaming monsters until the screen fades to black. While I am not the biggest fan of jump scares, one after another tends to lessen the impact very quickly, I believe the horror did fine. Certainly not the scariest game, and not the scariest FNAF game. I tend to prefer the dread that slow and methodical horror brings. I get excited when the threat, the scary thing, hides in plain sight just in the shadows. No attention drawn to it unless the player fully focuses on it. The ghost that peeks at you around a corner is more effective, in my opinion, than the hunk of metal screaming at you.

That being said, the animatronics are imposing. They are large beings and take up the majority of your screen when they walk into your office. I can't recall how many times I felt threatened by Freddy when he held his microphone out in front of my face, waiting for me to make some kind of mistake that would clue him in to me being his target. But with how hectic and constant the threats in the game are, this feeling did go away by the third or fourth night. The problem I find with the FNAF series is that once I start dying repeatedly and the game ramps up its difficulty, I become numb to the horror and enter "pro-gamer" mode. I become more focus on making the mechanics of the game do what I want instead of how scary everything is.

Overall, I did enjoy my experience playing Five Nights 2 and the gameplay elements were enjoyable, if a bit overwhelming, earning itself a:

8/10

P. Great

The Visuals

We once again are watching over a dirty and dimly lit restaurant. Of course, the layout and specifics aesthetics are different from the first game, as is to be expected. The main setting fits well and everything that needs to be identified is easily identifiable. I never found myself questioning what I was looking at from a gameplay standpoint.

The newest addition, again, is the Atari mini-games. They have the retro flair that 8-bit games of that era all had. It gives the game a very nice horror visual. They come out of nowhere and the jarring difference between it and the core game is enough to give you some nice uneasy feelings. The mini-games are also fun to look at from a theory crafting angle. You want to explore everything there is and witness it all so that you can find some hidden clue or puzzle piece.

It is also worth mentioning that the new monster designs are pleasant to look at as well. The core animatronic cast is all ripped apart and missing pieces. The restaurant had been using them for parts, resulting in these incredibly large and damaged, almost zombie-like, creatures that lumber towards you. The size of these things cannot be understated. When they tower over you during their attack it is terrifying, and was the main horror element of the game for me. The new Toy Animatronics are also nice to look at but mostly as a contrast to the core cast. They look clean and polished which really helps to show how decrepit the others are.

Outside of the above, the main visuals are still checking the cameras and peering in at static images of the animatronics. The only animation is during the Atari mini-games and when a jump scare is occurring. Not bad and works well with the game but does leave something to be desired.

Overall, the visuals work well for the game and have some scary sights earning a:

8/10

P. Great

The Audio

The sound design in Five Nights 2 is rather similar to Five Nights 1. The main thing being the constant drone of white noise that accompanies some of the scarier elements.

The newer elements are the animatronic sounds and the music box. Whenever a hulk of metal is threatening you from the hallway, a metallic, breathy screech can be clearly heard. It ramps up the anxiety and fear factor so well. You can really feel the impending threat that was mere steps from your face. Additionally, the child like sounds the music box produces both fits the Puppet's overall design and adds an additional layer of horror. Anything innocent or childlike dropped into a dreadful environment is a nice addition.

Separate from that, of course, are the Atari mini-games. Other than the occasional bloops or beeps that 8-bit games always had, there is more often than not a slow, distorted voice spelling out letters. These tend to spell things like "Save Them" and add both lore implications and spoops.

And, as always, phone guy's voice acting is enjoyable to listen to. He still sounds like the same goof he was in the first game and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Overall, I can't say I have too many complaints about the audio aspect of Five Nights 2, other than it being a little minimalist. Would it necessarily benefit from added sound effects or music? Perhaps. But what the game has given our ears earned it:

8/10

P. Great

The Final Tally

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 does a fantastic job of a sequel game. The story answers plenty of lore questions and is presented in a way that's not impossible to find. Outside of the story advancements, the gameplay adds plenty of new features. It turns the series on its head by removing the safety of the doors and ramps up the difficult with both the Puppet and addition of Toy Animatronics. There's a lot that wants to murder you and keep you constantly engaged. Very rarely in this game will you have time to breath, which both serves a positive and negative. New mechanics is always welcomed to keep a franchise engaging, but it's pretty easy to become overwhelmed by everything that wants you dead. The audio and visuals serve the game well, but don't add anything too new or exciting.

So where does that leave Five Nights 2 for us? Well, if you add the tally up, you'll find that I award Five Nights at Freddy's 2 a:

8/10

P. Great.

Does that seem like a fair rating to you? Or do you believe the game isn't as good as I do? I would love to read your opinions of FNAF 2; luckily there is a convenient comment section below. Interested in receiving email updates about the blog and all the other content that I produce? Consider signing up for the mailing list! The form is in the sidebar off the main page OR you can email us at ragdollgamers.business.com! And, most importantly, thank you so much for reading and enjoying my content. I hope to write for you again soon. Happy Reading!