A Frightful Third Installment (Five Nights at Freddy's 3 Review)

Foreword

March 2nd, 2015 – the day that Five Nights at Freddy's proved to be much more than a few one off indie games. With the release of Five Nights at Freddy's 3, fans were treated to what could have been the end of a trilogy. We, with the gift of hindsight, know that the series was just getting started, but at the time the story reached a logical conclusion. But how does the third installment hold up? Is it the satisfying conclusion we all wanted or just another cog in the wheel? Before I begin the deep dive, let's go over the scoring system the BradicalRadical show uses:

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.

The Story

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 takes place in 2023, approximately thirty years after the events of the first game. The player is in control of a new employee for a horror attraction, Fazbear's Fright, that is based on the Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The player character is serving the role as a security guard, both legitimately checking the cameras to “make sure no teens are making out in the corner” and to blend into the attraction. The first night opens with a surfer bro giving us an explanation of our job. The night progresses, for the first time in the series, without a murderous monster coming to give you an untimely end.

After the first night, it is revealed that the owners of Fazbear's Fright found both the phone guy tapes and a new deteriorated animatronic called Springtrap, named aptly after the spring lock suits that an employee could physically wear. We are then launched into the core gameplay that the other games have established.

At the end of every night, the player encounters a post night mini game. Through these mini games we witness Purple Guy dismantling the core animatronics, luring the bots to a back room that their programming is unable to access. Through normal gameplay, the player survives each night and witnesses each animatronic dismantled. By the end of the game, the player controls one of the dead children who navigates to the hidden room where Purple Guy hides. Once there, Purple Guy is cornered by the five deceased kids who force him to take refuge inside the Spring lock suit. After laughing triumphantly, the locks are triggered, skewering Purple Guy and ultimately killing him. We are given one last look at the discarded heads of the animatronics, each with a glowing eye still inside.

This is considered the bad ending to Five Nights at Freddy's 3. Basic explanation is that Purple Guy, the serial killer behind the missing children's incident, attempted to dismantle the animatronics, presumably to prevent them from being any kind of threat, only to find himself being cornered by their now “free” spirits. He eventually dies, the player character sets Fazbear Fright's ablaze, and the ending card shows us that the children have not been laid to rest and are still attached to their robotic shells.

The “good ending” is fairly similar, with the key difference that instead of the discarded heads having a single glowing eye, the heads are now entirely dark – theoretically meaning that the spirits have been laid to rest. This is unlocked through various, rather hard to obtain, secret mini games.

If we were to analyze Five Nights at Freddy's as a trilogy, the story is almost simplistic. Purple Guy becomes the serial killer behind the Missing Children's Incident. The children that are murdered then possess the four core animatronics, mistakenly murdering night guards in the vain of gaining some kind of vengeance. Purple Guy is then cornered by these spirits, presumably after dismantling the robots. Taking refuge in a spring lock suit, Purple Guy eventually dies and then possess / becomes a zombie inside the suit. This is what we face during the main gameplay of Five Nights at Freddy's 3. To put the monster to rest, the player burns the building to the ground.

Of course, we all know the story is not nearly that simple and clean, but as far as conclusion for the series goes it fits rather well. You can easily track a beginning and end and the third game has a solid finality to it. Overall it's an interesting and somewhat satisfying conclusion to the story filled with some good spoops. I believe the story of Five Nights at Freddy's 3 earns itself a nice:

8/10

P. Great

The Gameplay

If it isn't broken, why fix it? Five Nights 3 follows the same core gameplay style of avoiding a robotic threat and surviving from 12AM to 6AM. The key differences is that there is only one threat this time, being Springtrap. Since there are no doors, similar to FNAF 2, the player must instead lure Springtrap away from their office by use of audio cues.

The map in FNAF 3 is a single long corridor, consisting of winding turns and a couple of vent entrances. Outside of Springtrap himself, the player is also assaulted by apparitions of the other animatronics. These Phantom animatronics will jump scare the player under certain circumstances. These jump scares, instead of resulting in a death, will force one of the player's defensive systems to crash. At your disposal are three options – the audio lures that lead Springtrap away, the camera system that allows you to track his location, and your ventilation system that allows you sweet, sweet oxygen. If any of these systems go down for too long, the player character will most certainly die. Avoiding the Phantoms is as simple as flipping your camera or changing which one you happen to be looking through.

As far as difficulty goes, this is by far the easiest game in the series. Having just the one threat to deal with, no power management, and a pretty easy way to avoid the Phantoms makes the game a breeze to run through. The hardest part is unlocking the hidden mini games, which I can't even begin to explain how to do. It's... very convoluted and I recommend looking it up if you are curious enough.

Outside of the main game, there are the post night Atari style mini games that has you controlling each animatronic. Not much to touch upon here, as you are simply traveling from one room to the other using the arrow keys. There are also the secret mini games which are significantly more involved, forcing the player to platform through certain areas and to break through in game boundaries. However, also not much to touch upon here. They are nice and spoopy but ultimately control and play simply enough.

Overall, the game plays to one's expectations, adding in a few interesting mechanics but keeping the core gameplay of the series alive, earning itself a:

8/10

P. Great

The Visuals

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 offers perhaps the scariest atmosphere. Fazbear Frights, being a horror attraction, is obviously run down and creepy looking. The walls are dirty and have cables leaking from the ceiling.

Springtrap himself is one of the scarier elements of the game. Other than being the only thing that is actively trying to murder you, searching for him in the camera offers a twisted verison of Where's Waldo? He's well hidden among the mess and the camera offers you a very limited view of the area. It's unsettling, to say the least, to see his glowing eyes staring at you from behind the darkness.

The scariest element of the game is by far the hallucinations. The Phantom animatronics have some of the most notable moments of animation in the game. Freddy's hulking form slowly lurching in front of your office window sent chills down my spine the first time seeing it.

And, as to be expected, the Atari mini games are unsettling and visually intriguing. Overall, Five Nights at Freddy's 3 provides a visually interesting and scary game that is worth a:

9/10

P. Awesome

The Audio

The audio this time around is not nearly integral to your survival as it once was. You can hear Springtrap entering the vents, but outside of that you are mostly relying on the visuals of him in the camera. There is the low, ominous hum that persists throughout the nights that is appreciated above the previous games. Not a song track exactly, but having the persistent note haunting your ears is a thankful edition that keeps your nerves on edge.

Outside of this hum, you can hear the systems crashing by a constant beeping, but there is also a flashing red light that indicates it as well. Outside of that, the audio is pretty much the same as before with creepy screams and screeches whenever something horrendous occurs. No complaints in this category, earning the game a:

8/10

P. Great

The Final Tally

So where does that leave us? After some quick math we find that Five Nights at Freddy's 3 earns a respectable:

8/10

P. Great

A great, could have been, conclusion to a fun and creepy series. While I do think it is the weakest of the massive line up (tier list to be released eventually), I also highly recommend it, especially if you haven't seen anyone else play the game before.

Backword

Does Five Nights at Freddy's 3 deserve such a high rating and to be counted among my recommended greats? What kind of rating would you bestow upon this game? Let me know through comment sections, social media or our mailing list (where you can also sign up for free content updates!). I appreciate every one of you for reading, and I hope to write for you again soon!

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