The Horror Comes Home (Five Nights at Freddy's 4 Review)

Foreword

Surprising absolutely no one, Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was not the end of Scott Cawthon's giant of a series. Released on July 23rd, 2015 – barely more than 4 months after the release of the 3rd game. The promotional content for this game made it readily apparent that we were going back in time. It was impossible not to see art of the twisted animatronics with the simple question of me “Was it Me?” This was referring to the one mystery that had yet to be solved... the Bite of '87 and which robot did the deed.

But before we go through all that, allow me to display the new (kinda) rating system:

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

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

8) Recommended - 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) Condemned -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

As the foreword stated, this game is the first game in  theFNAF chronology (possibly excluding the books. I haven't dived into that insanity and might never). The player is put into control of the unnamed Crying Child. The game is opened up to a haunting message of “5 Days until the Party” and a golden Fredbear plushie speaking to you. He asks “What did he do this time?” before establishing that we have been locked in our room again. He offers comfort before we are introduced more properly to our character.

As the scary bear said, we are locked in our room. We see him sitting on our bed while we have a pile of plush animatronics in the corner. Foxy is, upsettingly, missing his head. We wander around a bit while Fredbear's eyes follow us. We attempt to leave our room before accepting defeat and crying on the floor. The golden bear hauntingly tells us that “tomorrow is another day” before we are transported to the main game.

We awake up at 12AM inside a master bedroom. A closet door is in front of us while two bedroom doors are on other side of us. Armed with just a flashlight and the ability to hold the door close, we must keep the nightmare animatronics out of the room until 6AM.

This is the basic gameplay pattern for this one. Atari style gameplay where we wander either our house, the neighborhood, or the pizzeria, followed by the core mechanics of Five Nights at Freddy's. The story, as per usual, is told either through subtle background information or the Atari gameplay.

As the nights progress we are introduced to Crying Child's older brother – the infamous HE that Fredbear was speaking of. As we wander around the locations, after some time, the Crying Child will be jumpscared by the older brother wearing a Foxy Mask... or perhaps his plush head.

The surface level story for Five Nights at Freddy's 4 is that the Crying Child's birthday is around the corner. His birthday is at the Freddy Fazbear restaurant (possibly the original Fredbear's Family Diner). His brother, being a typical bully character in 1983(more on that year in a few paragraphs), torments his younger brother constantly by scaring him, locking him in his room and such. Knowing that his younger brother has fear of the animatronics, the bully and his friends decide to force the Crying Child to take a closer look at Freddy. So close, that his head is firmly inside the bear's mouth. Within an instant, the Crying Child's head is squished and the game quietly comes to a close.

If one is to complete the extra nights, the player is treated to an ending scene with Fredbear and the plushes. A voice asks “Can you here me?” before continuing to apologize for what happened, regardless if the player can hear or not. With a vow that “we're still your friends” and that “I will put you back together”, we hear a heartbeat monitor flatline and the Crying Child's body fade away.

So what does it all mean and how does the story connect back to the rest of the series, other than showcasing the bite of '83 (still not the infamous bite of '87). Allow me to go through an explanation of the lore, diving into spoilers and hidden secrets from this game, the other ones we've reviewed and a few of the games to come.

Friendly disclaimer! The Five Nights lore is... convoluted and complicated. Everything I am about to write out has the ability to be wrong. Keep in mind that this is the canon as I understand and believe it to be.

First and foremost, I'll start off simply by saying that there is evidence that suggest this game takes place during 1983. If the player is to linger around the television on one of the nights, they will see a Fredbear and Friends television show that is dated 1983. Furthermore, this cannot be the infamous 1987 bite because the victim of that incident did survive, albeit without their frontal lobe, while the Crying Child here clearly has died.

This game, obviously, is much more connected to the main story than the surface level plot of the bite. It is widely believed (perhaps even proven at this point, but unless the devs or the game itself says it – it is all speculation) that the Crying Child is the youngest son of Purple Guy, the serial killer behind the Missing Children's Incident. While it is never hinted at in Five Nights 4, information from future games (which we will cover when those games are reviewed here) strongly suggests that the house Purple Guy travels to in a mini game is the same house in Five Nights 4.

Another important detail to keep in the back of your mind is that the older brother's name is most likely Michael or Mike for short. A future game, as well as some supplementary merchandise – because that is how far the rabbit hole goes for this series – strongly suggests this information.

And finally, if the player beats one of the secret modes, they will be treated to a locked chest / trunk. The chest is secured by two padlocks, and after a moment of fiddling with it text will appear saying “Maybe some things are better left forgotten... for now.” This box... is controversial, even on the theory side of things. I won't dive too deep into what the box may mean, but keep in mind that:

A. It most likely relates to the Crying Child in some capacity.

B. The story line for the box has been most likely abandoned, as stated by Scott Cawthon.

The key take aways for the future lore and story of this series is that this is one of, if not the, first deaths caused by one of these robots. It is my belief that this is one of the major inciting incidents for Purple Guy to begin his killings. Michael is a character that must be kept in the back of your mind going forward, since he becomes integral to understanding everything.

But of course that is all just a theory – and a lawsuit if I finish that slogan.

Overall, this game is the origin to everything that occurs in the future installments. From a story stand point, this is one of the better plots that these games decide to showcase. As a result, I will gladly award this category:

9/10

Marvelous

The Gameplay

And now where this game truly shines. Five Nights at Freddy's 4, without a doubt in my mind, has the best gameplay in the entire franchise and is perfect from start to end.

The core gameplay has the player defending himself from 12AM to 6AM inside some kind of master bedroom. There are four points of attack – a door on the left and right, the closet door directly in front, and the bed directly behind the player. You will start off in the middle of the room and must either run up to one of the doors or spin around to shine your flashlight on the bed. Gone is the power management stress as the player controls an undying flashlight.

Upon running up to either bedroom door the player must listen VERY carefully. The unique mechanic with Five Nights 4 is that the player must use sound and audio cues to survive. Sound has never been more important and I absolutely adore sound based horror. Forcing the player to listen intently causes a new level of apprehension that I love to hate. Once a door is approached the player will either hear silence or the sound of breathing. If an animatronic is breathing down your child sized neck, you must slam the door shut and hold it tightly until the breathing fades away or you hear foot steps retreating back into the darkness. If you are alone in the sound of silence, you must flash your light down the hallway to prove to yourself that nothing is coming to murder you. But take care, if you flash your light in the face of an animatronic you will be instantly treated to a jump scare.

As stated previously, there are two additional points of attack. The bed behind you will have tiny, Freddy plushies that will form into a mass of the man himself. To fend these monsters off, you must simply shine your light on the bed until they scatter. And lastly, we must contend with Foxy. The closet is the final point of danger. Throughout the night, the player should hopefully notice the door jostle. Upon running up to the door, the player is greeted to an agitated Foxy screaming in your face. Act fast! If you hold the closet doors shut, Foxy is progressively turn into an adorable plush toy. Foxy does not need to be fully regressed into a plush in order for the player to be safe, but the longer Foxy has to himself – the closer to death you will be.

Admittedly, it is rather difficult to get the sounds down correctly. After playing the game for awhile, it is easy enough to know what to listen for, but it does require a couple of deaths first. Outside of that, this is the most fun I have ever had while playing a Five Nights game. I felt the most in control I ever have while feeling the greatest sense of fear. This is by far the funnest game in the franchise to play as well as the scariest, which there is most likely a correlation between the two. If you have no interest in the story but want to experience this game at it's height for gameplay, this is the one to play. It is undoubtedly a:

10/10

Big Boi Lovings

The Visuals

The newest robots to the series, the Nightmare Animatronics, are delightfully creepy. The creatures have never looked more monstrous and demonic. Several rows of teeth, glowing eyes, and patches of fur and skin missing will rush towards you to give you an early death.

Outside of the overall appearance of the animatronics, one of my favorite things is a short animation that you may be able to see when flashing your light down the hall. Every now and then you might catch a glimpse of the hulking metal turning the corner, escaping into the darkness just out of your view. It is soul crushingly scary and every time I witnessed it I would feel my heart stop.

The overall look of the player's room is fine. The most notable thing, to which also lends credence to some lore elements, is that the player may notice a few out of place items sitting next to the bed such an IV drip or a bottle of pills. The working theory is that the Nightmare Animatronics are literally named thus. The events of the game, the night time survival portion, occurs after the Crying Child had been bitten by Freddy. The brain damage, combined with the child's trauma, morphs his imagination into the monsters we must ward off. The appearance of medical equipment may suggest that the Crying Child is either in a hospital bed, and reality is bleeding through, or the child may have received at home care.

The final thing to mention is the Atari style game, which has been of the same quality as the others. A little more detailed and varied, since we are able to travel several more locations. Ultimately, an enjoyable and welcomed addition as always. Overall, I grant the visuals a:

8/10

Recommended

The Audio

The other incredible improvement that I absolutely adore. Since the main mechanic is centered around audio, the sound design must be top notch. Without the incredible nature of the sound in this game, I don't believe it would be nearly as terrifying.

As I stated previously, there is such apprehension when you are forced to listen for the sounds of heavy breathing. The breathing itself, horrifying, of course. There is also a sense of helplessness at the start whenever you are mastering the mechanics that I feel adds to the overall joyous nature this new horror element offers.

The thing that makes it so scary is that you know there is danger that lies beyond that door. The nature of jumpscares is that they are loud and in your face. Obviously, the loud noises are something you want to avoid, so forcing the player to listen so closely and so intently – giving their full focus to the thing that they want to avoid is just masterful horror design.

Outside of the main gameplay, there are several instances of incredible ambiance. You'll grow use to the sound of tiny feet scurrying across carpet, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching from the hall, a dog barking, a grandfather clock sounding and the low chime that makes up the soundtrack. This is the best the Five Nights series has ever sounded, easily earning itself a:

10/10

Big Boi Lovings

The Final Tally

As stated in the foreword, this is without a doubt my favorite Five Nights. The scares are delightful and the gameplay is the best it has ever been. The only thing left to do is the short math to show that this game is a:

9/10

Marvelous

The Backword

How does this game stand up to your scrunity? Is it also one of your favorites or do you disagree with me? Join the discussion either through the comment section, my socials, or our mailing list – where you can also receive free content updates! I appreciate you taking the time to hear my opinion and I hope to write again for you soon! Happy Reading!

email: ragdollgamers.business@gmail.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrBuradori

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bradicalradical

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradicalTweets

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradicalpics/?hl=en