Game of the Week Review: Five Nights at Freddy’s Review by Ben Wall
Hey y’all it’s Ben Balls here to talk about why FNaF is actually a great game!!
Yes, I say actually because despite the memes and “cringe” culture surrounding the franchise, especially with how it’s grown over the years, the first game in this conglomerate is perhaps the series’ best.
It’s important to understand the context of when the first FNaF came out to truly appreciate it’s significance in the indie horror industry. At a time when slenderman clones and gmod horror maps were at the peak of the indie horror games genre, many were sick of the same game over and over with no uniqueness or innovation to the medium. Every indie horror game fell relatively close to the same formula: run around and perform tasks while something chases you.
In comes Scott Cawthon, an indie developer that’s struggling to make a name for himself to support him and his family. Scott Cawthon came up with the idea for FNaF after someone called his previous, family-friendly-intended indie game, *Chipper and Sons Lumber Co*, “creepy” and “lifeless”. After pondering why his characters in the game were creepy, he ran with that idea and decided to create a brand new horror experience, and wanted to separate himself from the industry.
In came FNaF, a horror game centered around a security guard working a night shift at a Chucky-Cheese-like attraction filled with “creepy” and “lifeless” animatronic characters, intended for children. In this game, the goal is to survive the night until 6am while the animatronic characters come to life and try to get into your office. What makes FNaF different from many horror games in the past, and what I think makes it especially unique and innovative, is the different formula. In FNaF, rather than the danger chasing you and your objective being run away, the danger is coming towards you and your objective is *survive*. You have doors, lights, and a camera to defend yourself, there’s no running away from anything.
Another thing that made the first FNaF especially scary was the idea of a “Nightmare Scenario”. This scenario can be described by two ideas: The lack of information, and the lack of action. At the start of each night, you only have the “Phone Guy” to help you defend yourself against the looming animatronics, but he doesn’t exactly give you all the details on exactly how to survive, so the rest is up to trial and error for you. You know that shutting the doors = defense from the animatronics. But it’s not that simple, as you have a limited amount of battery to get you through the night, so wasting time shutting the doors all night is not an option. This is a great way to make the player feel uncomfortable and nervous as they recognize the threat is coming, but without the ability to run and the lack of information and action, fear starts to settle in. When is the most optimal time to shut the doors? Where are the animatronics? Are they hiding in the dark corners of the camera, or are they right outside my door? Why is foxy different? What do I do with Foxy? Where is Freddy? Is he even on the cameras? Bonnie is outside my door camera but do I shut it now? Why is there music in the kitchen? Who’s making noises in Pirate’s Cove? What are those footsteps? Who is Golden Freddy?????
Yeah. Coupled with the nerve-wracking gameplay is the intense atmosphere that Scott Cawthon created in the game. Playing this game at 3am with the lights on and headphones at full blast is something not for the faint of heart. The atmospheric sounds, the various noises generated by the animatronics as they shuffle around the pizzeria, the creepy static from the cameras, the strange laughter that can be heard that echoes down the halls, and the intense ambience that drones during the whole night is some of the best atmosphere building in most horror games.
To wrap up, FNaF is a very good indie horror game to an industry that desperately needed innovation and a change of pace. Of course, nowadays the indie horror game industry is filled with FNaF clones, much like back then it was filled with Slender clones. Maybe one of you guys can change up the pace of this industry like FNaF did back then, as it’s about time things changed. Regardless, FNaF has earned its name in the Hall of Fame for indie horror, for very much good reason. Whether the 2000+ sequels that Scott Cawthon generated earn that title is up to question, but I think the first FNaF is a phenomenal game.
