Five Nights at Freddy's

[size=+1]Five Nights at Freddy's[/size]​

I caved, OK?! I gave in. I saw the Markiplier Let's Play! I saw the Game Grumps one! The thing is...So did a few friends of mine. So, I got to play this game myself because they brought it and pushed me forwards to be the one to play as they watched.

Which is a rarity for me as I usually have to wait weeks and weeks before I get to play games that are doing the rounds on Youtube Let's Play Channels. Because I either have to be thorough or up to date. Sadly, can't be both...

Ah well...It's a good thing this is a good game.

For those that still don't know, you play as a guy that is stupendously desperate for the poultry $120 dollars the job of Night Watchman at a Family Pizza Restaurant called 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizza' offers. You are tasked with surviving the night while the animatronics that perform for the kids during the day, move around freely at night. This would be fine if it wasn't apparent that these machines would likely mistake you for an animatronic if they found you. And if they do find you, they'll attempt to stuff you into one of the costumes. That happens to already be full of electronics and metal.

Forcefully, I might add.

It's a pretty grim fate. However, your line of defence are two doors to your office, some lights and the system of security cameras in the restaurant.

But why could you possibly want to shut out such beloved children's characters? Actually, they're pretty ugly, even as far as cheap animatronics go.​

As a horror game, this is pretty excellent.

As a reason to develop something of a respectful grudge against the developer 'Scott Games', it's pretty compelling.

Gameplay is where this shines the most as the story has plenty of holes in it. Firstly, you have a limited amount of power you can use to run your equipment. So...Why is it all on a generator? Because it's cheaper? Because Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is meant to be spiraling the drain at this point, that does make sense but why leave me with only one night's worth of fuel for it?

Well, there another thing here: you can't leave the office. It's against company policy to leave the office so you can't move to go fill up. Although, when there's monstrous animatronics running around, who would honestly care?

Well, there's also Foxy of Pirate Cove. Each of the roaming Animatronics behaves differently. Freddy will only attack if you run out of power and the place is plunged into darkness. Bonnie the Rabbit and Chica the Chick will roam the hallways and poke their heads into the office. If they spot you, they will come and get you so you have to be vigilant. If you see them at the open doorways, you slam the door on them to stop them. Lastly, Foxy will come and get you if you don't watch him enough. However, he'll still come and get you if you watch him too often, ensuring that your at least using your camera's properly.

Did you think it would be good to just shut both doors and wait? Well, the doors will pop open when the power drains away due to a genuine safety consideration with such doors that dictates they must open in case of fire during a power cut. Plus, you'll bring about your death faster as doing anything other than just sitting there will drain your power reserves faster. And you have till midnight to 6 AM to get through.

But then...Why come back at all after the first night? It's just madness!

In terms of story, over-thinking this is kinda easy to me. But I like it. We're playing by horror rules. This is a broken down and desperate company that's clinging onto whatever it can to keep itself afloat. It's miserably negligent, like if The Weyland Corporation took over 'Chuck E. Cheese'. No wonder it's going down the tubes! It's a wonder its survived for so long.

"Don't mind the weird, fleshy pods in the broom cupboard either. Just sit down, eat your pizza and don't think about that smell of blood coming from the robots."​

Nope, what brings this together is the gameplay.

For a quick idea of the gameplay, imagine a cross between Papers, Please! and Slender. You cannot move, you have little defence and what your doing is affecting both paranoia and suspense upon your frantic mind while also doing something unimaginably stupid. It's the equivalent of sitting in a system of caves with hungry, angry bears looking around for you. Simply the act of watching these things roam around in unpredictable ways is terrifying. Not necessarily horrifying as the Animatronics range from kinda doofy to mildly unsettling but not enough to carry the game.

No, it's desperately trying to avoid them all executing that expertly delivered 'Ooga-Booga!' when you lose. Yes, this contains jump scares but in the best possible way.

For starters, you head is doing most of the work (as it should be in Horror, I might add). You want to win to avoid being scared and the build up is the meat of the experience. It manages to condition you towards wanting to survive simply because no one likes a jump scare. And the ones in here are fast and decent. It's the fact that it isn't the be all, end all of the experience that sets this above Slender, at least for me.

You're really helpless here. Sure, Slendy is stalking you and that delivers something similar but Freddy's keeps you constantly busy, stretching both your paranoia and attention span while Slender just lets you meander. You forget about Slender, most of the time because he just minces around until you get close to completing your goal. You see, Bonnie and Chica could arrive at any time, you're always preoccupied about their proximity to you.

Add to that your power consumption, so you have to concentrate on ensuring that every single action you make counts.

Add to that, Foxy's demanding nature.

Add to that random attempts to distract you with weird glimpses of Freddy's face across the screen. I don't know why but bloody hell, it freaks me out!

Add to that the fact that I occasionally had cameras die on me with no discernible reason then return to normal a moment later.

Add to that the fact that there are regular bumps and footfalls and even Freddy's low chuckle echoing through the halls.

The stretch on your frantic mind trying to keep up with everything so you don't get that nasty fright created a troubled fear that was a pure as a nightmare. I was actually shaking after playing this.

Pretty accurate representation of my state afterwards.​

Now, this definitely deserves its time in the limelight. However, I can't imagine it lasting long as longevity is rather brief. Once the rhythms and patterns are down, it's possible to get relatively accustomed to the scares. It's biggest appeal is when it's played by the ignorant, rather than the experienced. Even so, I went in knowing how to play and what to do but I was still stumped by the third night.

I...I also refused to play it again.

Like I said, the unpredictability of the Animatronics does your head in. They follow patterns but they have some leeway that makes them just that extra bit more animalistic with their movements. Some times they head straight for you, sometimes they toy with you.

I think it's pedestal is well deserved. It's just expertly crafted. It's simple and uncluttered to deliver you a powerful jolt to your sense of safety. And I rarely think it does so cheaply. After all, it's horror; the odds have to be stacked against you to make it engagingly unpleasant to play but they don't feel outside the realms of the possible.

To sweeten that deal, it's only £4. It's a cheep scare, sure with not much to do when you complete all seven levels. But it's got the clout most AAA Horror Titles somehow manage to leave out.

And I have the footage of various Youtubers screaming like they were being tasered in the throat to prove it.

Markiplier: My Alternative to Pewdie Pie and superior Frightened Face-Puller. Look! You could drive a train through that open maw!​