Five Nights at Freddy's Review

 (AUTHORS NOTE: This game has serious screamers and is quite scary. This is your warning.)

What's more fun then a trip to Freddy's?

  Five Nights at Freddy's came and went like an obnoxious screamer. One second it was the darling of gamers everywhere and then it was forgotten come September. One might think it was another flavor of the month that got drowned about by bigger happenings - but FN@F grabbed our attention and moistened our pants. It was just it's brief length that had us quickly turn elsewhere.

Five Nights at Freddy is a hard game to define in terms of genre. Horror obviously, but it is not the survival horror run-and-gun most typical of horror games in recent years. FN@F is more of a resource management game with a heaping helping of pure terror mixed in. You play as Mike who has just gotten a job as a night shift security guard at "Freddy Fazbear's" - basically a Chuckie Cheese. You spend the game in a small office, alternating between watching the security cameras and looking out the doors of the office for "intruders", all while carefully conserving your small allotment of power. And all the while, the animatronics from the stage show are out to get your ass.

Your eternal foes

The great success of Five Nights at Freddy's is that solitary developer Scott Cawthon deftly understands what fear is. Fear is a response to the unknown - as in, not knowing where that damn bear is and whether he's about to get you (or whether you are already dead or not). FN@F may not be technically stunning, but Cawthon more then compensates with his attention to detail and atmosphere. Even sitting alone in the office, thinking you're in no danger, is still a frightening experience. The mysterious and misleading phone calls only heighten your isolation. And when you reach the end of a "night" at 6 AM the feeling of relief is palpable. 

Your prison cell

Similar to many under the radar indie titles, the greatest flaw of FN@F is the very brief length. Someone with nerves of steel could probably knock this one out in 5 or 6 hours. At only $5 on Steam, however, the length is hard to judge too harshly. Another disappointing aspect was the story. The story of Freddy Fazbear's is brilliantly told through tidbits found during gameplay, but I just wished for more. When individuals started beating the outrageously difficult "4-20" mode it seemed certain that the community had only just scratched the surface of the games lore - sadly, that was the end. Hopefully Mr. Cawthon expands the story (and everything else) when he makes FN@F2.

Simple fact of the matter is, if you like horror games (or screamers, for some reason) Five Nights at Freddy's is worth your time and money. If you are looking for a good Halloween title come next month, your five dollars is absolutely well spent here. Just be sure you know what you're getting into.