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I wrote this review back in July 2016. In the original review I mentioned that that the main reason I didn't play this back in 2014 like everyone else was because at the time, I didn't have a PC and my Windows XP installation on my MacBook no longer worked. I also mentioned that it was hard to relate to because when the game was released, my town's Chuck E. Cheese's had long closed. By the time another reappeared in town c. 2005, it was too late for my childhood. and turned into a video store when I was growing up. This review also reflects the franchise as it was in 2016. For example, it mentions the Warner Bros. film option, and while WB never released it, a feature film was indeed released and became a box office hit, despite some lackluster reviews. I never knew back then that it would turn into a billion-dollar franchise. In any case, it has been given a NO RATING, which is probably what it would've been given in 2016.

I know I'm a bit late to the game but playing Five Nights at Freddy's (the original, not the sequels) is an interesting experience nonetheless. I've been never been much for horror movies, partially because they seem unpleasant and against what I like movies to be. Story is disregarded and characters are usually killed in horrific ways that even vengeful psychopaths from superhero movies don't get. What makes the game brilliant is not only that it's bloodless but it's also so simple. The premise is that you have to keep your eyes on evil creepy-looking animatronics from a pizza place (think old-school Chuck E. Cheese) as they wander around at night (the reason why they're sentient is never explained, but it's just an excuse for the plot). You can turn on the lights and close the doors if they make their way to your office, but you only a limited amount of electricity, so you have to keep checking the cameras and closing the door when you need to or you'll be treated to a rather unsettling jump scare as one of the characters approaches you and grabs you to a certain demise.

The other reason it's brilliant (from at least a marketing gameplay perspective) is that it brings back an element that has been long derided...the Digital Pictures gameplay of switching between cameras and doing stuff to manipulate your environment! This includes the infamous Night Trap but also other DP games like Double Switch. It clearly must be working since Scott Cawthon keeps churning out sequels and his insane fanbase (seriously, FNAF is one of the worst fandoms on the Internet, up there with Steven Universe) keeps it up, even to the point where Warner Bros. optioned it as a major motion picture.

Like Façade, it stands out as something more of an artifact of interest and less of a game you'd actually want to play. It's not unpleasant in the same way Façade is, but like horror movies, it's not good. I mean, I liked the horror-themed platformer Eversion, but it was also genuinely fun to play, at least until I got to the last world where I got stuck, but it was still fun. Music, story, puzzles, and fun are all generally something I look for in games but FNAF has none of that.

FINAL RATING:   

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