Five Nights at Freddy’sis an iconic horror game franchise that has spawned countless books, fan games, and even an ongoing movie series since its first game in 2014. The games have humble roots in point-and-click horror,but in recent years the series has moved on to entirely different genres, like a racing game (Five Laps at Freddy’s) and a side-scrolling shooter (Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space). To bring the fear back to Fazbear Entertainment,FNAFneeds to go back to the beginning.
Five Nights at Freddy’shasn’t been scary in a very long time. A series that should take place in a gross, outdated pizza restaurant with decaying animatronics has become too shiny and fresh for true horror to take root. To keep the identity of the games,FNAFneeds to take away player mobility and return to point-and-click gameplay.
FNAF Spin-Offs Like Security Breach Aren’t Nearly As Scary
Shiny And New Has Replaced Dingy And Decayed
Games likeSecurity Breachand its DLC,Ruin, are fantastic games. They’re bigger in scale than anything ever seen in theFNAFgames, with great takes on classic characters like Glamrock Freddy and Chica, butthey’re just not as scary. Being able to control a first-person protagonist throughout a 3D space takes away from the stationary horror that defined the earlier games. What makes any of the series' classicgames truly horrifying is the sense that the player is completely trapped, while also figuring out whattwistedFNAFlore is hidinginside the game.
While there are tools at the player’s disposal to protect themselves, like a solid metal door or a flimsy Freddy mask, the fact remains that they are stuck in one place until the clock hits 6 AM.The gameplay focus on keeping something out gives a unique sense of fear thatSecurity Breachis unable to replicate, except for during the occasional missions inside a control room. While players, as Gregory, are technically trapped inside the Fazbear Pizza Plex,the building is so ridiculously large that there’s never a true sense of claustrophobia.
Another major feature that newerFive Nights at Freddy’sgames lack is being grimy. ForSecurity Breach, this effect is surely on purpose, as having shiny new animatronics slowly degrade into broken versions of themselves is a major part of the game. Unfortunately,that affects the fear factor in the game, as players navigate around squeaky-clean spaces, usually while safely tucked into Glamrock Freddy’s chest.
While earlier games likeFive Nights at Freddy’s 2did introduce clean versions of the original quartet, they were offset by even more degraded versions of the animatronics, as they were missing chunks of their bodies and fur. While it’s nice to see Fazbear Entertainment pay more attention to health codes,losing the grime and run-down look of earlierFNAFgames changes the overall aesthetic.
A Classic FNAF Game Is Sorely Needed
The Horror Series Needs To Bring Back The Horror
To bring back the scares,Five Nights at Freddy’sneeds to bring back the type of horror game that started it all. Whatever shape that takes,what’s most important to the core of the series is that players do not have freedom of movement. They are trapped inside some Fazbear Entertainemnt establishment, and they really need that minimum wage paycheck, no matter howscary the animatronics stalking their halls are.
The best game to balance the fun and clean(ish) aesthetic that more recentFNAFgames have presented isFreddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator.Combining the gameplay of a business simulator during the day with the most claustrophobicFNAFexperienceat nightmade an excellent game. AsFive Nights at Freddy’shas advanced as a series through the years, it has gained an identity that has a few core features. First and foremost are the animatronics, usually some versions of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. Second is some sort of business setting with a focus on pizza and absolutely negligent management. The third was originally the point-and-click gameplay, but that has slowly been abandoned as the years passed by.
Games likeInto The Pitare on the right path to bring back the horror toFNAF, with its unique art style and absolutely terrifying depiction of Spring Bonnie. This game has most of the core features of the series, including the villain at the center of the Fazbear Universe and a slightly unsafe pizza restaurant. The success andcanonicity ofInto the Pitis a signal thatFNAF’saudience is primed for more horror in their games. This game gives a lot more mobility to the main character, which brings up the main feature that the nextFNAFgame needs to have.
A Point-And-Click Game Could Save FNAF
Players Should Be Stuck And Afraid
What multiple fan games have shown for the series is thathaving a character with mobility and too much freedom takes away from what madeFive Nights at Freddy’ssuch a smash hitin the beginning. Beyond the instantly iconic characters and the no-frills introduction, the gameplay of the firstFive Nights at Freddy’sis what drew fans in. Point-and-click gameplay is underrated, and it hadn’t been seen in the horror genre for a long time.
Most recentFNAFgames only feature point-and-click gameplay like a sort of Easter Egg, like in the true ending ofSister Locationand near the end ofSecurity Breach, andlosing this core gameplay is simultaneously losing the identity of the series as a whole. Any game can add some variant of Freddy and the gang alongside moderately scary gameplay, but point-and-click is the heart and soul ofFNAF.Five Nights At Freddy’sis still a massively popular series with successful games, but as the series continues to expand to increasingly zany and creative games, it should try to keepthat core identity in mind and not lose itself after more than ten years of success.
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Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a multimedia horror franchise created by Scott Cawthon that began with the first entry in the video game series, Five Nights at Freddy’s. The core story of the franchise focuses on a pizza franchise known as “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza,” a kid-friendly entertainment center with animatronic hosts. The stores are closed when the animatronics begin to go berserk, slaying some of their guests. However, for most entries, a security guard is tasked with observing them at night, completely unaware of the horrible history behind the mysterious, murderous robots.
