Five Nights at Freddy's

Five Nights at Freddy's is a survival horror video game of the point-and click variety. It was made by indie creator and developer Scott Cawthon and is the first in a series of four games. In this entry to the series, the game takes place in a fictional, family-friendly pizza restaurant akin to "Chuck E. Cheese" named "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza". The player takes on the role of a newly minted night security guard. Nothing is as it seems in this game, however, and players quickly tense, waiting for the first jump scare.

Players take the role of Mike Schmidt, the new night security guard. As a voicemail left behind by Mike's predecessor plays on Day 1, players are told that at night, the animatronic characters that are employed by the restaurant during the day to entertain the children have a habit of coming alive and moving around the restaurant. While the former employee assures Mike that he will do fine and not to worry, he does also cryptically warn Mike that it would be for the best if Mike manages to avoid being caught by one of the animatronic suits. Apparently, should that happen, the animatronics will see him as an endoskeleton, not a human, and will try to forcibly stuff him into a spare mechanical suit. It is made more than obvious that this means certain death.

The goal of the game is to survive to the end of the shift, from midnight to 6:00 A.M., for five days in a row. Each shift lasts approximately 8 minutes and 36 seconds for the PC version. Completing five nights will unlock a special sixth night. Completion of the sixth night will unlock a custom night.

The player sits in the security guard office for the whole duration of the game, being unable to move. The only thing the player has to defend themselves against the roaming animatronics is the network of security cameras, a set of hallway lights, and hallway doors.

There are five animatronic characters in total to keep an eye on: Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Bunny, Foxy the Fox, Freddy Fazbear the Bear, and Golden Freddy. Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and Freddy have predictable movements that can been tracked with the cameras. Golden Freddy will only be triggered by a certain series of events.

Much of the horror stems from the fact that the player cannot escape from the security room. All the player can do is sit and nervously watch the cameras as the living animatronics creep ever closer. When the animatronics get to the two hallways on either side of the office, the player can shut down the doors and turn on the hallway lights in order to temporarily scare the animatronics. All of this would be tense enough, but the game amplifies the terror by giving the player finite electricity. Everything the player can do, from looking at the cameras to closing the doors, uses energy. Once the energy runs out, everything is disabled and the lights shut off. Then all the player can do is wait as music box music box plays and Freddy Fazbear lurches towards them. While the scares in this game can be stereotypical jump scares, they can still be very effective, so think twice before playing the game in the dark.

PROS:

• Available on many platforms.
• Very frightening.

CONS:

• Minimal gameplay.
• Confusing story.