Five Nights at Freddy's

Scott Cawthon's first hit game and an icon in the Horror Games genre, Five Nights at Freddy's is a point-and-click with an easy-to-learn concept that had a very strong impact on the gaming community and remained relevant for a long time on YouTube, where reputable YouTubers such as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye made videos that lead the game to become popular in a relatively short time among teenagers. The game's success was due to its simplicity and shallow story (which turned into a complex timeline in the following games), making it a good introduction to horror games. An important fact to note is that Five Nights at Freddy's was the driving force behind other game franchises, such as Hello Neighbour and Bendy and the Ink Machine.

The story behind this game is simple: the protagonist is hired to work as a Night Guard for five nights (from Midnight to 6am) in a pizzeria similar to the American fast-food chain Chuck E. Cheese. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria presents itself as a decaying pizzeria for children's parties where shows are put on by a group of four animatronic robots (Freddy Bear, Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Rabbit and Foxy the Fox). The protagonist's job (which is controlled by the player) is to make sure that nothing happens to the place during the night, keeping an eye on every room in the pizzeria via a video surveillance system. This is when the "horror" element of the game comes into play: the robots come to life at night and are hostile towards the player, who can only close the office doors to protect himself from the robots' attacks (the "jumpscares"). The use of the office doors, the video surveillance cameras and the torch is limited to a percentage of the battery which, when runs out, leaves the player totally vulnerable. Each robot has a behavioural pattern that becomes more complex as the nights progress, leading the player to have a reaction time of mere seconds in order to not lose the game. The game's narrative is implied by small pieces of paper and objects scattered around the setting, as well as by easter eggs that may appear during each night and through the phone calls of "Phone Guy", the protagonist's supposed instructor who calls at the beginning of each night to explain what we should do (and who ends up revealing some of the events of this reality). Basically, the strategy of Five Nights at Freddy's is simple, with the player simply having to memorise the behaviour patterns of each robot and prevent imminent attacks through the sounds made and the use of office doors and video surveillance cameras, requiring strategy and attention throughout the game.

Despite its simplicity, Five Nights at Freddy's has generated a huge community of fans and had such an influence on POP culture that it has spawned more than 13 games, 28 books and the film that premiered on 1 November 2023. Despite being considered a game with old-fashioned graphics and gameplay, it offers the player a healthy challenge that is neither easy nor difficult. Once the player has completed the "Story Mode" (which consists of the five nights), they can still do the 6th Night (a more difficult night) and, finally, they can choose the difficulty of each robot (from 0 to 20) in the "Custom Night Mode" (where the 4/20 difficulty challenge represents the most difficult way to play the game). All that remains for me to say is that Five Nights at Freddy's is a simple game with a mild level of terror (basically zero for true fans of horror classics) and a good way to introduce the theme of horror games to new players. Although it doesn't offer much in the way of long-term entertainment (it can become repetitive or boring), it can provide a few hours of fun and a lot of satisfaction for the player when they complete each of the five nights. With that, I close this review by giving the game a rating of 7/10.