1. Story

Chica preparing for a jumpscare.

Five Nights at Freddys, written by Scott Cawthon, is a survival horror game that takes place in a creepy kid themed pizzeria known as Freddy Fazbear’s. Players take the role of an overnight security guard whose goal is to make it through all 5 nights, from 12am to 6am. 

To help make it to night five, players must conserve power and monitor the security cameras all while being jumpscared by the animatronics that have the ability to roam free. 

Hidden around the game are many different kinds of easter eggs to find that all lead to the start of the FNAF (Five Nights at Freddy’s) lore. Different newspaper clippings that are shown in the background reveal the tragic backstory about 5 children and a man who is potentially hiding in one of the animatronics suits. 

Many players who find lore interesting and are up for the challenging nights may find this game amusing and addicting to play.

2. Game Play

Golden Freddy mysteriously appears.

When night one starts, players are seated in the security office for the entire 5 nights monitoring the security cameras. There is an optional 6th and 7th night that players can play, the difficulty is increased and it also includes a difficulty adjuster (only for custom night 7). 

Even though there are animatronics standing in doors waiting to attack, players must strategize to save their power. The power supply will continuously go down the more players use the security cameras which are needed to monitor the animatronics, flash the lights in the doorways and even to close them. 

Once 6am is reached, players are greeted with a loud church bell noise, a paycheck is received, and the next night starts with a filled up power supply and a slightly higher difficulty since each night gets more challenging and scary to play through. 

Getting the hang of a good strategy in the beginning helps a lot towards the end when all of the animatronics start popping up more frequently and things start getting more intense. This creates an interesting yet stressful challenge for players as they try to survive. 

3. Balance

Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica taking a break.

How fair is Five Nights at Freddy’s? The first night is pretty simple, it acts as a nice introduction to the game and controls as well as maintaining its creepy vibes and setting the tone for the rest of the playthrough. Night 1 has Bonnie and Chica mainly roaming around the facility with a few appearances of foxy occasionally standing in the doorway. Night 2 follows the same pattern with a slight increase of appearances. Night 3 is where it starts to get more challenging as more animatronics are thrown into the mix with the appearance of Freddy. Foxy is also slightly more active and persistent with trying to attack.
Jumpscares are increased while players have to figure out a good strategy for cameras and checking the power supply in nights 4 and 5 since all of the animatronics are out, with an occasional jumpscare of Golden Freddy if the player is lucky enough to trigger him.

4. Character Design

Foxy, Chica, Freddy, and Bonnie band headshots.

Foxy, Chica, Freddy and Bonnie are the core 4 animatronics that are roaming the pizzeria. Five Nights at Freddy’s puts a lot of work into the game by making the characters look “cute” for children during the day and terrifying for the security guard at night. Some of the animatronics (like Bonnie) carry props since they form a band that performs mainly for birthday parties. 

However, once the night's kick off and jump scares are happening, players can notice some details on each of the characters such as Chicas cupcake or Foxy's hook for a hand. There is also the noticeable decay look (mentioned a lot throughout the game) as well as some exposed animatronic parts just to add to the level of scary. 

With each new game that gets released in the franchise, the characters will get a new and refreshed look, or new characters are added that look slightly similar to the original 4. All of these small details relate back to the main lore that Scott has created.

5. Graphics and Visual Effects

Bonnie staring into your soul.

Scott Cawthon used Autodesk 3Ds Max to create this look by adding destroyed visuals during some camera and jumpscare moments. All of the animatronics plus their “decaying” looks were also created as 3D models using this software and published using Clickteam fusion 2.5 (A free way to create apps and games). 

Fun time animatronics that kids enjoy watching for birthday parties are not peoples first thought when it comes to being scary. The run down and abandoned look of the Fazbear pizzeria adds a psychological element to the game that a lot of horror fans enjoy when seeking out a scare. Five Nights at Freddy’s manages to look realistic while creating suspenseful backgrounds that add a scare factor for players.

6. Sound Effects

Distorted Freddy.

For a lot of the sound effects heard in the game, Scott Cawthon used several different files that he himself purchased off the internet. He also recorded various different sound effects over a 6 month period. 

Jumpscares are made more intense when players get to hear a high pitch sound when one of the animattics attacks or a distorted whispering noise if the Freddy animatronics sneaks into the room. There are even easter egg noises hidden around the office, such as a honk sound while clicking on the nose of a Freddy Fazbear poster.

When it comes to most horror games, sounds and background noises play a huge part in creating a spooky atmosphere that sometimes puts players in a fight or flight mode. Five Nights at Freddy’s uses distorted audios to build up the tension through each night as jumpscares increase, maintaining the suspenseful nature of the game.

7. Replayability

Freddy Fazbear is now hiring!

Having continuous jumpscares and spooky ambiance might make it difficult to play the game if players have never played before. On the other hand, the jumpscares and ambiance is the main playstyle for Five Nights at Freddy’s, and is what makes it the game it is today

This point and click survival horror experience may have players wanting to come back for more, especially to find all of the easter eggs and lore hidden within the game. The animatronics will follow the same path and timings with increased difficulty each night but Golden Freddy is still a rare event that has a 1 in 100,000 chance of making an appearance. 

The price for attempting to survive 5 Nights is $4.99 on steam, and offers a play time of about 3 hours, which means 3 hours of jumpscares, creepy animatronics, and spooky sound effects.

8. Updates and New Content

Family Reunion. Time to Party!

Five Nights at Freddy’s came out in 2014. There are about 10 games and over 1,000 characters in the series so far, each adding to the ongoing lore of the game. For the most part, the first few games are similar in play style.

There is also a version called Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria Simulator (free to play), this lets you play various mini games and decorate the pizzeria while learning about the afton family (the FNAF series main lore). Security Breach is the latest of installments, this game lets you move around versus staying in a single room. 

Each game introduces new animatronics and new environments that are sure to scare players. Intense fans may also enjoy the separate book series that Scott Cawthon created. 

These on the surface have little to do with animatronics and pizza places but, taking a deeper look behind the stories, it's easy to see that there are references, hidden lore, and puzzles to uncover.

To add even more alluring content, in October, 2023, fans will get to experience a live action movie, starring Matthew Lillard as William Afton and Josh Hutcherson as the security guard.

9. Five Nights at Freddy’s Community

Markiplier and Funtime Freddy. 

Scott Cawthon makes this series in a way that draws in fans who enjoy horror and mystery. FNAF fans take to twitter, reddit or youtube to theorize and talk about their opinions on the series since everything is connected. Everyone shares theories or screen grabs from the games to pinpoint potential eaters eggs and missed clues.

Well known youtubers for Five Nights at Freddy’s include MatPat (a game theorist), who talks about the different mysteries and lore wrapped up within the game including all of the books Scott wrote. Scott also likes to comment and “tease” fans about how correct they are with their theories. Markiplier is another name fans may recognize when it comes to the thrilling series for his playthrough videos.

10. Overall Fun Factor

Bonnie, Freddy, and Toy Bonnie look fed up with you. 

The plot alone is enough for some players to enjoy finding clues while trying to avoid the animatronics, appealing to horror and mystery fans. Making its mark on the indie horror game involving lore about a serial killer and his family spread across each game keeps fans excited for the next release as well as being able to look for those hidden easter eggs in the background.

The fact that the game is $4.99, plus the mystery, animatronics, loud/distroed noises, dark atmosphere and visually creepy jumpscares keep players coming back for more.