Most know how the story of F Na F goes. Scott Cawthon, then a struggling indie dev, got a review on one of his games that likened his characters to creepy animatronics. Scott used this to his advantage, making a game about watching actual creepy animatronics through cams and avoiding death. Thus, in 2014, Five Nights at Freddy's was born.
Despite not being a big game by any means, it's aged well. The premise is simple and works well for it: you're a night guard at a pizzeria. Its animatronic performers move around at night, intending to get to your office. Hear out the guide on the other end of the phone. Shut the doors to stay alive, but don't let your power run out. The animatronics will leave after a while, but you can bet they'll be back again. Above all, make it to 6 AM. Each night will be harder than the last.
The first F Na F boasts a simple but effective gameplay loop, and the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere and ambience create a strong sense of immersion. The animatronics have uncanny designs, giving them a special creep factor that's hard to recapture. The game starts off with Freddy's bandmates, Bonnie and Chica, who respectively head for the left and right doors of your office. You're given just enough time to learn the controls and how to fend them off before slowly ramping up the difficulty and introducing more elements each night. Soon you'll watch Foxy the Pirate from his cove, lest he rush your office. And while Freddy initially only gets you if you run out of power, he becomes a huge threat when he finally becomes active. This culminates in a desperate challenge to stay alive while conserving power.
There's also the famous jumpscares, which you receive if an animatronic makes it into your office. While only Freddy's power-on jumpscare is intimidating to me, the rest have the potential to startle you and feel organically rendered with the room. Few of the sequels/prequels manage to capture the fluidity of these jumpscares again, which is unfortunate as they often feel much stiffer. Besides, even if you're not a fan of jumpscares, the grisly fate of being stuffed into an animatronic suit and marred to death by its metal insides is reason enough not to get caught.
Lastly, there's the lore. The game skillfully uses story breadcrumbs (both through your instructor Phone Guy and easter eggs around the map), building a mystery and allowing players to learn of the tragedies that befell Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. You can find newspaper clippings about murdered children, Phone Guy tells you about a "Bite of '87" that led to banning animatronics from walking around during the day and there are enigmatic but creepy easter eggs like Golden Freddy to encounter.
In light of later entries, sometimes simpler can mean better. F Na F 1 is a solid and easily digestible game that holds up well to this day, with the novelty of haunted animatronics for villains and a feel unique for its time. It's well-executed, fittingly sinister and spookily fun. 7.5/10!
An indie horror classic
Most know how the story of F Na F goes. Scott Cawthon, then a struggling indie dev, got a review on one of his games that likened his characters to creepy animatronics. Scott used this to his advantage, making a game about watching actual creepy animatronics through cams and avoiding death. Thus, in 2014, Five Nights at Freddy's was born.
Despite not being a big game by any means, it's aged well. The premise is simple and works well for it: you're a night guard at a pizzeria. Its animatronic performers move around at night, intending to get to your office. Hear out the guide on the other end of the phone. Shut the doors to stay alive, but don't let your power run out. The animatronics will leave after a while, but you can bet they'll be back again. Above all, make it to 6 AM. Each night will be harder than the last.
The first F Na F boasts a simple but effective gameplay loop, and the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere and ambience create a strong sense of immersion. The animatronics have uncanny designs, giving them a special creep factor that's hard to recapture. The game starts off with Freddy's bandmates, Bonnie and Chica, who respectively head for the left and right doors of your office. You're given just enough time to learn the controls and how to fend them off before slowly ramping up the difficulty and introducing more elements each night. Soon you'll watch Foxy the Pirate from his cove, lest he rush your office. And while Freddy initially only gets you if you run out of power, he becomes a huge threat when he finally becomes active. This culminates in a desperate challenge to stay alive while conserving power.
There's also the famous jumpscares, which you receive if an animatronic makes it into your office. While only Freddy's power-on jumpscare is intimidating to me, the rest have the potential to startle you and feel organically rendered with the room. Few of the sequels/prequels manage to capture the fluidity of these jumpscares again, which is unfortunate as they often feel much stiffer. Besides, even if you're not a fan of jumpscares, the grisly fate of being stuffed into an animatronic suit and marred to death by its metal insides is reason enough not to get caught.
Lastly, there's the lore. The game skillfully uses story breadcrumbs (both through your instructor Phone Guy and easter eggs around the map), building a mystery and allowing players to learn of the tragedies that befell Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. You can find newspaper clippings about murdered children, Phone Guy tells you about a "Bite of '87" that led to banning animatronics from walking around during the day and there are enigmatic but creepy easter eggs like Golden Freddy to encounter.
In light of later entries, sometimes simpler can mean better. F Na F 1 is a solid and easily digestible game that holds up well to this day, with the novelty of haunted animatronics for villains and a feel unique for its time. It's well-executed, fittingly sinister and spookily fun. 7.5/10!