Five Nights at Freddy's (video game)

Five Nights at Freddy's is a 2014 game developed and published by Scott Cawthon. It was released in August 8th, 2014 for Microsoft Windows. It's the first installment of the Five Nights at Freddy's series. The game received positive reviews from critics but received widespread acclaim from audiences and fans and became one of the most popular indie horror games in the 2010s.

Five Nights at Freddy's
Hello? Hello, hello? Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you... to help you get settled in on your first night.
Protagonist(s): Mike Schmidt Genre(s): Survival Horror Point and click Platform(s): Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch Android iOS Windows Phone Release Date: August 8th, 2014 (PC) August 25, 2014 (pre-Clickteam mobile versions) November 29, 2019 (Console) Engine: Clickteam Fusion 2.5 Developer(s): Scott Cawthon Publisher(s): ScottGames Series: Five Nights at Freddy's Predecessor: Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (chronologically) Successor: Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (by release date)

Why It Rocks

1. The game marks the start of one of the most popular and most influential horror franchises in indie gaming history.
2. The very concept of a night guard surviving 5 nights from 4 possessed animatronics who want to kill William Afton because he murdered them, but try to kill Mike Afton, since they think that man is William Afton is creative, unique and interesting and something that people have barely done before, hence one of the main reasons why it became so popular.
3. Although the gameplay is very simple, it's very enjoyable and becomes challenging in later nights, so it doesn't become very repetitive.
4. The lore of the game is superb, intriguing and excellent and is often considered one of the greatest lores ever, which is another main reason why the franchise became so popular.
   1. On top of that, the game doesn't blatantly tell you the lore. Instead, the lore is told through multiple easter eggs but they're done very cleverly, so it doesn't become jumbled and messy, unlike a certain game that tries to imitate it 3 years later...
5. Despite using Clickteam Fusion 2.5, which is generally considered outdated, the graphics look pretty good despite obviously being 2D with 3D effects.
   • In fact, thanks to the success of this game, multiple fans decided to use said engine to create fan games that surprisingly have realistic graphics and scarier atmosphere.
6. The Phone Guy is a very helpful character that tries to explain what to do to survive the night, and he actually does it decently. Sadly, he doesn't appear in Night 5, likely due to him dying.
7. The game is responsible for popularizing the indie horror genre and spearheading the mascot horror genre, as well becoming an icon in horror franchises. And thanks to this game, other franchises were made like Bendy and the Ink Machine, Tattletail and Hello Neighbor (despite the latter being bad).
8. Great console ports with the optional microtransactions from the mobile versions now being unlocked and the controls actually work pretty well.

Bad Qualities

1. While the gameplay is enjoyable, it can be boring at times, especially in early nights. It's also repetitive. However, it becomes challenging in later nights.
2. The early mobile version of the game, the one developed by Scott Cawthon himself is terrible due to various issues, mostly caused by the terrible compression (fortunately this game and its four games received a major graphic update with the intention of being identical to other platforms):
   1. The jumpscares miss several frames, making them ineffective, which makes it less scary.
   2. Missing sound effects.
   3. Uglier graphics.
   4. Frequent stuttering.
   5. Most of these issues are even worse in the Windows Phone version, with even uglier graphics and it's borderline unplayable.
   6. Both the old and the new mobile ports feature microtransactions in a 5$ dollar game, but thankfully they're completely optional.
3. The jumpscares are rather cheap and stop being scary after you learn how to play and they can mostly come off as annoying.
4. The 20/20/20/20 mode in Custom Night is purely luck-based, due to the AI going everywhere and make the night completely frustrating and a chore to complete.
5. The 2023 film based on the games is rather mediocre.

Reception

Five Nights at Freddy's received positive reviews from critics and audiences. It received a 78/100 critic score and a 7.5 user score on Metacritic. Outside of Metacritic, the game was widely praised for its concept, the lore and the gameplay. Thanks to the success of the game, it gained a devoted fanbase and it's often cited as one of the greatest indie franchises ever.

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