Five Nights at Freddies, the best designed indie horror game of recent memory?

[lacktheknack]

I'll never play it, but holy crap, it's probably the best and most innovative thing to happen to the horror genre in years.

I'm not sure what's innovative about compiling horror clichés and throwing in a slight "Blink" vibe to the whole thing.

Granted, it was funny watching Jim Sterling get caught in a jump scare, but innovative?

Yeah, innovative.

You can't move from where you're planted, for one thing.

They use a constantly-draining meter that you have to use efficiently to survive to effectively raise tension. I really can't remember a game where you do that (not counting air meters, anyways).

Also, compiled horror cliches? I didn't find it to be cliche at all beyond "uncanny animal costumes". It's really fresh and I've not seen something of this type before. (It's possible I've missed a flood of games featuring murderous fluffy animal costumes, and if I have, please point me in that direction.) Also, I've watched an LPer play four nights of it, and no one's died (when he succeeds, anyways). That's also very uncommon in horror.

 

[lacktheknack]

Question: Why not dress up like one of the mascots? Makes them think you're one of them.

Also, why do you need a security guard at night? Seems like if vandals broke in the T-1000 muppets could take care of themselves.

Then again, like the OP said, your character is very stupid.

The first phone call states that the heads to the mascot costumes have wires, crossbars, etc in it that makes it impossible to have it fit on a human head without killing him. Yeah it's a bit of a cop out but it does make some level of sense.

As for why they need a guard, Mirroga above me said the prevalent theory is that you're bait not a guard. The fourth and fifth night phone call seems to suggest as much as well.

From what I've seen, theres a room that has costumes that you can put on. Whats to stop you from grabbing one before your shift and putting it on to protect yourself.

As for bait, why not dummies on strings (to simulate movement) to distract them?

Did... did you not read a single thing he wrote?

You cannot fit into the mascot costumes. If you could, being caught would be a freaky but minor annoyance, since all they want to do is stuff you into one of the animatronic costumes.

And how does your bait comment make any sense?

 

[DeimosMasque]

From what I've seen, theres a room that has costumes that you can put on. Whats to stop you from grabbing one before your shift and putting it on to protect yourself.

As for bait, why not dummies on strings (to simulate movement) to distract them?

Firstly, those aren't costumes for Humans. They're costumes for the animatronics.. which in my last point I pointed out that a human head can fit into one of those without their skulls being crushed.

Second, dummies on strings will get caught and then shoved into costumes before 2am and thus they get to roam free and leave.

Another thing I didn't mention before, if you get to Night Five...

Spoiler

it has become obvious that they aren't just crazy robots.

 

[RaikuFA]

Question: Why not dress up like one of the mascots? Makes them think you're one of them.

Also, why do you need a security guard at night? Seems like if vandals broke in the T-1000 muppets could take care of themselves.

Then again, like the OP said, your character is very stupid.

The first phone call states that the heads to the mascot costumes have wires, crossbars, etc in it that makes it impossible to have it fit on a human head without killing him. Yeah it's a bit of a cop out but it does make some level of sense.

As for why they need a guard, Mirroga above me said the prevalent theory is that you're bait not a guard. The fourth and fifth night phone call seems to suggest as much as well.

From what I've seen, theres a room that has costumes that you can put on. Whats to stop you from grabbing one before your shift and putting it on to protect yourself.

As for bait, why not dummies on strings (to simulate movement) to distract them?

Did... did you not read a single thing he wrote?

You cannot fit into the mascot costumes. If you could, being caught would be a freaky but minor annoyance, since all they want to do is stuff you into one of the animatronic costumes.

And how does your bait comment make any sense?

I thought there were actual costumes that people wore alongside the robots.

But as another guy said, thinking about it ruins it. I still wanna get it once it hits Steam.

 

[prowll]

I saw this and thought immediately of the old Sega CD game Night Trap. Looks to be very similar gameplay.
Not a bad idea, but may not have replayability; it'd depend on how 'random' the movements are.

 

[AdagioBoognish]

.

Another thing I didn't mention before, if you get to Night Five...

Spoiler

it has become obvious that they aren't just crazy robots.

Oh man, your spoiler has me even more creeped out and interested. Guess I'll have to check this one out. I find that most of the time the "reveal" in horror never scares me as much as the lead up, but I love anything that can hold tension and suspense for awhile. I think that's why movies like the first paranormal get me so worked up when nothings actually happening yet.

 

[Mirroga]

I'm kind of curious now. Has there been a horror medium wherein if the characters did the smartest and best actions from beginning to end, will there still be a story?

Quoting myself is pathetic. But there are just some people in this topic debating about the whole ordeal of how horror media works.

I saw this and thought immediately of the old Sega CD game Night Trap. Looks to be very similar gameplay.
Not a bad idea, but may not have replayability; it'd depend on how 'random' the movements are.

From what I've seen, the movements cannot even be predicted. In night 5 or even 6, you just abandon looking the whole facility altogether since the robots can just teleport near your room without transition. Also I've watched streams and helped the player by suggesting some boring, but possibly helpful strategies to finish Night 4-5. The game has mechanics to prevent you from just simplifying the gameplay.

Another thing I didn't mention before, if you get to Night Five...

Spoiler

it has become obvious that they aren't just crazy robots.

Due to me seeing a lot of the gameplay and the things I saw in Night 5 & 6, DeimosMasque is quite right about his statement.

 

[Trinket to Ride]

Another thing I didn't mention before, if you get to Night Five...

Spoiler

it has become obvious that they aren't just crazy robots.

Now I'm interested. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd actually enjoy playing or would want to spend $10 on.

Does someone want to recommend a playthrough that isn't some dork screaming into a facecam? (or just reveal to me the secrets.)

 

[DeimosMasque]

Another thing I didn't mention before, if you get to Night Five...

Spoiler

it has become obvious that they aren't just crazy robots.

Now I'm interested. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd actually enjoy playing or would want to spend $10 on.

Does someone want to recommend a playthrough that isn't some dork screaming into a facecam? (or just reveal to me the secrets.)

I believe the price has already been dropped the $5 actually, read it on their website. But as for a Lets Play I enjoyed was by Ben the Scoopist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55MeikA9t8

Though to find Night 5 I had to go elsewhere, not may lets players have made it to Night Five (or Six for that matter)

 

[Mirroga]

Now I'm interested. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd actually enjoy playing or would want to spend $10 on.

I believe the price has already been dropped the $5 actually, read it on their website. But as for a Lets Play I enjoyed was by Ben the Scoopist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55MeikA9t8

Based on Desura, the full game costs $2.50.

 

[DeimosMasque]

Now I'm interested. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd actually enjoy playing or would want to spend $10 on.

I believe the price has already been dropped the $5 actually, read it on their website. But as for a Lets Play I enjoyed was by Ben the Scoopist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55MeikA9t8

Based on Desura, the full game costs $2.50.

If it's only $2.50 then I say buy it! Even if you only play one night that's ten minutes. Most of us gamers spend more than $2.50 for an hours worth of entertainment from a game.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I just realized that this is just a horror version of Project GUARD [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1SvuuXBBw] by Nintendo (Specifically Shigeru Miyamoto). Now, I'm not saying this isn't a neat idea and I'm not saying it doesn't have a cool concept, because it does. But it's not original, because Nintendo did it first.

Regardless, this indeed looks fun. I might pick it up if it gets more levels, more enemies, and a deeper story then just "You're going to die tonight if you waste all of your electricity".

 

[Weaver]

People thought it was scary? The phone call at the beginning was so goddamn cheesy it just... gave the game such a campy, hilarious feeling to it. It feels budget and cheap and ... I dunno, it's not scary to me lol.

 

[Glaice]

Looks like a lot of fun tensionwise!

 

[Mirroga]

I just realized that this is just a horror version of Project GUARD [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1SvuuXBBw] by Nintendo (Specifically Shigeru Miyamoto). Now, I'm not saying this isn't a neat idea and I'm not saying it doesn't have a cool concept, because it does. But it's not original, because Nintendo did it first.

Regardless, this indeed looks fun. I might pick it up if it gets more levels, more enemies, and a deeper story then just "You're going to die tonight if you waste all of your electricity".

Originality at this point in gaming history is about as rare as a blue moon. I remember the gameplay being close to Night Trap. But it's not a good game.

The only time I can actually get some sort of awesome original and unique core gameplay are in puzzle games like Closure, Portal, and Perspective.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

The phone call at the beginning was so goddamn cheesy it just... gave the game such a campy, hilarious feeling to it.

Oh, c'mon, what about animatronics isn't cheesy and campy?!

Spoiler: Except when it's the Rock-afire Explosion doing MGMT!

OT - I'm really looking forward to this game and have for some time now. In fact, I won't even watch any let's plays of it because the little bit I saw left me so intrigued that I want to experience the whole game blind.

 

[WindofHawks]

I think this game could be classed as comedy horror while Amnesia is just horror. Overall, yes, the demon-animatronics look a bit silly, but they also look rather creepy in the right light. The bloke at the start is humourous, but it's dark humour and helps build the atmosphere. The message essentially comes down to "You'll be fine, there's nothing to worry about ...apart from the killer animatronics that move around and want to shove your head inside a spare suit full of wires which will crush your skull, but you'll be fine!"

This sets the player up with the attitude of "wait, what? You mean...oh you've got to be kidding me!" which I think was the attitude they were going for. There are a few plotholes, I will admit. The one about "why don't you just put on a suit" is the main one being discussed here and it's pretty hard to defend. This is my reasoning for it:
Why doesn't he put on a spare suit?
Not designed for humans, he would die.
Why doesn't he put on a suit designed for humans that looks like one of the animatronic suits?
I think if it wasn't a suit they recognised, they would go for him, and he wouldn't be wearing a suit they recognised because Freddy's are cheapskates.

The other main plothole is the doors. Why are the doors electronic? Why not have manual vault doors to save even more power (and hence money for the company? My guess is the following:
If the doors are shut through the night, the creatures will go straight fore the exit and leave Freddy's (you are bait, remember). However, the doors must be strong enough to protect you. As such, if they were manual, you couldn't close them in time. As such, they have to be electronic.

The whole idea of being trapped with creepy animatronics isn't new, but as others have said, the idea of not being able to run and hide is rather novel. What did amnesia get right to make the monsters scary? You can't fight back, so your only option is flight. This game removes flight. You are trapped and the monsters are after you. They are coming for you and you have to watch them and throw up your defenses at the last minute. But, you have to balance everything, because it all runs on the same energy. Even if this thing isn't that scary when it comes out, you can at least say that the idea is good! I just don'rt hope we have a Purge situation on our hands (inventive premise, but bad execution).

 

[Chester Rabbit]

So it's pretty much a wait for the screamer "game"?

 

[WindofHawks]

So it's pretty much a wait for the screamer "game"?

You could see it like that. If the premise doesn't seem that scary, I would see it more as a challenge. A tense balancing act.

 

[lacktheknack]

So it's pretty much a wait for the screamer "game"?

No, it's a "ward off the screamer" game.

The gameplay consists of keeping an eye on the various animatronics to see if they're getting too close. If they are, you slam one of your security doors closed until they go away.

Unfortunately, keeping the doors closed is a major drain on your limited power supply, so you want to keep them open as much as possible. Checking the cameras also drains your power supply, but if you don't check them, you can get ambushed very easily.

Of course, if you do get ambushed, then it's a screaming death for you.

There have been many glorious moments on Youtube already of "Hold on, I can't find Freddy Fazbear! Where's Freddy FazbeaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"