YMMV / I'm On Observation Duty

• Contested Sequel: The second and third game aren't viewed as fondly as the first, though it's mostly the third game that receives noticeable controversy related to the game's quality due to the change in gameplay from going from security camera view to real-time view. Notably, the fourth and fifth games are in a much similar style to the first game, taking the style of greyscale cameras once again, as a result of player feedback, so they have much better reception.
• Demonic Spiders: Camera malfunction anomalies. Not only is spotting them more difficult since it's essentially an entire camera being skipped over, but said affected camera screen can hide other anomalies, so if you fail to notice a camera malfunction, anomalies could stack up on a hidden screen and make you lose the game with you none the wiser.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: The !!HUGE MAN!!, a gargantuan anomaly that caught the attention of the fans. He's appeared in every game since the fourth one for this reason.
• Memetic Mutation: "!!HUGE MAN!!" ^note One of the first game's New House anomalies is infamous for getting stuck in the minds of many who witness him due to his large and very masculine appearance, deep booming voice when roaring, and the fact that he requires a special anomaly report type for himself, so fans like to call this anomaly really masculine nicknames, most commonly "Gigachad". Mentions of this include the exclamation marks on both sides since the selection for this anomaly in the first game did this as well. Their popularity also had many fans excited to see the intruder returning in the fourth game.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The ticking clock (along with the accompanying "thud" sounds) that signify you're getting close to the end of your shift. By this point it's unlikely for another anomaly to spawn, meaning you're practically home safe.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Many of the more blatant and in-your-face anomalies can be considered this, usually the intruder and ghost anomalies. There are some that can even appear on-camera, and the anomalies that can give you a Nonstandard Game Over can apply for this as well, including one of the first game's Distortion anomalies where if you take too long to report it successfully, it will suddenly zoom in to right outside the hallway's door to reveal a creepy humanoid figure just standing there for a brief moment, before abruptly ending the game.
  • The secret cutscene involving Timothy in the first game is both creepy and mind-screwy. After a long pause and a prompt, Timothy just stands there, staring at you, and clicking him causes his head to twitch, eventually turning his head completely upside-down. And then he starts flashing a Slasher Smile before his head jumps at the screen. That said...
    OPEN YOUR EYES
    WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO TIMOTHY?
    YES/NO
  • The sixth game adds in an unsettling synopsis of the level you're about to monitor, hammering in the fact that yes, the anomalies are deadly and they have killed people.
• Nightmare Retardant: There are some intruders that are often considered by fans to be too weird or funny to be genuinely scary, on the other hand.
• Paranoia Fuel: The game may put out subtle or hard-to-notice anomalies you need to keep a close eye for, but the increased focus can make the appearance of much less subtle intruders or ghosts all the more startling. And should you do get startled by them, it may put you out of focus to spot the smaller anomalies. While the game does invoke this by design, whether it succeeds at doing so can vary from player to player.

---