Videogame Disappointed
I'm gonna sum up my feelings after trying to play the game, failing to get past the second night, and just watching the rest of the game on YT in defeat...
First of all, I must say that the trailer was VERY misleading. It made the game look as if you were actually going to wander around the house and have to be constantly on the move, sneaking around and trying to outsmart and evade the deadly animatronics. It really felt as if Scott was going to throw the formula on its head and make it a real revolution, the big, epic conclusion to the series.
And then I played the game and it turned out that basically, this game is just the same basic formula of you staying in one room and having to check the doors. Except this time you aren't given any cameras to work with and it's a lot harder to tell whether you closing the door actually did anything.
We still have the basic Puppet mechanic in the form of you having to look behind you periodically in order to avoid unleashing Freddy on your ass, and there's also a between-nights minigame where, if you manage to win, you are able to start the night two hours later. And this bonus is lost if you die, so in the end, it's completely meaningless.
This time, Scott decided to have the game rely on you listening to sound effects and taking clues from them on which door to close and when. Good concept, it's just too bad that he decided to make all the sounds in the game fairly quiet while making the jumpscare sound as loud as humanly possible, and then deliberately ask us to raise the volume. Very cheap move, here. This one decision makes me pretty much unable to beat the game, because, you know, I'm Genre Savvy enough to always keep my volume low in these games...
On the upside, the jumpscares are actually scary this time (or at least look scary), something that FNAF 2 & 3 failed to accomplish. The atmosphere is pretty good too, with a nice sense of dread going on.
However, at the same time, the game feels just empty. There's a grand total of, what, FIVE "locations" in the entire game? And the only times you see the animatronics are the single "fleeting glance" animation and the jumpscare animation.
I'm hitting the word limit already, so I'll say this: I feel disappointed with this game. Even FNAF 3 was more interesting and fun to play than this.
Videogame A Return To Form
If I could sum up this game in a word it would be "basic". Now, this isn't a bad thing; one complaint I had about 2 and 3 is that they felt a little bit too complicated overall. With the puppet/cameras/mask/lights/mini games in 2 and the maintenance panel/audio tricks/Good Ending in 3, I felt like the series was starting to become a little bit too bloated with mechanics. The first game really struck that perfect balance of having to juggle your responsibilities along with the encroaching dread of the power limit and the animatronics to give a really terrifying game, and 4 is a nice return to form for the series. There's no cameras to monitor, no hidden mini games to go after, no mask or maintenance to watch over, just you and some bloodthirsty animatronics and five nights of terror.
Another good point is that, while 3 was definitely a conclusive end to the storyline, 4 gave closure on other events that had only been alluded to. It was nice to see more additions to the lore that developed the story and the animatronics we know and loathe in different and interesting directions.
Still, no game is without its faults, and I think the biggest one this has is that it relies too heavily on trial-and-error gameplay, even more so that the first. With the excision of the cameras to keep and eye on your tormentors you are basically left to listen for their approach, and even with the audio turned up its hard to listen for their breathing (as well as making the inevitable jumpscares actually physically painful as well as emotionally jarring.) I've heard that this was rectified in the 1.01 patch, but it was still a bad problem to have the game ship with this issue.
As a pure game I'd give this a solid 9/10 for having a suitably scary tone and atmosphere compared to the last two and taking the gameplay in a new direction after the last two felt like a re-hash of the first with some added bells and whistles. As for the story and lore additions, I give it a well-deserved 10/10 for actually making me give a damn about killer robots and convincing me to play my least liked genre of game because of how great the story is. Congrats Scott, you did a great job over this last year and this is the culmination of your hard work! Can't wait for that Halloween DLC!
Videogame Back to Basics. Not Necessarily a Bad Thing.
Right then, here we are with the fourth and (supposedly) final game in the FNAF series. Once again the format's changed and once again were in for many a jump scare as we try to survive the nights. How does this one hold up?
Well for one it does a bit of a reverse of the 2nd game, taking out the cameras but allowing you to close doors (albeit only when you're near them) and using a infinitely powered flashlight. The main objective here is that you have to check the hallways, closet, and the bed behind you to ward off the Nightmare Animatronics. Admittedly I like it, it puts you up close and personal with the danger and relies on your own hearing and judgement as you peer into the inky darkness and debate whether to shine your light to see if you're safe, risking coming face to face with one of the monstrosities. Yeah the bed checks and closet are easy enough to ward off. But as the nights go on, you find yourself managing all four spots in rapid succession, especially on the last two nights when your faced with an animatronic that can appear in all the spots, really gets your anxiety pumping. I also like the inclusion of the Plushtrap mini game which can award you an two hour advance on the nights if you succeed.
That said, once you figure out the gimmicks it does get a tad easier, not quite as bad as FNAF 3 but still manageable at least. Story wise, it really could be considered more like a side story as it doesn't really add anything major to the series mythos. Considering the main plot was finished in the last game, this feels more like tying up loose ends. I also do kinda wish there were more varied mini-games as well. Maybe with the upcoming updates when Halloween rolls around.
I do like that the animatronics move more frequently in this one since you no longer have a camera to track their movements, making them all the creepier too. Scott's really been improving on his models and animations and putting what he's learned to good use. If he decides to do something different after this, I look forward to his next game.
It's still a fairly challenging game that simply harkening back to what made it a hit when the series started. While it's still short, it's no less fun then it's predecessors and if your a fan of the last three, you'll enjoy this one as well. If not, it's an amusing distraction at the very least. Try it and find out.
Videogame Five Nights at Freddy's 4: Bringing back the terror
The first three Five Nights games formed a pretty complete trilogy, which is why a 4th game surprised people - especially a "final chapter" (it wasn't). The monstrous designs shown in teasers got fans going, and when the trailer showed that the game had limited movement, discussion went through the roof. The recipe for a strange but unique F Na F game was there, and many were excited. It seemed like the famous "Bite of 87" would be solved and the start of Fazbear's downfall would be shown in full. Now, though...it's complicated.
This game is odd for the series because it takes place in a kid's house instead of a pizzeria (outside of story minigames). You play as a kid who physically closes doors to his room, having to listen for the animatronics instead of looking for them. Each night is implicitly presented as a nightmare, and the game perfectly sets up its "childhood fear" atmosphere. It's tense in a way never before seen in the series, forcing you, a small child, to face the nightmarish Fazbear Four up close and personal. While it throws back to the first game in format, the focus on sound and lack of cameras create a dreadful experience. The jumpscares are genuinely brutal this time while being very fluid, making them the best in the series. It's arguably the scariest F Na F game, which is a big plus.
The story and lore, on the other hand, are seen as too cryptic. The narrative is interesting, combining the kid's fear of the animatronics with his bully older brother. This justifies the nightmares the kid (or the brother?) has each night, while visiting Fredbear's Family Diner at the chain's prime. Players glimpse their success, showing familiar faces being sold as merch. They even have a TV show! The kid likes Fredbear despite fearing the rest, owning a plush who talks to him as an imaginary friend of sorts. As the kid's party draws nearer, the story weaves a tale of child cruelty and its contribution to Fazbear Entertainment's fall from grace. There are a few overly vague cutscenes, but it's presented nicely overall.
However, much of the disappointment concerned the lore. It turned out that it had nothing to do with the Bite of 87, instead focusing on a similar incident that can at best be traced back to a tape in the 3rd game. Random details like a broken Mangle in the kid's house only fueled more arguments, and even Scott said the game was unsolved. In retrospect, the game as it was first presented isn't as hard to piece together and is still compelling to me. That said, Scott has retconned it at least twice since release (the next game treated the nightmares as a real experiment, while a logbook implies they happened to the brother after the 1st game). These discard many elements for more confusing and out-of-place plots.
But I can overlook the botched lore. The gameplay's strong and the main story is darkly entertaining, making a good and importantly frightening final chapter to the original saga (it wasn't). 7.5/10!