History VideoGame / FiveNightsAtFreddys4

* DownerEnding: Has '''the''' most depressing ending by far of the ''Freddy'' series. [[spoiler:The Child gets his frontal lobe smashed in (due to his OWN BROTHER no less) and gets put into a comatose state, where the game takes place. The last minigame-cutscene then ends with a [[TheHeroDies flatline.]] The only thing that saves it from being a total downer ending that that the Child is promised that he'll be "put back together"... though even this could just be a hallucination.]]

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Even if you haven't already read through most of the page, you'll more than likely probably have correctly guessed from the information above that the game is another prequel due to the player character's many trips to Fredbear's Family Diner. In the game itself, it's not until the first night's post-night minigame that you'll actually get a heavy hint as to what the aforementioned spoiler is, and get outright shown after the end of the second night.

* InfantImmortality: Averted '''''big time''''' now that the protagonist is a child. And... ultimately, [[spoiler:completely and utterly averted. [[TheHeroDies The Child is very, very heavily implied to not survive the game.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:300:Ready or not, ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Here. We. Come.]]'']]

* TheEighties: The game takes place either before or in 1987, due to the constant references to the Bite of '87 in the promotional materials, although Scott proceeded to troll the fanbase by removing references of it after the game was released. Eventually, Scott confirmed in his reddit page that [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay MattPat]]'s theory, that the game takes place in 1983, is correct.

%% The accident at the end of Night 5, originally said to be the Bite of '87, is ambiguous and very contested with the fanbase (due to a couple hints that the game takes place in 1983). Please do not specify that the accident is the Bite of '87 (or inversely something like "The Bite of '83"), and if you need to refer to the accident anyhow, carefully word it so that it isn't one-sided (such as using "brain damaged" instead of "frontal lobe bitten off").

%% For the same reason as above, the game's setting is also unclear, with the debate being whether it's before or during the second game. Along with the above, please avoid adding setting tropes such as Simultaneous Arcs.
%%

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler:The child protagonist is dying. Their skull crushed from a prank gone horribly wrong. Brain damaged, their worse fears threaten to consume them. They're now having five nights, or rather, five ''nightmares'' of Freddys.]]

** The [[SerialKiller Purple]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Man's]] role is severely reduced from the last three games -- he only appears in a cameo, putting someone inside the Spring Bonnie suit.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: A sobering one . . . [[spoiler:the Crying Child after getting bitten is implied to get some medical help, at least enough medical help to get hooked up to a heart monitor. This means that this is the ''only'' time that someone at Fredbear's diner thought to call the paramedics and try to save a child. The Brother in the meantime gains enough guilt and humility to apologize, even though as far as he knows he doesn't know if his brother can hear him. The reason why this is sobering? He only says sorry when it's too late for his brother to survive the DeadlyPrank.]]

** Not so much for a sequel as it (likely) is for the upcoming DLC, but beating the special "Nightmare" night nets you a screen with a locked chest -- shaped much like the heads of the crying children in the previous games' minigames, complete with "tears" -- that hints at more secrets yet to be revealed.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In terms of both gameplay and story, ''Five Nights at Freddy's 4'' is ''radically'' different from previous titles. You don't have any cameras, you don't have to manage any type of resource, you can now move around freely, and there's no Phone Guy (you get tutorial messages instead). Additionally, this game isn't as frenetic as the others, since it allows a bit more time for making a decision, but instantly punishes you if you make the wrong choice. On the story side, it no longer takes place at a pizzeria (or haunted house based off of it), and you are now a scared child instead of a working adult. And the Purple Man seemingly has next to no involvement with the plot, only making a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in a cutscene.

** Then (possibly) averted if you know real life: [[spoiler: A hospital machine only flatlines when it has no power or is turned off. This means the child either dies and the machine is turned off... or he has been "put back together" and has woken up.]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The entire game was set up to very clearly be the lead-up to the Bite of 87. Unfortunately for us, Scott Cawthon, TrollingCreator he is, put an in-universe copyright date reading "1983" in one of the cutscenes, just to ramp up the WildMassGuessing UpToEleven, because Scott was very careful in removing any proof that it is taking place in 1987. [[spoiler:The game was, ultimately, later confirmed by Scott to take place in 1983, averting this trope]].

** 83 seems to be one as well, as an advertisement for "Fredbear and Friends - 1983" can be seen on the television in a minigame, and the site's source code replaced the 8s and 7s with 8s and 3s following the game's release.

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler: The child protagonist is dying. Their skull crushed from a prank gone horribly wrong. Brain damaged, their worse fears threaten to consume them. They're now having five nights, or rather, five ''nightmares'' of Freddys.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Has '''the''' most depressing ending by far of the ''Freddy'' series. [[spoiler:The Child gets his frontal lobe smashed in (due to his OWN BROTHER no less) and gets put into a comatose state, where the game takes place. The last minigame-cutscene then ends with a [[TheHeroDies flatline.]] The only thing that saves it from being a total downer ending that that the Child is promised that he'll be "put back together"... though even this could just be a hallucination.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: All we hear is a flatline at the end. Or rather, ''a flat electroencephalogram'', the child's injured brain is showing no electrical activity. Brain death has occurred.]]

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: After [[spoiler:stuffing the child into Fredbear's mouth and getting the latter hospitalized, the brother apologizes and wants him to wake up. You then hear a flatlining, implying that the child died in his coma.]]

** The protagonist's brother is, putting it lightly, [[{{Jerkass}} a huge dick]]. He loves tormenting his younger sibling by locking him in frightenening places or jumping out at him while wearing a Foxy mask. Most of the other kids that the player interacts with aren't much better, laughing at his peril as he dreads having his party at Freddy's. [[spoiler:It quickly goes FromBadToWorse by showing the protagonist being ''forced into Fredbear's mouth'' by the other kids, including his own brother. [[DeadlyPrank Big mistake]].]]

** The Purple Man has nothing at all to do with the events of the game. He simply appears as a cameo.

* SpiritualSequel: A young protagonist is left to fend for themself in a nightmarish place against monsters with no real means of keeping safe besides basic defense, his talking teddy bear is his best friend, [[spoiler:and, on top of all that, the BigBad is a family member]]. The game is quickly shaping up to feel like a follow-up to ''VideoGame/AmongTheSleep''.

** Night 2: The post-night minigame is about the player [[SarcasmMode having fun]] at [[spoiler:Freddy's, confirming that the game is a prequel.]]

* TheEighties: The game takes place either before or in 1987, due to the constant references to the Bite of '87 in the promotional materials, although Scott proceeded to troll the fanbase by removing references of it after the game was released. Still, it seems a good bet that the game takes place in the '80s.
** On his reddit page he confirms that MattPat's theory, that the game takes place in 1983, is correct.
* ABirthdayNotABreak: The player character is dreading his birthday because it's being held at the place he loathes so much. It gets worse when [[spoiler:his brother and his friends' "birthday present" gets his head crushed]].

** Conversely, in the Halloween Edition, Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica, Nightmare Foxy, and Plushtrap do not appear. Plushtrap is replaced by Nightmare BB, Nightmare is replaced by Nightmarionne, and Foxy is replaced by Mangle. Nightmare Chica and Bonnie are replaced by Jack-O-Chica and Jack-O-Bonnie, respectively.

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies: Implied, at least. At the end of Night 6's ending, you can faintly hear a flatline.]]

** A series-wide example: in the first game, there was a hallucination that displayed three crying faces, ala the Child or the Puppet, on the wall. Meanwhile, the Child is nearly always depicted with tears in the eyes and in the same manner as the crying children. [[spoiler:The game thus makes you believe that the Child turns into the Puppet after his death by practical lobotomy. ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'', however, jossed this theory and instead tells you that the Puppet is possessed by a girl. Nevertheless, it is still likely that the Child ''does'' haunt an animatronic, but it's not the Puppet. It is Fredbear/Golden Freddy.]]

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Implied, at least. At the end of Night 6's ending, you can faintly hear a flatline.]]

Hello, and welc... well, I guess there's no reason to welcome you in your own home. But hey, congrats; you're going to a party at Fredbear's Family Diner What? You don't like it there? The animatronics creep you out? Well, don't worry, it's not like they can just crawl into your house whenever they want to, right?

* FinalBoss: Fredbear acts very much like one, as he is the only Nightmare Animatronic in the fifth night and can attack you from any of the places the other ones could. While he is replaced by [[TrueFinalBoss Nightmare]] in Night 7 (the canonically last night), Fredbear still feels as the final boss, as the game's lore is effectively ended with Night 6 (completing Night 7 only rewards you with a star and the aforementioned forever-locked box).

** Throughout the minigames, Fredbear constantly tries to help you, but just manages to make things worse somehow. [[spoiler:This culminates in him accidentally causing severe brain damage when the kid's jammed into his mouth.]]

** For those who believe that the game takes place in 1983, there is one glaring hint that alludes to their theory. The eating establishment featured in the minigames, despite being supposedly the pizzeria from ''2'', does ''not'' feature the Fazbear gang as its main hosts or even as regular working hosts. Where they should appear (like in the Show Stage or the Parts and Service), Fredbear/Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie/Springtrap take their place. If you remember the big reveals from ''2'' and ''3'', it is that by the time the pizzeria from ''2'' (which definitely takes place in 1987) opens, Golden Freddy and Springtrap have long been decommissioned.
* FourIsDeath: Not only is this the ''fourth'' (and final) installment in the series, but it also has the most disturbing variations of the animatronics that Scott has ever created.

* GrandFinale: The initial teaser image refers to this game as "the final chapter". The Steam page refers to it as "last chapter of the ''Five Nights At Freddy[='=]s'' original story". [[ExactWords This]] [[Film/FiveNightsAtFreddys was]] [[Literature/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheSilverEyes technically]] [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysWorld true]] until Scott changed his mind and announced a fifth game, ''Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location''.
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Even discounting that [[WalkingSpoiler one guard]], [[spoiler:where the heck were the day shift guards? We've got four teenagers dragging a screaming smaller child through the restaurant and stuffing him into an onstage animatronic's mouth, that probably warrants the attention of a security guard. Especially since "stay near the animatronics" is ''the first thing a day shift guard is instructed to do'']].

** Golden Freddy, who was simply a cameo in the third game, makes his return as the DiscOneFinalBoss known as Fredbear.

* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily:
** The new versions of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy certainly qualify. Especially so with Chica, who has [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill three rows of teeth]] in her mouth. Even the cupcake has teeth! (Considering her reputation for being a ToothyBird, this comes as no surprise.)
** Fredbear and Nightmare have goddamned ''[[BellyMouth mouths inside their stomachs]].''

** The "Final Chapter" tagline is likely a reference to the fourth film in the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' franchise, ''Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter'' (which was far from the final film in the franchise). In the case of ''[=FNaF4=]'', the game's [=IndieDB=] has confirmed that it will end the series. Of course, in a HilariousInHindsight moment, this game [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation isn't the end of the game series after all]], just like the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film the game gets its name from.

* TrueFinalBoss: A PaletteSwap of Fredbear, called "Nightmare", replaces Fredbear for Nightmare Mode. He's '''much''' more aggressive than Fredbear.

Hello, and welc... well, I guess there's no reason to welcome you in your own home. But hey, congrats; you're going to a party at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria! What? You don't like it there? The animatronics creep you out? Well, don't worry, it's not like they can just crawl into your house whenever they want to, right?

* TheEighties:
** Before the game's release, people theorised that it would be a prequel due to constant references to the Bite of '87 in the teasers, the offhand partial mention of Fredbear's Family Diner [[spoiler:and the titular animatronic]], and the source code of Scott's website featuring several references to "87" as well as the numbers "0871" and "2093" (take away or add 1 to each digit and you end up with 1982 both times). The house that the game takes place in doesn't look very modern at all. [[http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/701784768897544550/48E7EAF280077FFF3E9D8A69632C9F022D36B95B/ A screenshot from one of the between-night minigames]] shows a "Fredbear & Friends" show dated from 1983 playing on the TV in the kid's home.
** Also, due to TheCameo of the [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 Toy animatronics]] as dolls owned by a little girl that the protagonist can come across in the between-night minigames heavily implies that the game takes place ''at least'' after the opening of the VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 pizzeria. The ''Fredbear & Friends'' programme on the TV from 1983 could have just been a rerun.
** Nightmare BB's addition to the main game as well as the Halloween Edition seems to prove that Toy-generation BB was already around during the game's timeframe. Make of that what you will.

** Phone Guy is completely absent in this game -- making this the one game in the series where he doesn't appear (er, well, not ''appear'', per se). [[spoiler:Though not completely: if one reverses the odd vocal radio-static that plays randomly, it's revealed to be a pitched down Phone Guy recording the first message in the first game.]]
** With the exception of the Spring Bonnie (Springtrap) animatronic, a plushie-sized version of Springtrap, figurines of Toy Freddy and Toy Chica and Toy Bonnie, and a pile of Mangle's dismantled parts, all of which appear in the minigames, none of the animatronics from the second or third games appear in this one at all. Some appear in the [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Edition]], but [[WordOfGod it is confirmed to be non-canon, so it doesn't even count.]][[note]]Except Nightmare BB.[[/note]]
** Conversely, in the Halloween Edition, ''everyone'' except Nightmare Freddy and Nightmare Fredbear do not appear in any form. [[spoiler: Plushtrap is replaced by Nightmare BB, Nightmare is replaced by Nightmarionne, and Foxy is replaced by Mangle. Nightmare Chica and Bonnie are replaced by Jack-O-Chica and Jack-O-Bonnie, respectively.]]
** Incidently, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Freddy are themselves MIA from the minigames at the pizzeria. Only Fredbear and Spring Bonnie (Springtrap) appear, even as parts in the Parts and Service room.

** This game plays with the idea of not being safe in your own home. On top of that, the trailer shows a child's room, meaning that a defenseless child is going up against several dangerous robots -- and there's no indication that the child's parents are at home ([[spoiler:or willing to help him out]]).
** Having people you know either not listening or disbelieving you when it comes to serious, life-threatening problems. [[spoiler:ParentalNeglect, bullying,]] and supernatural metal monstrosities coming for you in the night.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: [[spoiler:The entire game was set up to very clearly be the lead-up to the Bite of 87. Unfortunately for us, Scott Cawthon, TrollingCreator he is, put an in-universe copyright date reading "1983" in one of the cutscenes, just to ramp up the WildMassGuessing UpToEleven, because Scott was very careful in removing any proof that it isn't not taking place in 1987. The game was, ultimately, later confirmed by Scott to take place in 1983, averting this trope.]]

** If Fredbear and the other animatronics are sentient [[spoiler:during the Child's birthday party,]] it just adds another layer of horror and sadness. Imagine being an animatronic created for the sole purpose of entertaining children, and then [[spoiler:a group of nasty boys shove a child into your mouth. You know he's not supposed to be there, but there's nothing you can do; you can't go against your programming. You can't open your mouth wider so the Child can pull himself out, you can't move your arms to pull him out of your mouth, you can't even stop your mouth from clamping down on the Child's head. You continue with your performance, unable to stop yourself, and listen to the sickening crunch as you bite down against your will, feel the blood pour from your mouth, and watch as the laughter turns to screaming.]]

** [[spoiler:"Tomorrow is another day"]] also counts, being said at the end of each minigame.

* ArcNumber: 87, as it's in the Nightmare Foxy teaser and the site's source code.
** 83 seems to be one as well, as an advertisement for "Fredbear and Friends - 1983" can be seen on the television in a minigame, and the site's source code replaced the 8s and 7s with 8s and 3s following the game's release.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Fredbear plush in the minigames [[spoiler:subverts this. While the plush does guide the child towards bad events (such as leading him to his brother), it's implied to genuinely care for him; in this light, its prodding is trying to help the child face his fears instead of hiding (they both know that the fear of his brother's scares won't stop until they get it over with, hiding only prolongs that anxiety).]]
* ArtifactTitle: Despite the title, the protagonist, unlike his predecessors, does not spend five nights at any Freddy's. The setting is simply a house that the Nightmare Animatronics are haunting. There ''is'' a pizzeria close to the protagonist's house, though, and plays a very important part of the between-night minigames.
* ArtificialStupidity: [[RunningGag Oh, we have a mixed bag this time!]] Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy are back to square one, with Bonnie and Chica always coming from the left and right respectively, and Foxy's back to hiding behind a parted barrier, [[spoiler:though this time he has to sneak past you to get there. Sometimes it's him you're shining your light on down the hallway, so you're heading him off at the pass]]. [[spoiler:Fredbear -- and later, [[TrueFinalBoss Nightmare]] -- on the other hand, will come at you from all sides, and Freddy himself will actually wait for ''your'' stupidity if you don't look behind you often enough.]] Justified as [[spoiler:it's a nightmare]].

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Only two of the Nightmares are as pristine as their original selves -- [[spoiler:Nightmarionne and Nightmare ''Balloon Boy''. Fittingly enough, they're both based on members of the Toy generation. However, only Nightmare Balloon Boy is canon.]]
* BigBad: Nightmare Freddy, if the pre-release material is of any indication. [[spoiler:And then Nightmare Foxy comes in, as he represents the actual BigBad: the kid's absolute douchebag of a brother. And then Nightmare Fredbear shows up. [[OverlyLongGag And]] [[AlwaysABiggerFish then]] [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter Nightmare.]]]]

* BittersweetEnding[=/=]DownerEnding: Has '''the''' most depressing ending by far of the ''Freddy'' series. [[spoiler:The Child gets his frontal lobe smashed in (due to his OWN BROTHER no less) and gets put into a comatose state, where the game takes place. The last minigame-cutscene then ends with a [[TheHeroDies flatline.]] The only thing that saves it from being a total downer ending that that the Child is promised that he'll be "put back together"... though even this could just be a hallucination.]]

* BodyHorror: The Nightmare animatronics qualify as this, but special shout-outs go to Nightmare Freddy (due to the Mini-Freddies on his body) and [[spoiler:Fredbear and Nightmare]], since they both have teeth in their stomachs (and two holes in their stomachs that resemble eyes).

* BraggingRightsReward: [[spoiler:20/20/20/20 mode only nets you another star on the main menu.]]

* CanonDiscontinuity: WordOfGod has stated that, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen due to changing his mind about revealing the contents of the box]], the Halloween update's contents are officially non-canon.

* CreepyChangingPainting: The "Thank You!" image on Scott's website. At first, the changes were subtle, like the colors becoming duller, but animatronics started appearing and being outright replaced, with many of them now looking very cartoonish, and a surprise appearance from the "hallucination" Balloon Boy.

** This is also reflected in the death screens -- from 1, a shot of the parts room with [[spoiler:your character's eyes hanging out of the suit]], from 2, a shot of Freddy staring at you through the eye-holes in the mask, from 3, static, and from 4, ''blood everywhere.''
** The plot is also far darker than any of the other games and deals with some very heavy themes, like parental [[spoiler:and sibling]] abuse, abandonment, being unable to be safe in your own home, [[spoiler:and life-changing (or ending) injuries]].

** The [[SerialKiller Purple]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Man's]] role is severely reduced from the last three games -- he only appears in a cameo, putting someone inside the Spring Bonnie suit. [[spoiler: Unless he was inside the Fredbear suit when the teens shoved the child's head inside its mouth...]]
** The ghosts of the murdered kids, too. In all the other games, they were the force behind the game's events. Here? It's simply the Child's [[BigBrotherBully asshole brother]].

* DyingDream: [[spoiler:The entire game (and, [[WildMassGuessing depending on your interpretations]], ''the entire franchise'') is the traumatic dream/hallucination of the dying child having suffered a brain injury at the hands of his complete asshole of a brother.]]

** Yep, you can [[RunningGag honk Freddy's nose again]] (this time a plush toy version of him). [[spoiler:Doing so 20+ times in a row will summon Nightmare Foxy, regardless of the night, for an instant game over.]]
** [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/freddy-fazbears-pizza/images/7/76/LeftHall.png/revision/latest?cb=20150730153347 What appears to be Scott Cawthon's family photos can be seen on the wall of the Left Hallway.]] [[spoiler:This can be taken as a hint as to the identity of the Child's father, which... just raises more questions, actually.]]

* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:Fredbear acts very much like one, as he is the only Nightmare Animatronic in the fifth night and can attack you from any of the places the other ones could.]] His role, however, is ultimately given to [[spoiler:[[AnimalisticAbomination Ni]][[EldritchAbomination gh]][[TheDarknessGazesBack tm]][[DarkIsEvil ar]][[GreaterScopeVillain e.]]]]
* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Even if you haven't already read through most of the page, you'll more than likely probably have correctly guessed from the information above that [[spoiler:the game is another prequel due to the player character's many trips to Fredbear's Family Diner]]. In the game itself, it's not until the first night's post-night minigame that you'll actually get a heavy hint as to what the aforementioned spoiler is, and get outright shown after the end of the second night.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The emphasized sharp teeth in the animatronics' designs in this game are likely due to [[spoiler:the protagonist being the victim of an accident involving an animatronic chomping down on his head. Fredbear's teeth are particularly large and sharp, and appear to be coated with blood.]]

** If you brighten a screenshot of the illuminated bed, [[spoiler:an IV drip can be seen to the left, foreshadowing the fact that you play as the victim of an unfortunate injury.]]
** Another hint is the fact [[spoiler:that the kid's bedroom in the mini-games looks nothing like the bedroom in the main game.]]
** Sometimes [[spoiler:flowers, an I.V. drip, or a bottle of pills appear on the bed stand, heavily hinting that the protagonist is in the hospital.]]
** When you shine the light and shut the door on Foxy enough, he turns into a plushie, and unlike in the minigames, it still has a head. Seemingly minor, [[spoiler:[[BrainFood until you]] [[AllJustADream learn what happens]] [[AdventuresInComaland to the kid.]]]]
** A series-wide example: in the first game, there was a hallucination that displayed three crying faces, ala the Child[[note]]or the Puppet[[/note]], on the wall. [[spoiler:Taking who the Crying Child from ''2'' haunts and the ultimate fate of the Child in this game into account -- alongside the fact that we still don't have a good reason for the Puppet to be [[MonsterProgenitor as powerful]] as it is -- it's not unlikely that [[SharingABody Sharing a Body]]-esque shenanigans are going on.]]

* GameOver: While the previous games had game over screens, this game just shows a screen flooded with blood spatters.

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Even discounting that [[WalkingSpoiler one guard]], [[spoiler:where the heck were the day shift guards? We've got four teenagers dragging a screaming smaller child through the restaurant and stuffing him into an onstage animatronic's mouth, that probably warrants the attention of a security guard. Especially since "stay near the animatronics" is ''the first thing a day shift guard is instructed to do'']]. [[SarcasmMode We can totally see you earned that day shift promotion]], [[spoiler:Jeremy ([[AmbiguousTimePeriod or Phone Guy or whoever the hell it was]]).]]

* HarderThanHard: In the original game, there's Night 7, and [[spoiler:Night 8.]] The updates take it to '''[[UpToEleven absolutely insane levels]]''' with the challenge menu. Blind Mode (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin), Mad Freddy (Nightmare Freddy's faster), Insta-Foxy (Foxy's ''always in your closet''), and All Nightmare (dealing with Nightmare for the entire night). Try activating the first and fourth challenges, and it would completely ''scream'' this trope.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Averted; even though the child can witness [[spoiler:the Purple Man putting a spring-locked suit on someone else]], what eventually happens to him is an entirely different matter. This may be because [[spoiler:the Purple Man may simply be helping an employee into the suit]].
* HellIsThatNoise: As per usual, the animatronics' signature screech counts as this -- but this time, it literally sounds like Hell because it combines elements from ''all three'' of the previous screeches (the sound of a child screaming, a mechanical reverb effect, and an animal-esque roar). In the latter's case, this is not a roar of pained agony, as is presumed with Springtrap, but one of pure hatred and anger.
** The game makes this even worse by ''forcing'' you to listen for the animatronics rather than watch for them via cameras.
** [[spoiler:If you encounter Nightmare, his kill screen is accompanied by a sound that befits both his name and this trope's name -- it sounds like the distorted moaning and wailing of spirits. Ditto for Nightmarionne in the Halloween Edition.]]

** [[spoiler:Golden Freddy, who was simply a cameo in the third game, makes his return as the DiscOneFinalBoss known as Fredbear.]]
** [[spoiler:One of the between-night minigames shows what looks like Mangle's spare parts sitting disassembled in one of the rooms of the house.]]
* HowWeGotHere: As it turns out, [[spoiler:the mini-games reveal]] how the child protagonist ends up suffering each night.

* KidsAreCruel: The protagonist's brother is, putting it lightly, [[{{Jerkass}} a huge dick]]. He loves tormenting his younger sibling by locking him in frightenening places or jumping out at him while wearing a Foxy mask. Most of the other kids that the player interacts with aren't much better, laughing at his peril as he dreads having his party at Freddy's. [[spoiler:It quickly goes FromBadToWorse by showing the protagonist being ''forced into Fredbear's mouth'' by the other kids, including his own brother. [[DeadlyPrank Big mistake]].]]
** It's implied that [[spoiler:the kid's brother is also one of the kids who tore apart Mangle, too.]]

** The Purple Man [[spoiler:has nothing at all to do with the events of the game. He simply appears as a cameo.]]

** [[spoiler:Fredbear and Nightmare]] have goddamned ''[[BellyMouth mouths inside their stomachs]].''

* NonStandardGameOver: [[spoiler:If you get caught by Nightmare, the game will reset, much like how in the first game, getting caught by Golden Freddy would crash the game.]]

* NotMeThisTime: Unlike the other games, [[spoiler:the Purple Guy isn't responsible in any way for the killer animatronics causing our protagonist grief this time around.]] [[spoiler:[[OhCrap Well,]] as revealed in [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation Sister Location]]'s [[BonusDungeon Private Room]], he may very well be the boy's [[ArchnemesisDad father,]] invoking the nightmares through underground gas hallucination experiments.]]
* OddballInTheSeries: The gameplay takes place in a house instead of the titular pizzeria (which is still seen in between-night minigames), the protagonist is a child rather than a security guard, cameras are absent, and [[spoiler:the story deviates from the main serial killer plot and focuses on the events leading up to an animatronic's bite (though not the one in 1987)]]. Unlike other examples of this trope, this is actually a celebrated aspect of this installment.

** When someone sees him at Freddy's Pizzeria and an adult in a yellow suit starts chasing him.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: A sobering one . . . [[spoiler:the Crying Child after getting bitten is implied to get some medical help, at least enough medical help to get hooked up to a heart monitor. This means that this is the ''only'' time that someone at Freddy's pizzeria thought to call the paramedics and try to save a child. The Brother in the meantime gains enough guilt and humility to apologize, even though as far as he knows he doesn't know if his brother can hear him. The reason why this is sobering? He only says sorry when it's too late for his brother to survive the DeadlyPrank.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: The child, while stuck in Freddy's Pizzeria, can catch a glimpse of the [[spoiler:Purple Man]], who is helping another employee with the spring-lock suit. While running from a man in a yellow suit, the child hides under a table and gets into a TroubledFetalPosition. Because other employees are still there, [[spoiler:the Purple Man spares the protagonist]].
* ProperlyParanoid: This child is the only person in the games scared of Freddy's Pizzeria and the animatronics. It's a place where [[spoiler:a serial killer lures children to the back room, murders them, and stuffs them into suits]] and the bots will go after you if you're a security guard. Can anyone blame him for being so fearful? [[spoiler:During the very same nights that the game seems to portray (and at the very least, the minigames do), in fact, [[Videogame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 a security guard is actively busting his chops to keep himself from being killed by the things.]]]]
* ProtectThisHouse: Instead of the pizzeria, the animatronics have decided to terrorize a largely defenseless home. Too bad there are no fancy cameras to ward them off.

* RedHerring: The child's room has a [[PurpleIsPowerful purple fan and robot toy]], as well as a toy phone. This would suggest a connection to the Purple Man and/or Phone Guy. [[spoiler:Phone Guy is completely absent from the game, and the Purple Man only appears in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.]]
** As a plushie of Springtrap, one of the series' most wicked characters, one would be forgiven for thinking that Plushtrap has a huge role in the plot, such as somehow being the cause of the animatronics. [[spoiler:Aside from one child having a Spring Bonnie plush in one of the Atari-esque minigames, he has no plot significance -- instead being relegated to a between-nights minigame.]]
* RememberTheNewGuy: Averted by the new golden animatronic. Just from hearing the word "golden", you should be able to tell [[spoiler:he's the original form of Golden Freddy]]. And when we learn his real name, we learn he's [[spoiler:Fredbear, from Fredbear's Family Diner, as namedropped in the second game]].

** [[spoiler:Golden Freddy is Fredbear]].
* RevisitingTheRoots: It's gone back to the first game, even down to the layout of your room mirroring the appearance of the first office.

* RuleOfSymbolism: [[spoiler:Nightmare appears to have a [[http://i.imgur.com/Ycym0Ke.png human brain as a part of his exoskeleton/suit.]] While this seems to make no sense aside from being creepy, it's actually a very unsubtle metaphor to the whole GhostInTheMachine situation going on with the animatronics: a human mind controlling a robot body.]]
* RunningGag: You can honk Freddy's nose again, this time with the plushie on your bed.

* SequelEscalation: In the first two games, you're a grown adult fending off varying numbers of animatronics. The third game has a [[spoiler:SerialKiller SealedInAPersonShapedCan]]. Here, ''you're a young child fending off [[AnimalisticAbomination Animalistic Abominations]].''
* SequelHook: Not so much for a sequel as it (likely) is for the upcoming DLC, but beating the special "Nightmare" night nets you a screen with a locked chest -- shaped much like the heads of the crying children in the previous games' minigames, complete with "tears" -- that hints at more secrets yet to be revealed.
** Scottgames now shows the text "The End. Thanks for playing!" Brightening the image (of course) reveals it actually says [[TheEndOrIsIt "The End?"]]

** The "Final Chapter" tagline is likely a reference to the fourth film in the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' franchise, ''Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter'' (which was far from the final film in the franchise). In the case of ''[=FNaF4=]'', the game's [=IndieDB=] [[WordOfGod has confirmed]] that it will end the series.
*** Of course, in a HilariousInHindsight moment, this game [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation isn't the end of the game series after all]], just like the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film the game gets its name from.

** Although not in the game itself, the filename of the October 22nd Halloween DLC teaser image, [[spoiler:which teases Nightmare Puppet]], is "dontwakethebaby.jpeg", which is presumably a shoutout to Markiplier's playthrough of VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2.
* TheSoCalledCoward: The child character, who is always crying and hates Freddy's Pizzeria. Still, anyone in his shoes would be terrified with a BigBrotherBully who [[JumpScare scares him]] on a regular basis, to say nothing that he is ProperlyParanoid about the pizzeria [[spoiler:given what happens to him on his birthday]]. He holds up pretty well with [[spoiler:Fredbear's]] help, all things considered.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In terms of both gameplay and story, ''Five Nights at Freddy's 4'' is ''radically'' different from previous titles. You don't have any cameras, you don't have to manage any type of resource, you can now move around freely, and there's no Phone Guy (you get tutorial messages instead). Additionally, this game isn't as frenetic as the others, since it allows a bit more time for making a decision, but instantly punishes you if you make the wrong choice. On the story side, it no longer takes place at a pizzeria (or haunted house based off of it), and you are now a scared child instead of a working adult. [[spoiler:And the Purple Man seemingly has next to no involvement with the plot, only making a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in a cutscene.]]

* StealthPrequel: As with [[spoiler:the second game]], the cutscenes in between nights make it clear that you're in a time period from before the first game, particularly when Fredbear's Family Diner was still open.

* TraumaCongaLine: The game is one big one for the kid protagonist. Not only does he have to suffer through trying to survive against the Nightmare animatronics, but [[spoiler:he is consistently abused by his family -- his brother locks him in his room, while his parents leave him at the diner which he hates and later force him to go there for his birthday. All of this culminates in the kid being pranked by his brother and some of his friends when they put the kid's head inside Fredbear's mouth -- a prank that ends with his head crushed. That might not even be the end; if the gameplay sections take place after the bite, it means this kid either has PTSD or is trapped in a coma. And, either way, it's implied [[DownerEnding that he]] ''[[TheHeroDies died]]'' [[DownerEnding after all of this.]]]]

* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:A PaletteSwap of Fredbear, called "Nightmare", replaces Fredbear for Nightmare Mode. He's '''much''' more aggressive than Fredbear]].

* WhamShot: For those playing the main and canon version of the game after the Halloween update, "Fun with Balloon Boy", which highly suggests that the child is aware of the original BB's existence. [[spoiler:Since the game offically happens in 1983, though, all it means is that Balloon Boy existed prior to 1987.]]
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The child character HATES the pizzeria and the animatronics. Guess what's a short walk away from his house.

* AbsenteeActor: Phone Guy is completely absent in this game -- making this the one game in the series where he doesn't appear (er, well, not ''appear'', per se). [[spoiler:Though not completely: if one reverses the odd vocal radio-static that plays randomly, it's revealed to be a pitched down Phone Guy recording the first message in the first game.]]

* DemotedToExtra: The [[SerialKiller Purple]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Man's]] role is severely reduced from the last three games -- he only appears in a cameo, putting someone inside the Spring Bonnie suit. [[spoiler: Unless he was inside the Fredbear suit when the teens shoved the child's head inside its mouth...]]

* EasterEgg: Yep, you can [[RunningGag honk Freddy's nose again]] (this time a plush toy version of him). [[spoiler:Doing so 20+ times in a row will summon Nightmare Foxy, regardless of the night, for an instant game over.]]

** Before the game's release, people theorised that it would be a prequel due to constant references to The Bite of '87 in the teasers, the offhand partial mention of Fredbear's Family Diner [[spoiler:and the titular animatronic]], and the source code of Scott's website featuring several references to "87" as well as the numbers "0871" and "2093" (take away or add 1 to each digit and you end up with 1982 both times). The house that the game takes place in doesn't look very modern at all. [[http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/701784768897544550/48E7EAF280077FFF3E9D8A69632C9F022D36B95B/ A screenshot from one of the between-night minigames]] shows a "Fredbear & Friends" show dated from 1983 playing on the TV in the kid's home.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: [[spoiler:The entire game was set up to very clearly be the lead-up to the Bite of 87. Unfortunately for us, Scott Cawthon, TrollingCreator he is, put an in-universe copyright date reading "1983" in one of the cutscenes, just to ramp up the WildMassGuessing UpToEleven, because Scott was very careful in removing any proof that it isn't not taking place in 1987.]]
** [[spoiler:And if it is 1987, we have no way of knowing if it's during Jeremy Fitzgerald's brief tenure, or several months beforehand.]]
** [[spoiler:The game was ultimately confirmed by Scott to take place in 1983, averting this trope.]]

* ButtMonkey: The kid. The poor, poor kid. Not only is he constantly tormented by his brother, he's also being chased by the most terrifying versions of the Fazbear gang to date, ''and'' [[spoiler:he winds up brain damaged, an later dead via either the Bite of '83 or '87]] Oh yeah, and he [[spoiler:gets bit on his ''birthday''. And is implied to '''DIE''' afterwards.]] ''Damn.''

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Even if you haven't already read through most of the page, you'll more than likely probably have correctly guessed from the information above that [[spoiler:the game is another prequel due to the player character's many trips to either Fredbear's Family Diner or the 1987 iteration of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza]]. In the game itself, it's not until the first night's post-night minigame that you'll actually get a heavy hint as to what the aforementioned spoiler is, and get outright shown after the end of the second night.

* LeftHanging: If this game ''is'' indeed the final one of the series, we may never know why [[spoiler:the original Fredbear's Family Diner closed, leading to the grand opening of this version in 1987 -- unless this ''is'' the original Fredbear's Family Diner, and the game ''doesn't'' take place in 1987]].
** There is also the matter of the box -- [[http://steamcommunity.com/games/388090/announcements/detail/125327007944045364 Scott has decided that come Halloween, the box will be left as it is]], with no means of finding out what lies inside.
** [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation This game ended up not being the last one,]] and [[spoiler:it was confirmed by Scott to take place in 1983, meaning that this ''is'' Fredbear's Family Diner.]] This still leaves the box's content unknown, however.
* MassOhCrap: [[spoiler:The kid's brother and his friends were laughing about their prank… then suddenly go utterly silent when the child's head gets crushed by Fredbear.]]

* MetaTwist: [[spoiler:Your enemies aren't haunted animatronics -- they're horrific nightmares of a coma patient.]]

* OddballInTheSeries: The gameplay takes place in a house instead of the titular pizzeria (which is still seen in between-night minigames), the protagonist is a child rather than a security guard, cameras are absent, and [[spoiler:the story deviates from the main serial killer plot and focuses on the events leading up to the Bite of '87 (or a similar event)]]. Unlike other examples of this trope, this is actually a celebrated aspect of this installment.

* POVSequel: [[spoiler:If this takes place during 1987, then the mini-games showcase the week leading up to the Bite of '87...from the victim's point of view.]]

* StartOfDarkness: The events of this game mark the beginning of the end for Fazbear Entertainment... [[spoiler:and [[EmergencyTransformation the]] [[CameBackWrong birth]] of [[RogueProtagonist Golden]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Freddy.]]]]

* SuckECheeses: The game's minigames show that the player character visits the pizzeria at one point, and he ''[[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond hates]]'' it with a burning passion as the animatronics terrify him, even when a costumed staff member approaches him with friendly intentions. [[spoiler:Later on, he's forced to have his birthday party there. His older brother ditched him at the pizzeria some time before and forced him to find his way home. The brother also locked the kid inside Parts & Services at one point. During the party, the kid is forcefully shoved inside of Fredbear's mouth by his brother and his friends as a prank -- and then ''a'' Bite happens; whether or not it's the Bite of '87 was completely unclear until [[WordOfGod Scott confirmed]] it was 1983 later. Either way, the Child ends up in a coma, and later dead.]]

* WhamShot: For those playing the main and canon version of the game after the Halloween update, "Fun with Balloon Boy", which highly suggests that the child is aware of the original BB's existence. [[spoiler:It ''[[AmbiguousTimePeriod might]]'' mean that either BB existed before 1987, or that the incident at the end is indeed the Bite of '87.]]
** [[spoiler:The game has been confirmed to take place in 1983, meaning that BB ''did'' exist prior to 1987.]]

* NotMeThisTime: Unlike the other games, [[spoiler:the Purple Man isn't responsible in any way for the killer animatronics causing our protagonist grief this time around.]] [[spoiler:[[OhCrap Well,]] as revealed in [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation Sister Location]]'s [[BonusDungeon Private Room]], he may very well be the boy's [[ArchnemesisDad father,]] invoking the nightmares through gas hallucination experiments.]]

* NotMeThisTime: Unlike the other games, [[spoiler:the Purple Man isn't responsible in any way for the killer animatronics causing our protagonist grief this time around.]]

* StartOfDarkness: The events of this game mark the beginning of the end for Fazbear Entertainment... [[spoiler:and [[EmergencyTransformation the]] [[CameBackWrong birth]] of [[RogueProtagonist Golden]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Freddy.]]

* StartOfDarkness: The events of this game mark the beginning of the end for Fazbear Entertainment... [[spoiler:and [[EmergencyTransformation the]] [[CameBackWrong birth]] of [[RogueProtagonist the]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Puppet.]] [[WildMassGuessing Possibly.]]]]

* SuckECheeses: The game's minigames show that the player character visits the pizzeria at one point, and he ''[[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond hates]]'' it with a burning passion as the animatronics terrify him, even when a costumed staff member approaches him with friendly intentions. [[spoiler:Later on, he's forced to have his birthday party there. His older brother ditched him at the pizzeria some time before and forced him to find his way home. The brother also locked the kid inside Parts & Services at one point. During the party, the kid is forcefully shoved inside of Fredbear's mouth by his brother and his friends as a prank -- and then ''a'' Bite happens; whether or not it's the Bite of '87 is completely unclear. Either way, the Child ends up in a coma, and later dead.]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: [[spoiler:The entire game is set up to very clearly be the lead-up to the Bite of 87. Unfortunately for us, Scott Cawthon, TrollingCreator he is, put an in-universe copyright date reading "1983" in one of the cutscenes, just to ramp up the WildMassGuessing UpToEleven, because Scott was very careful in removing any proof that it isn't not taking place in 1987.]]

* ButtMonkey: The kid. The poor, poor kid. Not only is he constantly tormented by his brother, he's also being chased by the most terrifying versions of the Fazbear gang to date, ''and'' [[spoiler:he winds up being the victim of the Bite of '83.]] Oh yeah, and he [[spoiler:gets bit on his ''birthday''. And is implied to '''DIE''' afterwards.]] ''Damn.''

* SuckECheeses: The game's minigames show that the player character visits the pizzeria at one point, and he ''[[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond hates]]'' it with a burning passion as the animatronics terrify him, even when a costumed staff member approaches him with friendly intentions. [[spoiler:Later on, he's forced to have his birthday party there. His older brother ditched him at the pizzeria some time before and forced him to find his way home. The brother also locked the kid inside Parts & Services at one point. During the party, the kid is forcefully shoved inside of Fredbear's mouth by his brother and his friends as a prank -- and then ''a'' Bite happens; whether or not it's the Bite of '87 is completely unclear. Either way, the Child ends up in a coma.]]

* ButtMonkey: The kid. The poor, poor kid. Not only is he constantly tormented by his brother, he's also being chased by the most terrifying versions of the Fazbear gang to date, ''and'' [[spoiler:he winds up being the victim of the Bite of '87. Or a precursor to it.]] Oh yeah, and he [[spoiler:gets bit on his ''birthday''. And is implied to '''DIE''' afterwards.]] ''Damn.''

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: In terms of both gameplay and story, ''Five Nights at Freddy's 4'' is ''radically'' different from previous titles. You don't have any cameras, you don't have to manage any type of resource, you can now move around freely, and there's no Phone Guy (you get tutorial messages instead). Additionally, this game isn't as frenetic as the others, since it allows a bit more time for making a decision, but instantly punishes you if you make the wrong choice. On the story side, it no longer takes place at a pizzeria (or haunted house based off of it), and you are now a scared child instead of a working adult. [[spoiler:And the Purple Man seemingly has next to no involvement with the plot, only making a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in a cutscene.]]