Five Nights at Chuck E. Cheese’s is a horror fan-game based off the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise and the Chuck E. Cheese entertainment center and restaurant chain. The original version was released in 2015 by Jollytea, playable here
. An official, complete reboot of the game was released in 2021 under the name Five Nights at Chuck E. Cheese’s: Rebooted, in collaboration with Jollytea and Radiance, the team behind the 2020 version of Five Nights at Treasure Island. You can play Rebooted here.
It’s 1979, and Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre is just a little over two years old. The animatronics used at your location are soon going to be replaced with the next generation, and you’re the temporary nightguard keeping watch to make sure nothing happens to them while they get replaced. Of course, this is a Freddy’s fangame, so naturally what should stay on the stage (or rather, in their portraits) instead erratically move around the building, out for your blood.
Five Nights at Chuck E. Cheese’s provides examples of:
- Advancing Boss of Doom: When Costume starts moving, he can't be moved back, requiring the player to keep him in place by staring at him constantly.
- Ambiguous Situation: It is unconfirmed if the animatronics are Haunted Technology or simply Murderous Malfunctioning Machines, though Chuck E. being self-aware of his replacing, Mr. Munch’s ominous lines, and Crusty the Cat mysteriously still being active imply the former.
- Art Evolution: The original Five Nights at Chuck E. Cheese’s used existing images of the animatronics, had a very simplistic building, and did not conform to one specific era of the franchise. Come Rebooted, and everything has been rebuilt from the ground up to explicitly be based on the 70’s, including the characters.
- Big Bad: Costume is the biggest threat in Rebooted, and the only one capable of jamming the player's door.
- Can't Move While Being Watched: There is no way to force the Costume backwards. However, watching him on the camera seems to be the sole way of slowing him down, as he doesn’t move when you do.
- Creepy Mascot Suit: The Costume is the sole non-animatronic character, and he is just as antagonistic as the animatronics are.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The cameras at the Chuck E.’s location are black-and-white. Whether or not this is due to the technology or if it is some kind of night mode is unclear.
- Eyeless Face: Many of the characters discard their eyes when attacking, including Mr. Munch, Helen, Pasqually and Modern Chuck E. Cheese.
- Humanoid Abomination: The Costume, the only non-animatronic enemy, is implied to not be entirely human, and is at least strong enough to keep the actively closing door open when you try to shut it on him.
- Hell Is That Noise:
- Jasper T. Jowls makes a buzzing static when he’s in front of you, and the Stage Call used to deter him, Helen and Pasqually is even louder.
- Every character with a jumpscare (except Modern Chuck E. Cheese) has a very loud scream for a jumpscare noise.
- Hostile Animatronics: Something’s gone wrong, and now the Pizza Time Players are out for your blood.
- Jump Scare: As it is a Freddy’s fan-game, the majority of characters kill you with one.
- Mythology Gag:
- Crusty the Cat is one of the first members of the Chuck E. Cheese lineup, and also didn’t last very long, only staying for a few showtapes before being replaced by Mr. Munch. In the universe of Rebooted, he’s heavily decayed and very hostile, though since he’s not a part of the band anymore he only appears in the storage room during the post-night minigame.
- One of the Custom Night-exclusive characters in Rebooted is Modern Chuck E. Cheese, who was the primary version of the character used in the original version. He even reuses the same laugh, jumpscare noise, and game-over screen from the original.
- Mr. Munch’s sole line, “Nobody can save you now”, is also what he said in the original version.
- Pasqually’s jumpscare ends with an oversaturated close-up of his face with a pitched-down scream. This is a reference to his original jumpscare, which was just a still image of his face with red eyes, styled after Golden Freddy’s jumpscare from the Freddy’s games.
- Secret Character: The game’s custom Night has four: Modern Chuck E. Cheese, The Bear, Munch Jr., and Dolli Dimples.
- Slow Doors: The gate you use to keep Chuck E. out not only has to be continuously held down but also comes down very slowly, giving Chuck E. more time to attack.
- Tragic Villain: Chuck E.’s line about not being replaced may imply that one of the reasons the animatronics are acting out is that they are simply scared of being scrapped in favor of the new animatronics.
- Who Needs Their Whole Body?: As every character is based off their portrait versions, none of them have any legs, requiring them to crawl around the building.
