Five Nights at
Freddy’s 4 was released last week, and as always, the internet has blown up
with people complaining about its existence in the world of horror. Now I’m not
a FNaF fanboy, and I do understand how hard it is to drown out their incessant
cries of “best game evur!!1!” but I feel the series as a whole should be
defended against the other end of the spectrum.
It’s no secret that I love horror – particularly
psychological horror. Silent Hill is
possibly one of the greatest videogame series ever to exist, and it has left me
leaving the lights on for weeks after playing. However, that doesn’t mean that
anything that doesn’t have you crying for your mother in the middle of the
night isn’t good in itself. For most people, Freddy has no long-lasting effect
on the people who play the games, but jump-scares and tension building are
still a valuable part of horror. When you’re playing the game, you’re still
frantically trying to rid the room of screaming animatronics, and why? Because
they’re something to be feared. They make your heart skip a beat. They’re
horrific.
Personally, I wouldn’t place FNaF in the horror genre: at
least that doesn’t seem to be the main focus of the series any more. The series
has a set formula and set characters that don’t really leave people screaming
past the first couple of times.
(As a side note: for those who complain about the games
being repetitious and lazy, Silent Hill,
Mario and Final Fantasy games all
follow the same formula. Because it works. Because it sells. Things still
change between each game in the series – it’s not down to being lazy at all.)
Instead the series puts a large focus on skill. You’re supposed
to fail each night and as you do, you learn a little more about how the
animatronics work. You have to manage your time each night well and learn to
have eyes in the back of your head. The feeling of relief and achievement when
6am rolls around is incredible, no matter how many times it happens, and that’s
a sign of a successful game. Even that pales in comparison with the elation of
completing Nightmare Mode.
Another common argument against the series is the lack of
a plot. As a game that tests your skills and offers a quick thrill, the story
is hardly a focus (feel free to look back at the Super Mario series to see how this still creates great games).
However, when you delve into the numerous fan discussions online, the plot is
much greater than it first seems. People have managed to completely immerse
themselves in the FNaF universe, and the Bite of ’87 has been a site of
discussion for the past three games (we now know the full story, hurrah!) with
rumours and deep analysis of the tiniest game features flying around. The fact
that Scott can hide little hints around his games and keep players debating for
so long is something that great teams of developers struggle with.
The main issue with people who dislike the game seems to
be a “lack of effort” from the developer. Whether that is for the set formula
discussed above or another reason, people assume that Scott doesn’t put a lot
of work into creating and releasing a new game in the series. While he does
release them incredibly quickly for brand new games, I strongly believe that he
puts absolutely everything into each edition. He knows his audience, he listens
to what people want, and he creates games that just keep selling – that’s the
sign of an incredibly smart developer in my book. Specifically focusing on the
first and last games, the series has made leaps and bounds. With Five Nights at Freddy’s 4, as well as
being from a child’s perspective (something I love in horror games), Scott has
made the sound the most important thing – you’ll struggle to beat the game
using eyes alone. It’s a very clever tactic, and one that seems anything but
lazy to me.
Remember that this is one man, a man who still has people
uploading videos on YouTube of them sitting in a pool of sweat and urine,
struggling through the same night over and over again, determined to beat the
game. They do it because it’s worth beating in their eyes. Bad games make you
give up while great games keep you motivated to try again, even if you are
cursing every aspect of it as you do.
If your mind hasn’t changed about the series (and I’m not
expecting to start epiphanies with this post) then just remember: Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 is the last of
the series. The nightmare is over. Carry on with your lives.
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