QCF: Five Nights at Freddy's

n the vein of Stephen King’s It or Chucky, Five Nights at Freddy’s takes on one of the creepiest characters from our collective childhood ­ the animatronic robots dressed as cuddly stuffed animals that perform at amusement parks and fun centers. Their dead eyes and jerky movements place them firmly in the Uncanny Valley ­ a bit too life­like for comfort. Why did these things exist?

Whoever thought they were appropriate for children? Even as a little girl I remember shrinking away whenever they “looked” at me (also, people who dress up as statues). These robots are creepy as hell, making them the perfect villains for this atmospheric nightmare game.

The premise involves you taking a job as a graveyard shift security guard at a Chuck E Cheese­esque family fun center, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Unfortunately, what sounds like a slacker job turns out to be anything but as you have to protect yourself from the animatronic characters that work there ­ Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, and Chica. They get a bit restless at night and if they find you, they'll mistake you for one of them, who just happens to be missing a suit ­ they'll try to force you into one of their suits, killing you.

Your office is equipped with security cameras, lights, and heavy doors ­ but your cheap employer keeps you on a weak power source, meaning you have to prioritize your power usage and strategize what to use when to ensure you don't run out before your shift is done. Each character has different powers ­ teleportation, fast running, or working together to mess with your doors.

If you can survive the first night, you'll progress to the next and so on for the five days. If you successfully complete those, you unlock the difficult Sixth Night and finally a customizable level. Each level lasts less than ten real­time minutes...if you can last that long.

What initially seems like a simple point­and­click has a surprisingly in­depth story that presents itself subtly throughout the game. Your first night begins with a phone call from another security guard, who gives you some tips about managing your power. As the nights progress, his phone calls paint a darker picture of Freddy's and the consequences of working there.

Newspaper clippings around the building change at times to give more backstory to the situation. Paying close attention to your surroundings allows you to uncover some of the mysteries of Freddy's, but you won't miss out on any necessary context if you don't.

The simplicity of sitting in one place with just a few controls adds to the fear and makes it feel almost like a bad dream. You will yearn to get up and run and hide, which may have been less scary than simply being forced to sit there. Five Nights at Freddy's isn't always fun to play; In fact, it's kind of awful, but in a great way.

The draining power and lack of movement can be frustrating, you feel a lack of control, so while it may not be fun to sit in fear, it's pleasurable in a different way. Every time I started a level I felt mild dread, which built up as I waited for the night to truly begin.

Gamers who enjoy the adrenaline rush of a jump scare will love this game. As the levels are so quick and it's so simple, it makes for a good group experience if you invite friends to come over and watch.

Character design is good ­ the robots are generic yet familiar, they kind of look like characters

you'd see at any family restaurant. I can't tell if they look more sinister than real­life animatronic robots do, or if they look extra evil in the context of the game, but regardless, they're both funny and terrifying. 

Although the game centers on jump scares (and, kindly, warns you about them at the beginning),it's really the build­up and dread that makes Five Nights at Freddy's so good. The very limited range of movement, allowing you only to slightly lean from one side to another, adds to the atmosphere ­ you’re trapped alone in the chair with no escape.

You only have a few control options: opening and closing the doors, turning the lights on and off, and watching security cameras. Otherwise, you’re a sitting duck.

Sound also plays a major role as you learn to fear Freddy's ominous theme song or hear Bonnie and Chica banging on your door. Often, jump scare games are scariest the first time you play them, decreasing in terror as you adjust to it and learn what to expect.

 Five Nights at Freddy's goes the opposite way ­ while it's certainly creepy at first when you are trying to figure out what to do, further play-throughs get scarier as you associate the sound or camera cues with the inevitable death. Randomized AI and the variety of character traits allow each play-through to feel somewhat fresh, for at least a few more play-throughs. They successfully use sound as well as visuals to build dread.

Overall, it's a creative, well­made, fun game that I never want to play again. It masterfully weaves a creepy, dreadful atmosphere where losing feels both inevitable and almost preferable. The nostalgia mixed with horror is a winning combination that essentially feels like a nightmare, complete with an all too traumatizing sense of helplessness over your inability to escape.

The short levels and differing traits of the characters allow it replayability to a certain point. Knowing how helpless you are and what's coming makes the second playthrough even scarier than the first. Five Nights at Freddy's has great potential to grow (and if you look at their official website, it seems they're planning a sequel in 2015), and expertly delivers as a terrifying, well­developed horror game.