QCF: Five Nights at Freddy's 2

ive Nights at Freddy's is a feverish, effective game that implements point-and-click style gameplay mechanics to help build tension, dread, and sometimes, hopeless rage. Scott Cawthon created a very simple vehicle for a murky plot, imposing mood and ambience and of course, four hell-spawn animatronic animal musicians. Oh, and of course, you can't move.

So here we are, back at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza for a second time. Released with surprising swiftness after the first game (in fact, the sequel was released on Steam November 11, 2014 – over a month earlier than the originally projected December 25), Five Nights at Freddy's 2 brings us back to a familiar setup: sit in this chair and wait uncomfortably for a shrieking robot bunny to startle you to death.

Players have very little control over your environment. On hand is your flashlight, which operates independently of the cameras, instead of having a shared power source as in the first; access to your cameras; light switches situated in the vents to the left and right of your chair; and the music box, which you remotely keep wound up to keep one of the baddies at bay.

Oh, right: there's ten of them now. The most inventive addition is a Freddy Fazbear head for your very own – and who wouldn't want to stick their heads in one of those things? Some of the animatronics can be fooled if you disguise yourself as one of them, and some of them, as expected, don't give a crap.

A crucial part of staying alive in the first game is finding a steady, fast pattern and sticking to it. The same is true for Five Nights at Freddy's 2 – it isn't necessary to check every single camera, though like the first game, there are hints of the deeper story hidden around the restaurant. The vents and the cavernous hallway directly in front of the player (who needs doors?) are constant areas of threat, be it from Foxy or his new friend Mangle, or – starting on Night 3 – the return of the familiar, 'old' animatronics from the first game, although with some slight cosmetic differences.

A Chucky-doll-esque Balloon Boy is constantly lurking around, who will summon his pals to you if you don't get rid of him in time. The new, 'toy' animatronics – the ones featured in most promotional images – are the staple enemies for your week-long adventure in job experience. Bonnie, Chica, and the titular Freddy will try their best to completely ruin your day.

Each night begins with cursory introduction by the same 'Phone Guy' as in the first, raising questions by veterans of FNAF that are quickly answered with context cues. The restaurant is a massive beast compared to the first game, and another addition – one of my favorites – is hidden mini-games that randomly occur after a game over. Presented in simplistic Atari 2600-style graphics with surreal, droning ambience in the background, a deeper story is revealed behind the goings-ons at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

In a game with such simplistic, limited mechanics, I'm always curious to see how a complex plot can be relayed; the creativity on display makes sure it gets across. Another addition to these ends are the in-between vignettes from the perspective of Freddy Fazbear himself, delving into the nature of the relationships between the animatronics (and other figures) and the hauntings/mysterious tragedies at the restaurant.

The difficulty in FNAF2 rapidly escalates – after waffling through Nights 1 + 2, Night 3 feels like being shoved into traffic. I admit to screaming more obscenities than I normally would have because of Bonnie, say, had I been cast in a Tarantino movie of course.

This is where I advocate again for this game to be played in a group – not only do the terrified reactions of friends soften your own frustration, but you can angrily thrust the keyboard at someone else when you've need to take a breather. Together, we are strong.

As of this writing, the trailer for Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was released 11 hours ago. The inherent simplicity of the game is a factor in the speed with with Cawthorn completes these products, but I'm still impressed – and excited. An aspect of FNAF I have enjoyed so far is the fact you can't really defeat your antagonists, you are simply there to survive, dissect the lore, and pick up a paycheck.

I was doubtful that having such a similar formula in the game's sequel would work as well as the first and still feel fresh, tense, and inspire the same kind of dread, but I was pleasantly surprised (well, as pleasantly as one could possibly be), and I have high expectations for the next release.