Five Nights at Freddy's

The Good
Five Nights at Freddy's is an indie horror game developed by Scott Cawthon. Cawthon's works prior to Five Nights at Freddy's were nothing special, but this time he managed to capture a magic most horror games struggle to obtain.

If you're looking to get into the horror genre of video games, or you're a fan of horror games, I actually recommend that you start with this one. Classics like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Amnesia are a little overwhelming for perhaps most people.

The reason why I recommend you start with Five Nights at Freddy's as your first horror game, is because the game is remarkably simple in gameplay and premise. You are a security officer at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a Chuck E. Cheese knock off if you will. Your job is to monitor the cameras and protect yourself from the animatronic puppets coming to murder you. You need to survive for six in game hours to beat the night.

The gameplay can be quite involving despite there being very little there visually. You control two doors, two lights and a camera; all of which are meant to protect you. However, each action uses electricity (power). When you run out of power... Well, just make sure you don't.

The real terror comes from the game... and yourself. Staying calm is vital to beat the five nights in Five Nights at Freddy's. The power mechanic takes advantage of humanity's greatest enemy... the unknown. Simply put, that which we don't know, understand or can't predict, frightens us. Having control is what we need to feel relief. The power forces you to limit the amount of information you can provide yourself with, thus the balance of power. Without knowing the location of the characters, your mind begins to expect the worse. If you don't understand how one of the characters works, they will scare you.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Five Nights at Freddy's. It's become a classic in horror games. The game is not as overwhelming as other horror games, so it's a great place to start.

The Bad
The problems of Five Nights at Freddy's begin to emerge later into the play through. Luck and randomness are vital components of the gameplay, meaning some nights may be harder for the wrong reasons. The tedious nature takes away from the horror and dampens the game.

The Bottom Line
Everything from the atmosphere, tone and setting compliment each other with relative ease. The game captures an early 90's industrial feel that immerses you very quickly with its surprisingly good visuals. The ambience and sound effects (some of which may or may not be red herrings) will give you an impending sense of dread, anxiety and uncertainty.