I will admit that even I thought that the fourth game would be the last, yet here we are again with some more to review. If you have been watching my YouTube channel, you will know that I have had a pretty decent time playing all the games in the lead up to finally watching the film, which came out this week. Seeing as I have reviewed four of the games already, this post will be a review of the last two main games that Scott Cawthon himself worked on with a little help of others and also the two games developed by Steel Wool Studios which are now the people that are making the games going forward and for all types of platforms, but still having Scott Cawthon left, right and centre. So let's see what awaits us in these games:
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria Simulator
So this is one of a few official FNAF games which are freeware, meaning you don't have to pay anything to play it and anything to do stuff within it. It starts out as an arcade game where you can make pizza and then play a
Space Invader style game, throwing pizza at the children. This then begins to reveal the game as a simple Pizzeria Simulator, but with sequences where you have to decide the fates of various animatronics that have been found and survive a shift in your office, which can involve printing things and other stuff. So very much a typical FNAF game, but with the fun element of making your own Freddy Fazbear Pizza restaurant with minigames you can play that also, if done correctly, reveal more lore in an attempt to tie up all loose ends. In many ways, this feels like the true ending of the FNAF storyline if you get a certain ending (it has multiple endings). Compared to the darker entries that we had before this one (which for me, would've started with 3 and ended with Sister Location), it's an interesting change of pace and one that gives us a new experience while retaining the usual gameplay we have come to know and for the most part, love. It feels like an ending, but as we later find out, it ends up being more of an ending for the Clickstream games at least. 8/10
Ultimate Custom Night
So this was originally going to be part of the previous game, but due to how big it ended up becoming, Scott Cawthon decided to make it its own game. Pretty straight forward gameplay, it's the typical FNAF experience where you must survive until 6am from a wide array of animatronics from across the games at various difficulties, all controlled and customized by us, the players. It features all the animatronics that have appeared in all the games up to when this came out, and I'd say it's quite fun and capitalizes on not just the success of the games, but also the memes that it has spawned. In the timeline, most will agree that this is a never ending nightmare for William Afton (aka Purple Guy) who at long last, had died for good at some point in the timeline and this is his hell. Complicated controls aside, this game is basically what it sets out to be. A fully customizable FNAF experience, focused on the gameplay of the first game and featuring elements taken from each of the games that came after it. Pretty fun, but far from easy, depending on what experience you want to have. It also has challenges too. 9/10
Help Wanted (Flat and VR)
So now we are onto the Steel Wool games and this first one, can be played in VR, but also in "flat" mode too. Set sometime after
Pizzeria Simulator, Fazbear Entertainment has once again, become a corporate entity and to make light of the horror stories that have been told about the company, they in-universe, made this game, but are unaware of a rouge coded animatronic with a connection to Afton, that lurks within. In the game, there are remakes of the five nights in FNAF 1-3 as well as the minigame in FNAF 4 and also the fifth night of the same game, among other minigames. In all the remade nights, the camera feed is always on and doesn't flipping up or down, and all the animatronics are 3D models that move physically. FNAF 1 also lets you poke your head out of the doors. FNAF 2 has three light buttons which, unlike the original, do not use up torch battery power, and you can see the animatronics moving in the hallway. FNAF 3 now lets you see the vent hole that Springtrap may come out of, and the phantoms actually now look more like phantoms. Some are missing key things like the hidden minigames in FNAF 3, and you do get the fifth night, but only in hard mode. The minigame involving Plushtrap and Balloon Boy from FNAF 4 is back and features a 3D environment and 4 levels of difficulty, with the last two featuring characters from Sister Location. The remakes of the fifth night of FNAF 4, use the same basic gameplay, but the character now teleports to parts of the room and with the exception of one of those levels, its very much as you'd expect it to be, but with more stuff that the developers can do with 3D stuff over 2D static stuff. There is also Vent Repair where you are mending vents while at the same time, fending off Mangle and Ennard. Then there is Parts & Services where you have to carefully mend the original 4 animatronics carefully or be prepared for a jumpscare if done wrong. Both being inspired by the gameplay of Sister Location. When completing minigames, you get prizes and, hidden within the minigames, are tapes that provide in-universe information regarding the game's existence and the rough coding that lurks within. Also coins too which you can use to exchange for prizes much like in an arcade. The final minigame, which I won't say too much about, is a maze that leads to one of the endings the game has. Finally, there is a Halloween themed DLC,
The Curse of Dreadbear, which has various minigames that use the nightmare animatronics and things usually tied to Halloween like a corn maze, going inside a haunted mansion, going trick or treating and so on. It's a well-made game that feels very meta in the dialogue of what I'm assuming is the Tutorial Bot from Sister Location, and I guess you could call it a test game for the developer. Just for them to see if they can replicate the gameplay of FNAF 1-Sister Location and take different elements from them to make this game. It's a well-made game that feels like a celebration of the franchise, especially as at the time, it would've begun a new era for it that will still have fans, but not necessarily all its fans with most being satisfied with the ending we got in
Pizzeria Simulator. 9/10
Security Breach
Now we have a game that changes a bit too much for the franchise, but is still very much a game where you are surviving just one night this time, against various threats, including both animatronics and humans. Fazbear Entertainment have made a Mega Pizzaplex shopping mall. During the latest performance of a show starring the main stars of the mall, Glamrock Freddy (voiced by Kellen Goff) has a technical malfunction and shuts down, which cuts the performance, short. After awakening in his dressing room, it's revealed that a boy called Gregory (voiced by Marta Svetek) has been in his belly and with Freddy being non-antagonistic to him due to his malfunctioning, he helps him escape the Pizzaplex, which then proves impossible when the doors are locked. To survive the night, Gregory, with the help of Freddy, fends off various animatronics and other threats while also uncovering morbid secrets and more that could lead to the Pizzaplex closing down if revealed to the public. As just Gregory, you can obtain various items that can access areas and help with fending off animatronics and just traversing in the Pizzaplex. As Freddy (when Gregory is inside), you can evade pretty much all, except two, of the many enemies inside the Pizzaplex. But Freddy has limited power and must be charged when there is a charge station nearby. It's one of those games that has save points rather than an auto save which can be a little annoying, but adds to the overall difficulty of the game. Freddy can receive upgrades which can be found throughout the game and usually once an animatronic that has been damaged beyond repair, can one be found and used. In keeping with the core gameplay of the series, the enemies become more and more aggressive as you progress through it. Without revealing too much more about the game, it's a welcome change to what we've played before. The free roaming has been seen in fan games, but never in the main game until now, and it does definitely add a new way of trying to fend off animatronics, as do the tools and weapons that Gregory comes across throughout the game. Parts will be hard, and some animatronics are more aggressive than others, like the Daycare Assistant who is a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde-type character and the Gator guy too. But overall, another solid entry in the series and one that definitely raised the bar for the games going forward. The
Ruin DLC is also pretty good too. 9/10
So with us being in a new era for the FNAF games, it's nice to see 3D environments and models used. Not saying that I didn't like the 2D rendering of the Clickstream games when I say that. But it's just a nice evolution to see in the games. Not sure where the series will go following the film and the upcoming Help Wanted 2 game, but I feel the future is looking bright for Freddy Fazbear and pals. 9/10
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