Throwback Thursday: 12 Years of Five Nights at Freddy’s
August marked the 12-year anniversary of the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game (as well as my increased interest in not just mascot horror, but the indie horror scene in general). It is truly bizarre to think about how one solo developer helped revitalize survival horror while also catalyzing the surge in indie horror games.
What makes the original games so special isn’t just their deceptively simple gameplay, but the genuinely dreadful atmosphere that becomes more oppressive the longer you play. Of course, the jump scares also help a lot. Personally, my overall favorite game in the series is FNAF 2. Still, there is a lot to love about the game that started it all (as a side note, expect a full ranking of the FNAF franchise in the future!).
Another aspect of FNAF that really made it special during the first few years was the community. At the time, it was so exciting to discuss theories (online and with friends) about the mysterious origins of “Purple Guy” or the increasingly confusing timeline. From fans creating genuinely impressive fangames to watching your favorite Let’s Players experience the games for themselves, the early era of the FNAF community was truly a lightning-in-a-bottle moment. I think this rings especially true, given that FNAF was one of the first mainstream indie horror games online.
Considering the recent big anniversary reveals of a real-life Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and the heavily rumored FNAF World 2, they inspired me to finally return to the franchise myself. I can’t wait to play through the original games this October and re-experience the aspects that (in my opinion) still hold up very well today.
Post Comment