Have you ever thought of what animatronics do after closing time? How do they preoccupy the midnight hours between the rounds of screaming children? Do they need some release after being poked, prodded, and pulled by greasy fingers? Do the smiles of those kitschy mascots stay innocently cheesy even in the dark, or do they turn into something else, something infinitely darker?
I can’t say I really thought about those questions or even of animatronics at all really before I heard talk of the latest indie game that’s taking my gaming circles by storm. Although released only a short time ago and a recent graduate of the Steam Greenlight program, Scott Cawthon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s is quickly scaring up a name for itself as one of the most potent horror games on the market.
In Five Nights at Freddy’s you play as an unnamed, recently hired security guard for a Chuck E Cheese knockoff restaurant. The job seems simple enough; you are to keep an eye on the four animatronic animals during your midnight shift via video streams and make sure nothing gets out of hand. But as the employee who previously occupied your position nonchalantly warns, the animatronics have a nasty habit of roaming the pizza place . . . and violently stuffing security guards into the animal suits. Your correspondent doesn’t have all the details but he does know that if you want to make it through the week, you’ll have to keep a watchful eye on those creepy creatures.
The game harnesses its own simplicity in order to instill the greatest fear. As a guard you only have a few actions at your disposal. You can track the movements of the curious critters throughout the restaurant by tapping into the security cameras. In order to illuminate the oh-so-conveniently-located blind spots right outside your room, you can make use of light switches on either side to add a little extra clarity. In dire circumstances, the two doors leading to your post can be closed just in case you need to bunker down or withstand an assault.
Unfortunately for the poor newbie, this pizza place is not only deadly, it’s also cheap. Management is pretty adamant about you using only a designated amount of energy per night. Unfortunately everything you’d like to do in this situation will increase your energy intake. Turning on a light, keeping a door closed, and even monitoring the animatronics sucks away precious power. A blackout, the eerie glow of cold eyes, and death awaits you if your power level hits zero so budgeting your only resource is key. Coupled with the physical distance between each set of power buttons, it is this vulnerability that really makes the game so terrifying. Because the charge dwindles so quickly you are forced to alternately switch between sitting and waiting and passively watching the cameras. It’s difficult not to let the paranoia sink in. After all, the animatronics might suddenly disappear without any warning, move rather randomly about the restaurant, and show up right outside your door. The lack of a pause option and the few second gap between nights keeps the tension and adrenaline high at all times. Much like its horror predecessors (Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Slender), the completely passive-action based gameplay really harnesses the vulnerability that makes immersive horror experiences so unnerving.
Although based on a slightly ridiculous premise and largely devoid of plot (a void fanfiction writers have already started to fill), the gripping atmosphere largely made me forget any concern other than the urge to stay alive. The mascots whisper catchphrases, off-putting noises, and hum children’s songs in haunting tones. Occasionally you can hear the sound of shuffling 
footsteps as the animatronics get closer and close. There isn’t any music but the moments of silence only add to the tension. Even the animatronics themselves are sinister looking, with one particularly worrisome duck dressed in a shit that reads “Let’s eat!,” an aspect that cleverly demonstrates how context can shape our perception.
Some may find the game’s reliance on jump scares to be redundant of both the games and movies that preceded Five Nights at Freddy’s but I found that the near constant state of panic and paranoid anticipation kept me constantly on edge. Panning from camera to camera only to find that one or more animatronic has gone missing is terrifying and begins the struggle to maintain a balance between monitoring the cameras, securing your bunker, and conserving energy. Five Nights at Freddy’s certainly lives up to its hype, delivering an experience that combines unnerving visuals and audio with the kind of high intensity anticipation and scare that turns even the unrealistic into the truly frightening.
