I gained’t mince phrases; the 5 Nights at Freddy’s franchise is one which I’ve typically struggled to get into. Regardless of its unimaginable reputation and big success, it shortly turned a franchise that I simply could not get enthusiastic about. Positive, the primary sport was attention-grabbing to me when it first got here out, and I respect the deep lore that the sequence has turn into identified for, nevertheless it felt like each subsequent entry did not cease me in my tracks in the way in which that the primary sport did. The shock issue and uniqueness of the franchise solely turned increasingly more diluted with every sport feeling the identical because the final.
Not too long ago, although, I realized of the announcement of 5 Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit, a brand new title set to launch as a celebration of the franchise’s tenth anniversary. The work of Pittsburgh-based developer Mega Cat Studios, this title eschews the everyday gameplay kinds of your commonplace 5 Nights at Freddy’s sport in favor of a 2D gameplay model with pixel-art graphics. That is by far the most important leap the sequence has taken since its inception, and it seems to be essentially the most formidable and distinctive sport the sequence has seen. And dare I say, whilst a non-fan of the franchise, I’m truly genuinely enthusiastic about this sport.
A 2D FNAF Recreation?
5 Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit is the primary title within the sequence to be dealt with by Mega Cat Studios. A 24-person group from Pittsburgh, Mega Cat’s earlier expertise largely facilities round releasing trendy video games for retro platforms, such because the Nintendo Leisure System and the Sega Genesis. It’s an unconventional strategy, nevertheless it helped them create a reputation for themselves early and sometimes. Since 2023, although, the studio has modified up their model, as a substitute specializing in PC and trendy consoles, whereas nonetheless creating video games within the old-school, 2D model.
As beforehand talked about, this can be a totally 2D journey title with a pixel artwork graphical model. Whereas the sequence has had occasional 2D minigames right here and there, that is the primary time 5 Nights at Freddy’s has totally dedicated to a 2D model for the whole lot of a sport. The gameplay seems to be very puzzle-oriented, whereas additionally seemingly permitting gamers to discover a number of totally different time durations within the Fazbear universe. Because the title would recommend, this title additionally takes heavy inspiration from the anthology novel Fazbear Frights: Into the Pit, one of many extra beloved FNAF novels.
Seemingly in growth for a really very long time, the primary trailer for 5 Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit was launched in late January, although its official launch got here not lengthy after a sequence of leaks. The early trailers appear actually compelling, and even with a brand new aesthetic, the scare issue continues to be there. On a private degree, I discovered the jumpscares to be actually compelling within the new artwork model, and I’m completely happy to see that the general rigidity continues to be very a lot there regardless of the novel change in model. However nearly as good as the sport appears, a lot of my pleasure with Into the Pit comes as a result of it’s doing one thing I’ve been begging the franchise to do for a really very long time: strive one thing totally different.
This Is What The Franchise Has Wanted!
As beforehand famous, a large a part of the rationale why 5 Nights at Freddy’s turned such an uninteresting franchise to me was the barrage of video games launched at one time that performed too equally to at least one one other. The primary sport, launched in 2014, introduced with it a fairly recent tackle the horror style, limiting the participant by not permitting them to maneuver round freely. Positive, you could possibly see it as “a sport that makes you sit round and look ahead to a jumpscare,” nevertheless it was an attention-grabbing limitation that helped emphasize a large amount of technique in a horror sport.
Following this sleeper hit, although, the franchise noticed quite a few sequels launched in such a brief span of time, a near-milking of the success of the unique. In simply two years, we have been already on the fourth mainline entry, as sequence creator Scott Cawthon was releasing sequels at a charge that will make publishers like EA and Activision blush. And it wasn’t merely that a number of video games have been being launched at one time, both; it was that these titles all performed extraordinarily equally to at least one one other, failing to essentially present many distinctive gameplay modifications. As somebody who values gameplay greater than something in a online game, the sheer quantity of titles that did not meaningfully innovate on the gameplay entrance turned me off of the sequence for some time. Regardless of how unimaginable your writing or lore is, it means nothing to me if it’s accompanied by forgettable gameplay, and that was the most important undoing for this sequence.
Even when the franchise did meaningfully change with 2020’s 5 Nights at Freddy’s: Safety Breach, the dearth of total polish dirty the thrill I might’ve had for it. With Safety Breach, gamers have been not confined to a stationary chair, as they got the prospect to discover with higher freedom of motion. This was all nicely and good, however the completed product got here out in an extremely poor state, with main technical points and glitches that made your complete expertise rather less particular. Though it appeared to have a contact extra growth time than the everyday 5 Nights at Freddy’s enterprise, it felt blatantly unfinished at launch, and nonetheless carried some points even after a number of patches.
With Into the Pit, it feels just like the franchise is lastly transferring someplace totally different with a singular new route, and I’m excited. It actually feels just like the franchise goes someplace really new, and it’s exhibiting an unimaginable fearlessness in doing so. They are saying that you would be able to’t educate an previous canine new methods, however with 5 Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit, it appears like that adage would possibly very nicely be confirmed mistaken. I really hope the franchise continues to obtain distinct entries comparable to this, and if that may occur, maybe 5 Nights at Freddy’s will turn into a sequence I’ll be desirous about listening to.
