Yesterday, the much beloved indie-horror sensation Five Nights at Freddy’s series just released a teaser trailer for the third game in the series. While this isn’t an uncommon thing to hear about, this is the third game within a year. Here are some reaction to the trailer from our Last Token Gaming staff:
Terry Randolph: I’m getting tired of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series because there’s not enough time to enjoy one for a long period of time. I could understand how easy it would be to churn out a sequel within a year for this type of game, but three of them within ONE year? That’s ridiculous, and leads me to think several things:
- Each Five Nights at Freddy’s is built on the same engine and same mechanics, and which screams lazy to me. The first Five Nights at Freddy’s had unique gameplay that was genuinely scary — provided you didn’t think about ridiculous the mechanics would be in the real world. Usually, a sequel tries improving on what the previous didn’t execute well. To me Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 felt like it took a step backward by just upping the difficulty without any real, genuine tweak in gameplay. Based on the just released teaser trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, we’re getting the same game we’ve gotten twice already.
- Essentially, Five Nights at Freddy’s is becoming predictable because nothing’s changed. The stakes are the same, the restrictions the same, everything.
- The Five Nights at Freddy’s lore is being rushed. I love ambiguity in lore and mythos because it lets fans of the franchise come up with theories that can be deadly accurate or hilariously off. It creates interaction between fans and provides another great foundation to build a solid fan base on. With Five Nights at Freddy’s, the ambiguity feels like it comes more from the games being rushed out.
- Lastly, the games are starting to really help define a new genre of gaming I’d like to call YouTube bait – perfect for people to play in Let’s Plays and cry, scream, etc to generate revenue. Talking to several people I know, they enjoy watching it more than wanting to play it. The game, if anything feels stressful and not in a good way.
Basically, I feel like having a third one coming out already has tipped the scale to the series being oversaturated. I loved the first game, didn’t care for the second game, and this one just doesn’t grab my interest at all. It looks like it’s recycling the first game background with just new skins on the animatronics.
Ryan Goddard: Five Nights at Freddy is releasing too fast. The first game was new and fresh because it played on the fears many of us had when we were younger. Then the second one game out. To start it was way too fast. Many people didn’t even know of the first game first. Bundle Stars did well by having back to back bundles for the first and second game.
Now, hot on the heels of the second game, they are pulling a 3rd game? If they wanted to make it episodic they should have said so from them start. I get that they are trying to keep the game fresh in the minds of gamers, but over saturation isn’t the best plan for a game like this
Marshall Garvey: First, some context. Like many a gaming dweeb, I like to oh-so-cleverly remark that I don’t play FNAF, but love watching people play it instead. I’ve played the first one for a quick spell on Terry’s laptop, but otherwise haven’t been able to delve into the series due to the constraints of being a Mac gamer. So for now, I make these observations as a spectator, not a fan or reviewer.
As for the announcement of the third installment of Scott Cawthon’s haunted Chuck E. Cheese franchise….um, er, I guess? Basically, I’m mixed. On the upside, I LOVE the mythology Scott has weaved thus far in the first two games. It’s one of the most disturbing, wholly original, cryptic, and endlessly intriguing ones in recent video game history. There’s certainly enough to create a whole series of games for quite some time.
On the downside, in line with what Terry said above, I fear it’s getting to be too fast and repetitious in its production. Going from what little there is in the teaser, it looks like you’re once again stuck behind a desk, observing the action throughout the building desperately via camera. To this say I say: Really? AGAIN? For awhile now, I’ve been really hoping there will be a FNAF game that allows you to roam around the building, hiding from the predatory animatronics and perhaps even uncovering the game’s twisted mythos through various clues and collectibles. But if you are indeed just another inexplicably stupid security guard who stays wedded to the desk the whole time, then I’m not interested, and it would seem Mr. Cawthon is just slapping a new skin on the same engine. Which would be a shame, as there are plenty of great new ideas he could be implementing!