Characters at the center of the story and constant tension
FNAF is rightfully considered one of the most popular games of our time. This is thanks to a unique concept that has never been seen before in the horror game genre. The constant feeling of tension and surveillance is perhaps the scariest thing that can be.
In the game, you have to help a security guard survive a night shift at an abandoned children's entertainment center. You need to make it from 12am to 6am. Instead of rest and recreation, the guard needs to keep an eye on the CCTV cameras and make sure that the evil mechanical robot animatronics don't leave their seats.
At the beginning of the shift, it may seem that everything is calm and the animatronics are harmless, but soon they start moving. They head towards the office where the security guard is sitting. When the first robot disappears from the common room, and the rest start to stare intently into the camera, the real terror and tension begins.
The player is given the opportunity to control the guard, who watches what is happening through the cameras and controls the doors with a tablet. He has no weapons except a flashlight. Every time animatronics appear on the cameras, there is a screener that can be the guard's last. The fear and tension here is felt in real time, which makes the game especially exciting and frightening.
Secrets and mysteries in FNAF
Despite the simple but addictive gameplay, Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) has many mysteries and secrets that attract players from all over the world. Initially, only the name of the security guard is known - Mike Schmidt, who just started working at the pizzeria. It is also known that before him another guard worked here, who leaves voice messages. From them the player learns that the animatronics come to life at night, but the past guard explains it by the need to move the robots to prevent the rusting of servos.
That said, the former employee, nicknamed Phone Guy, mentions an incident called “Bite 87” in which one of the animatronics allegedly bit half of a boy's head off. Fans are still discussing the incident, but there is no concrete evidence of Freddy's involvement in the incident, other than a sign outside Freddy's cage that reads “Don't Touch Freddy.” Some believe this warning is related to “Bite 87.”
These are only a small part of the secrets and mysteries that are hidden in the game. These include the disappearance of five children, the identity of the Purple Guy, the appearance of the evil animatronic Springtrap, the existence of Freddy's golden bear, and more.
These, as well as other mysteries and secrets, players have yet to unravel, but don't get your hopes up that you'll be able to do so anytime soon. The biggest fans of the series have been trying to build theories about the origins, motives and goals of the animatronics for years, but so far all these speculations remain theories. And you can try to solve these and other mysteries on the website https://fnafgames.net/, where all FNAF games are collected.
The secret to the success of the popularity lies in the media component
There's no denying that the media and outlets have played an important role in popularizing Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF). Right after its release in 2014, the game created a sensation. Two weeks after its release, it appeared on the Steam store, which led to even more distribution. All news outlets wrote about the new breakthrough in the genre of horror games, and bloggers filmed walkthroughs. Especially popular was the video of blogger Markiplier, which gathered more than 100 million views.
It's important to note that the game's riddles, mysteries, and secrets also played a big role in its success. In 2015, YouTube saw the emergence of numerous channels dedicated to FNAF. The content of these channels was based on solving mysteries and searching for passhages. Viewers were interested in finding out what other secrets the animatronics were hiding. Thanks to this content, theories about the origin of the robots and their connection to the missing children emerged. The plot of the game developed quickly, which positively affected its popularity, and the developer focused on creating a series.
It is also impossible not to notice the painstaking work of the developer, who to this day puts maximum effort to continue developing the FNAF universe. Undoubtedly, this is appreciated by players from all over the world. The creator of the series also works on the release of new books, movies and, of course, games, which are released with enviable frequency.
