That's it for our look at the seven scariest Five Nights At Freddy's characters!

Hopefully we re-ignited your love for this offbeat series and got you to re-install one of the entries or hit up your favorite Let's Play clips to relieve the best jump scare.

Which FNAF animatronics do you find the most terrifying, and who are you hoping to see more of in the next game release or the eventual movie launch? Sound off in the comments below and let your fandom fly!

Plushtrap

On his own, this little cuddly rabbit thing isn't all that scary, even in his infrequent jump scare segments. Where Plushtrap really gets to shine is in the Dark Rooms level of FNAF VR: Help Wanted. 

Seeing any of the Five Nights at Freddy characters all up close and personal in VR adds another layer of fear to the game no matter where they are seen. While the stationary maintenance sections are nerve wracking exercises, its the Dark Room level that pushes your paranoia to the max.

Not knowing where Plushtrap is coming from and having to rely on sound to stay alive before he jumps out of the darkness makes this one of the most frightening animatronic sequences in FNAF history.

Nightmare Bonnie

I'll be honest here -- I never found the original Bonnie to be all that scary in any of the games, but the altered Nightmare version in FNAF 4 gets the job done.

Upgraded Bonnie is the perfect accompaniment to the change in location with the fourth main entry in the series, looking very much like some kind of nightmare creature that would scare children wandering around in the dark.

Row after row of teeth give off the impression of some kind of mechanical killer shark, and Nightmare Bonnie is scarier than normal because it get you in the middle of the room rather than just leaping out from the side doors.

Ennard

Most of the Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics are scary in their implications or in the fact that they move when they absolutely shouldn't. Ennard is just flat out scary on his own, totally independent of any story points.

This hybrid monstrosity hits all the terror beats -- clown motif (already terrifying), tentacled things with no set form, and animatronic robots that want to tear you apart.

If that movie ever does get made, I look forward to seeing this awful thing undulating down a hallway towards a poor, doomed protagonist at some point.

Springtrap

While the rest of the animatronics clearly look like metal versions of adorable and cuddly animals, Springtrap goes a whole different direction. That direction is purely into nightmare fuel territory.

Springtrap looks more like a rotting corpse than a bear or chicken, and according to the lore, may actually house the decomposing remains of child killer William Afton. 

More than just looking like something only a madman could come up with, Springtrap is more menacing because he can enter any room as well as travel through the vents in FNAF 3. Coupled with the fact that he actively tries to hide from you, Springtrap is a devious and frightening villain when he appears in the series.

Bidybab

The horror of this baby robot is less in the actual animatronic design itself -- although it is disturbing to see that very human looking doll tear its own face apart - and more about the voice.

Kicking off Sister Location, the two Bidybab whispering to each other while you hide under a desk is easily one of the creepiest moments in the whole series. That scene is made all the more effective since you have to actually grab and fight to hold the door closed while they try to get inside. 

That's a change to the gameplay that hadn't happened in the series up until that point, and it really drove the dread home to see their eyes poking through the holes in the desk.

Freddy

So here's the thing -- the titular Freddy Fazbear himself isn't actually all that scary on his own. It's when you cycle away from his position for a minute and then check back that he brings the fright.

Freddy's tendency to suddenly be staring directly into the camera when you check backstage can be bloody terrifying if you don't realize its coming. In the first game, I found that sudden change to the otherwise static camera images more frightening than many of the actual jump scare deaths. 

The Nightmare version of Freddy is even more scary when he shows up despite remaining motionless in his jump scare, as all those extra sharp teeth certainly make an impression!

Foxy / Funtime Foxy

Seriously, is there a better FNAF animatronic monster than Foxy? No, no there is not.

He was always the one to look out for due to his super fast rush out of Pirate's Cove. Foxy would actually go faster through the hallways if you checked his usual areas more often.

That diabolical gameplay twist separated the wheat from the chaff in nights two and three of the original Five Nights At Freddy's, revealing who had the fortitude to make it to the end and who would end up watching Let's Plays.

The Funtime Foxy redesign in Sister Location got some good scares in as well.

Having to deal with that old timey camera flash sound effect when traveling through the pitch black Funtime Auditorium was such a classic horror movie trope that I'm not sure why it took so long to appear in the series. Funtime Foxy's face also comes apart in five different segments in a most unsettling way, upping the scare factor even further.

Chuck E. Cheese may have figured out scary robotic monsters aren't the best idea for kids, but will Five Nights At Freddy's mania ever actually die down? We had a VR entry and an AR mobile title recently, and rumblings have been heard of a bigger budget AAA title in the works

After taking my three year old to a Chuck E. Cheese a few months back, I can see why that company recently made the decision to ditch the animatronics, and how they became the inspiration for a whole horror genre.

Those things are way too creepy up close in the dim lighting of a kid's arcade. It's not hard to understand why FNAF's animatronics have made kids see the ones at their local kids pizza joint a little differently.

Freddy's marches on. Of course there was also supposed to be a movie, but franchises like this go on long, meandering paths from being optioned to actually getting filmed and released. The last word was that a script was thrown out in 2018 and there simply hasn't been much news since.

In other words, if you don't have a VR headset and don't care for mobile games, you probably can't expect a ton of new FNAF content at the moment.

That's alright though, because there are still plenty of scary animatronic creatures in the existing franchise who would like to stuff you inside a metal suit if they can get their cold claws on you. Let's take a look at the seven absolute scariest!

If you've never played Five Night's At Freddy's (FNAF) then you can probably still walk into a Chucky Cheese without wondering if the animatronic mascots are plotting to kill you. FNAF is a point and click horror game which uses a pretty simple formula of providing distractions while forcing the player to pay attention in order to provide a genuinely scary experience.  

In the first three FNAF games, you take control of a security guard who is working the night shift at a restaurant called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The goal of the games is to avoid being assaulted by the animatronic suits who serve as Fazbear's mascots. By using doors, music boxes, ventilation, and other operating systems, you must keep an eye on, and subsequently fend off the restaurant's namesake and his murderous buddies.

If you fail to keep the animals from reaching you, you're in for a nasty surprise. Five Night's at Freddy's is famous for the anxiety that it purveys as you frantically check the cameras in order to see if the suits have moved. Not paying attention will lead to hurried camera checking as you try to spot the not so cuddly balls of fur and wires. Camera watching will probably lead to jumpscares that are the standard punishment, or reward depending on how you look at it, for players when they don't monitor their surroundings properly.

So which version of Five Nights at Freddy's is the most horrifying? Let's take a look at the candidates and try to find out.

Five Nights at Freddy's

The first Five Nights at Freddy's game was a huge success. Popularized by streamers and YouTube personalities who chose to brave the long nights alone for an audience, FNAF became known for its creative way of taking things that are generally kind of creepy in the first place -- like pizza places with mascots -- and turning them into nightmares.

FNAF only has a few animatronic suits, but this does not take away from the intensity. Experiencing a game like FNAF for the first time is nerve-wracking. Players must open and close the restaurant's office doors and turn the lights in the hallways off and on in order to deter the wandering robots.   

In a lot of games you spend your time trying to avoid whatever is sneaking up on you, but FNAF tells you that this is going to happen whether you like it or not. It's up to you to keep calm and use your limited power sparingly in order to keep Freddy and his friends out of your restaurant's office that's serving as your asylum.

If you fail to keep the animals out you're in for a hell of a night, and after your first failure to keep track of Freddy'n'pals, you might be wary to boot it up again for a second try.

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 takes place before the events of the first game. Powered doors are out of the picture, and players of the first game must adjust to newer methods of dissuading the animatronics. Instead of the ability to block off the character's pathways, you must instead use a Freddy mask, a flashlight, and a music box in order to defend yourself.

FNAF 2 changes the dynamic of the games by adding a few more mascots to deal with along with the new electronics you must oversee. The addition of the endoskeleton named Marionette is enough to make FNAF 2 just as scary as the first game, even though it keeps pretty much the same formula.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 veers off from the other games in the series. Instead of dealing with multiple electronic humanoid animal suits that want to assimilate you as one of their own, there is only one baddie wandering the hallways.

Antagonists from the older games appear, but they are only hallucinations which can't harm the player. However, these hallucinations can mess with your chances of survival. Instead, the task of making players sweat is placed in the paws of Springtrap, a deteriorating rabbit suit whose movements are enough to make up for the lack of bad guys.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 puts you in the shoes of a young boy who has recurring nightmares in which he is being attacked by distorted versions of the previous games' animatronics.

FNAF 4 takes the fear from a children's restaurant and relocates it to a child's psyche. Instead of systems that you must oversee, the player is only given a flashlight. The flashlight has unlimited batteries, and must be used to check the hallways leading into the bedroom, closets where the nightmarish versions of the suits are lurking, and the child's bed which miniature versions of Freddy will sneak onto.

The Verdict

So which version of Five Nights at Freddy's is the scariest? 

It is hard to top the first experience that you have with a game like this. Jumpscare tactics get a little stale after awhile, and because FNAF doesn't really change mechanics to the point where they feel revolutionary, the subsequent games end up feeling a tad repetitive after a few playthroughs.

I'm going to say that the first Five Nights at Freddy's was the one that put me on edge the most, but that does not mean that FNAF's sequels are not worth checking out.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 does add an interesting psychological aspect to the series. Playing as a child instead of a security guard switches up the way you think about what is going on in the game. 

If you like horror games Five Nights At Freddy's is definitely one of the best newcomers in a long time. The games are pretty cheap -- you can get them all for $8.49 on Steam right now -- and they don't require a huge time investment in order to have fun. Just leave the lights on. 

Are we really getting another Freddy's game? I guess we are despite developer Scott Cawthon's previous announcement that the series would be wrapped up after the release of Five Nights at Freddy's World.

Scott Cawthon's official website is showing off a new teaser image hinting the game will take place in a Fazbear's sister location, stating "There was never just one."

The teaser image itself is more clown-like than most of the puppets and animatronics seen in previous Five Nights at Freddy's games. The large, round cheeks and nose, long eyelashes, and overall look definitely have a "clown" vibe and don't look much like the horrors we've seen in previous games.

This is not a drill

In case you think this teaser image isn't hinting at a new game, Cawthon himself has taken to the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 Steam Discussions forum to calm some of the confusion surrounding the image. One post specifically states:

"Hey guys, relax. It's just a game series. If you're done with it, then you don't have to stick around. Five Nights at Freddy's isn't going anywhere though, so either move on or buckle up. ;)"

In another post Cawthon claims this time around it will "definitely be different" and have "a lot of surprises" in store for fans.

Perhaps we were too trusting in thinking the series would end. It just wouldn't make sense for the movie to still be in the works with the series dead, does it?

For better or worse Freddy's doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Hopefully this next game finally wraps up the lore and tries something new and brings back the sheer terror the series was once known for.

The latest entry in the ever popular Five Nights at Freddy's series, Five Nights at Freddy's World, has been pulled down from the Steam store. Creator and developer Scott Cawthorn made a post in the Steam community page for Five Nights at Freddy's Four regarding the situation:

"Hi everyone, I wanted to make a post about the fate of FNaF World. Even though the game had a "Very Positive" rating with 87%, I was not satisfied with the reviews and ratings it was getting."

This doesn't mean that the game is completely scrapped, and Scott plans to continue his work on it. According to his statement, he's occupied with the creation of a fully 3D overworld for FNAF. When the update is ready, the demo on GameJolt will be replaced with the full, new version. Scott went on to say that the game will be free from this point on.

Fans of the game and the series have taken to the comments on the Steam post and social media.

Somewhat surprisingly, the response has been incredibly supportive of Scott and his bold move. This is mostly due to his consistent transparency and communication with his fans and the FNAF community.

Scott's announcement was an example of how to properly address fan concerns, while remaining professional and transparent about his intentions for the game. And that's more than what some developers are willing to do.

It's certainly a stark contrast to a game like sci-fi FPS Destiny, which has fans outraged about a spectrum of game issues that range from imbalances to new microtransactions. Unlike Scott and his lengthy post to his fans, the Community Manager for Destiny offered all of one tweet to address fan concerns:

Transparency was a huge issue in 2015, especially in the cases of AAA games like Batman: Arkham Knight or Mortal Kombat X. When fans were kept in the dark, the torches were lit and pitch forks raised. It seems like fans and developers are clashing a lot these days, and it's probably pretty intimidating for any developer to be totally open with a fanbase that expects so much. But Scott was brave enough to do so, and the response from his community has been overwhelmingly supportive.

While other gaming genres are stagnating and in need of a serious shake-up, horror is innovating and finding new ways to be more effective. The recent pinnacle was probably last year as Among The Sleep and Alien: Isolation from 2014 showed how first person experiences can epitomize and legitimize terror.

Although not without flaws, those games made it clear that horror works best when you can't effectively fight back – a notion that's gone forward into 2015 with a bevy of absorbing titles, covering every platform and graphical style you can imagine. That's great for gamers in general, but can also be a problem for individual players, as many of the most intriguing titles didn't hit all platforms: if you want to experience them all, you'll need to bridge the divide between PC and multiple consoles.

Before checking out our look back on the state of the horror genre this year, don't forget to also read through our other articles analyzing the state of other genres in the 2015 gaming world:

• State of 2015 RPGs

• State of 2015 FPSs

Most Overhyped / Biggest Horror Disappointment Of 2015

There were a slew of high-quality and imminently frightening releases this year, but all is not well in the state of horror...

Silent Hills

Until the upcoming reboot of FF7 was announced to be an episodic release without turn-based combat, there wasn't a bigger outcry from gamers that reverberated across the entire web than when Silent Hills was canceled and PT was pulled from the PlayStation Store.

Hideo Kojima's messy breakup with Konami led to this collateral damage that still has people in shock. We're all desperately holding out hope that someday this Guillermo Del Toro / Norman Reedus collaboration will return, but the stark reality staring us in the face is as bleak and horrific as the game would have been.

Just looking at this makes me sad

Five Nights At Freddy's 3 And 4

The gaming community is definitely split as to whether the infamous Five Nights At Freddy's series is a boon or a low point for horror. With simplistic gameplay (honestly, these could be mobile tapfest games rather than PC titles) and a string of games coming out in rapid succession, FNAF catapulted into the public consciousness mostly from the reaction videos. Frankly, watching those reaction videos is more fun than actually playing the games.

Two separate entries came out this year in the series, which didn't really shake up the formula much beyond a change in scenery and adding in some pixelated mini-games. The first 15 minutes playing any given FNAF game is scary, exhilarating fun, but then you're left with the endless repetition. It isn't long before the annoying realization sets in that it isn't actually all that enjoyable to check camera 1, check camera 2, check camera 3, re-check camera 1, close door, open door, check camera 1, ad nauseum into infinity.

This is really only scary the 1st time.

Biggest And Best Horror Release Of 2015

Horror managed to sneak its way into plenty of major games solidly sitting in other genres, like the Lovecraftian influences in Bloodborne, while Black Ops III of course saw the return of zombie mode, this time going in an eldritch horror direction set in the 1940s.

For the full-fledged games that are meant to be horror through-and-through, there was no shortage of options in 2015, and some of them managed to reach the same heights of last year's crop. It should go without saying that these are games best experienced alone, with the lights out and headphones on, or you lose a lot of the impact.

Soma

Coming from the same folks responsible for the Penumbra and the Amnesia games, you know you're in for something really messed up and genuinely creepy with Soma. While there aren't as many direct scares this time around with monsters actively trying to kill you, there is an overall sense of dread – and some really disturbing psychological horror – that propels this one forward. It's also always nice to see horror take a sci-fi bend rather than another supernatural or modern day focus, and fans of System Shock will be right at home here.

The lines get seriously blurred in Soma, in more ways than one.

Dying Light

Really delivering on the promise of open-world style horror that was hinted with past zombie titles, Dying Light puts the emphasis more on the “game” aspect in the genre of “horror games,” and is a ton of fast-paced fun once you get the controls down. That all changes when the sun drops below the horizon, though, as everything turns deadly and you have to carefully sneak your way back to safety, with the horror of the situation hitting home a little harder. Much like Dead Island, there are some issues with the gameplay, but overall this is a much better experience.

Until Dawn

Going a very different direction from either Soma or Dying Light is the interactive movie Until Dawn. You've heard this one before: a bunch of attractive and horny 20-somethings are about to spend the weekend in a remote cabin when something starts picking them off one by one. You may have seen it a hundred times in a slew of movies with diminishing returns, but you've never played it quite like this. The choice system brings to mind Heavy Rain while the subject matter is classic slasher horror to the max.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2

After a spate of games that keep going further and further away from their roots, we did get another Resident Evil title this year, and that's usually a good thing for horror fans. While it's not Resident Evil 4 (and the series is probably never going to be that good again), the episodic Revelations 2 is still being received better than the last couple of entries. It's still more action-focused than fully survival horror, but switching between characters to use each of their skills is a fun mechanic, and you can now try the 1^st episode for free on consoles.

The Park

Although not a big release by any stretch of the imagination, there was one indie game well worth mentioning in horror that saw release in October just in time for Halloween. Short and sweet, The Park isn't a lengthy experience, but it's an all-encompassing one that really draws you in and hits the psychological horror notes hard. Amusement parks are already pretty creepy, but abandoned ones at night are even more so, and this game will make you never want to go near another one again.

Yeah, don't go on the Ferris Wheel.

Early Access

The advent of early access titles through platforms like Steam has made it difficult to classify what year a game is actually released. If a title has been available in early access for all of 2015 (and half of 2014 or earlier...) and has been played by thousands, but won't be feature complete until 2016, what year does the game actually come out? The issue becomes more complex when you consider that some developers are just leaving their games in early access mode indefinitely, using the money of new purchases to fund additional features over time.

There's some interesting ethical considerations in this style of funding, since fans are essentially paying for demos that may never get finished, and overall it's more dicey and prone to fail than straight crowdfunding. We'll avoid those titles that have been abandoned or look on the verge of failing and instead focus on three prominent games this year featuring fairly frequent updates that appear to be nearing completion.

The Forest

The Forest has been in early access since May of 2014, and it shows a ton of potential; hopefully, the full and complete game is actually on the horizon. This one puts you as the only survivor of a plane crash in a huge forested area filled with seriously creepy cannibalistic creatures. It's basically a survival sim – you have to build shelter and craft objects – but with a horror theme. This one has the possibility to become great, if only it ever makes it out of alpha.

Layers Of Fear

Only having been in early access since August of this year, Layers Of Fear is already feeling more like a complete game, and it delivers the fear in spades. Putting you in the role of a painter who has just totally lost his mind, there is an amazing atmosphere and aura of menace to this whole game that's both unique and leans on classic tropes. If there's an early access horror game that seems destined for success in the near future, this one is it.

Everything about this game is as unsettling as the painting suggests

Darkwood

Having used the early access feature of Steam for more than a year now, Darkwood offers a completely different style than what you'd typically get from a horror game: it's a top-down, procedurally generated game. It sounds odd, but it works, and there are some truly creepy moments on display in what Darkwood has offered up so far.

Horror On The Wii U In 2015

Fatal Frame 5

Frequently an afterthought in this latest console generation, lately there have been a few reasons to dust off the not-so-old machine (most notably with the RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X just arriving). Horror fans actually have one very solid incentive to go the Nintendo route: Fatal Frame 5 finally landed in North America on the Wii U this year under the title Maiden Of Black Water.

If you aren't familiar with the series, those early Fatal Frame entries were terrifying before games really figured out they could be terrifying, and they are still worth playing today. Unfortunately, this one isn't getting nearly the love from fans as the earlier games (the Metacritic score is currently a very disappointing 67), but for Wii U gamers it's still worth giving a shot. Unfortunately, this is a digital-only title in North America, so don't expect to find it sitting on store shelves.

Get ready to see dead people!

The Forecast For Horror In 2016

Horror isn't slowing down anytime soon, and in fact it's a good bet the genre is going to significantly ramp up as VR devices like the Oculus Rift finally arrive for large scale use. While that's still a ways off, the closer 2016 already has a ton of fright-based games that look amazing.

Games originally forecast to arrive this year – like the black and white, noir horror title Dollhouse or the Clocktower reboot Nightcry – are going to be coming early 2016 and should make some great early year material.

Asymmetrical or co-op is also getting a bigger focus coming up soon, with games like Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age or Friday the 13^th covering the cooperative front. If you want something really unique, be on the lookout for Perception, a horror title along the lines of Outlast or Amnesia that changes the formula by making you play as a blind character.

Co-op monster hunting action is on the horizon.

For a full look at what's coming, check out our list of the 11 most anticipated horror titles slated to arrive in the coming months here, and be sure to let us know what you thought of 2015's scary offerings.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 has plenty of scares to keep you on your toes, especially now with the Halloween update. You can get a little more out of the game using a few cheats to make things easier or more difficult.

Unlocking 20/20/20/20 mode

This first cheat brings back the much-missed 20/20/20/20 mode to FNaF4. To do this, you need to have first completed Nightmare mode. Once you've beaten it, unlocking this mode is a snap.

Do keep in mind this mode is more difficult than Nightmare mode and the AI is much more aggressive.

Unlocking 20/20/20/20 on PC

Go to the Extra menu and type in the numbers 20202020. This will make 20/20/20/20 replace Nightmare mode on the menu below Fun with Plushtrap. Now, you have it unlocked and you're ready to go.

Unlocking 20/20/20/20 on iOS and Android

The mobile version of Five Nights at Freddy's 4 has some differences from the PC version due to hardware limitations, and unlocking 20/20/20/20 mode is different as well. 

You do have to complete Nightmare mode just as with the PC version of the game, but you need to do a different trick in the Extra menu.

In the Extra menu, scroll all the way to Nightmare. 

Double tap him and you will unlock 20/20/20/20 mode just like on PC.

Other cheats

The Cheats menu can be accessed once you have finished 20/20/20/20 mode. Here there are three total cheats you can enable, all three making the game easier and more convenient to play. These are:

• Fast Nights - Makes time move faster, and hence makes each night take less time.
• House Map - Shows a map of the house at the top right, along with indicators to show you where the animatronics are. This is a great way to see how the animatronics move.
• Danger Indicator - Enables a warning to tell you when an animatronic is standing behind a door you're at.

These three cheats are great if you want to play the game a bit differently, or want to go through without so many heart palpitations. 

It seems like every other game that comes out now is a horror game. The gaming community is flooded with them. Those on PC know what I am talking about; tons of horror games are all over Steam and the Internet. I’m sure a new indie horror game comes out just about every day.

This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the games were good, but sadly they aren’t. Five Nights at Freddy’s and Slender are prime examples of this. But what is it about these games that makes them so bad? They rely too heavily on jump scares, and not enough on the other elements that go into a great horror game.

I’m sure I’m going to get a lot of grief for saying I hate Five Nights at Freddy’s and, I’m sorry, but it needs to be said. These games are horrible. (Unless they are intended to put me to sleep, then they are doing a great job.) This game is based solely on jump scares, and those get really old and predictable really fast. The whole point of the game is to sit in one spot and shut doors before the animatronics get in the room with you and kill you. The game lacks creativity; nothing is exciting about sitting there closing doors and worrying about the “monsters”. The game gets very predictable after less than an hour, because it's so easy to tell when the jump scares will happen. But that doesn't stop the Five Nights at Freddy’s developers from making one or sometimes two of these games every year - which certainly doesn't give them enough time to worry about silly little details like story and suspense.

This is also true for Slender: The Arrival. The Internet made a big fuss about this one, but it honestly has to be one of the worst horror games I have played. The story was boring, and the scares were pathetic. The game requires you to do nothing but collect papers and turn on generators. It has what it calls a “story”, but the story is nothing more than a girl looking for her friend in the woods. She then encounters Slender and runs to find the pages. This happens for a few levels, and then the there is one final level where you walk up a hill and into a building and see a dead man. Then the game ends. It's got a little more suspense than FNAF, but still...this was the game that everyone went crazy over?

These game are two of the most popular in the horror game community, and I just don’t get it.

 Aaron Pokoj, a metal guitarist and avid horror game player like myself, shed some light on this phenomenon:

“With the rise of the 'Lets Player', horror games have become more focused on cheap scares than actually being scary. Jump scares and 'pewdiebait' litter the scene, as game developers sacrifice atmosphere and story for those cheap scares.”

Is there any hope for the horror genre?

Games like Outlast and Amnesia are the little rays of sunshine that make me think there is a future for horror games. Outlast has a great story, great scares (that aren't just jump scares), and a great setting for a horror game. The game actually got my heart racing and made my palms sweat. Amnesia also has a great story and setting. Both games leave the character weaponless with no way to fight back. Both games make the player think on their feet as they run from the monster and try to find a way to hide. If the player is unable to find a place to hide, they are brutally killed, and the player is left shocked and with their heart pounding. 

These games recognize something that Slender, FNAF, and every other jump scare game out there does not: monsters popping out at you does not a horror game make. You need an engaging narrative that forces you to keep playing even when it freaks you out, a really atmospheric setting to immerse you in a terrifying world, and lots of suspense to keep it from becoming boring and played out.

I have played god knows how many horror games, and the sad thing is that most are bland rehashes of the FNAF formula. But more complex and well-crafted games like Outlast and Amnesia give me hope. Once gamers start getting as tired of jump scares as I am, maybe we'll see more game like them.

FNAF Image Outlast Image

Let's just get this out of the way now: Five Nights at Freddy's, as a series, is over. You can go weep if you want, but it's a fact. There won't be a new game in the series, but the story isn't totally over yet.

Developer Scott Cawthon revealed last month that Five Nights at Freddy's 4, the official last game in the series, will be receiving a free update on October 31st that will add new content for an additional challenge; but Scott claims the update will not reveal what's in the chest.

Today Scott's official website updated with a "Thank you!" image showing off the bots throughout the games.

Don't let this get you riled up, considering Scott has repeatedly stated the fourth game was the last. And honestly we got what we wanted.. except whatever is in the chest. The chest is still a mystery, and it seems like it always will be.

Freddy's will live on in the upcoming movie, which is scheduled for a 2017 release. That's a long ways away. But don't let that long wait trick you into thinking the game series will continue through 2017 -- Scott Cawthon is clearly ready to move on and is working on his next (non-Freddy's) game already.

While the "Thank you!" image is certainly very welcome, the time is coming to finally put Five Nights at Freddy's to rest. At least until 2017, and then who knows! Scott may feel adventurous and put out one last hurrah to his beloved animatronic horror series.

According to the official news section for Five Nights at Freddy's 4, Scott Cawthon is considering not releasing what is in the box found at the end of the game. In the same news release, Scott stated that the October 31st DLC for Five Nights at Freddy's 4 will still be released, but there are two big changes.

First, the DLC is no longer a paid DLC as fans believed. Instead it will come as part of a regular game update to version 1.1. This update will contain new content for the extras menu including: a cheat menu, a challenge menu, and a new mini-game that will offer a boost when playing challenge modes.

Second, the DLC will not reveal what is inside the infamous box at the game. While fans have anticipated the upcoming DLC for that very reason, Scott feels as though it might be best to leave the ending ambiguous. In his own words:

You know, when I released the first game over a year ago, I was amazed at how quickly everyone found every bit of lore and story. Then the same happened with part 2, fans and youtubers dug in and found everything. Game Theory did an incredible video on part 2; getting almost everything right. Then part 3 came out, and once again the story was uncovered by the community. It seemed that there was nothing I could hide! 

But then I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever.

Fans were quick to rush to the comments section, begging for Scott to release the contents of the box. However, without a single fan theory coming close to the true answer we may be doomed to never know. As it stands, several fans have challenged Scott to release the contents of the box if they are able to find out what the true story behind FNAF 4 is. At this point in time Scott has yet to release any reply to these challenges.

While I have never played the Five Nights at Freddy's games myself, I have always been interested in the fan theories surrounding the game. In fact, it was because FNAF has such a twisted and well-hidden lore that I added it to my list of favorite games for storytelling and lore. The gamer part of me truly wants to know the meaning of the box, but the fiction author part of me feels like Scott might be right. If the ending is left ambiguous it could stand as one of the great Gothic stories of the 21st Century, and giving away the truth of the infamous pizzeria might just ruin it.

What do you guys think? Do you feel like gamers are getting ripped off by being denied the true ending? Is the game ending the way it is the perfect Gothic story? Leave your opinions in the comments section below!

If you've paid attention to the Five Nights at Freddy's series up until now, then it should be no surprise that developer Scott Cawthon would release the game early. He did release the second and third game before the announced release dates, so is it really so surprising that Five Nights at Freddy's 4 in already out? Naw.

Cawthon initially stated the release would be in October, near Halloween and debatably the best time of the year to release a horror game. He later claimed the release would be August -- but here we are, it's July 23rd and the game really is out on Steam. Thanks, Scott!

Many fans felt the story was finalized with the third game, myself included. I'm curious as to where Scott is going to take the story here in 4, and I'm sure you are too.

You can nab Five Nights at Freddy's 4 on Steam right now for $7.99. Let's hope the early release isn't indicative of the quality!

Rare Replay

What's better than one game? 30 games!

After developing over a hundred video games in the past three decades, Rare has picked out 30 hits to celebrate their 30th anniversary in the business, all for only $30.

By earning up to 10,000 Gamerscore across all 30 games, which include gems like Banjo-Kazooie, Battletoads, and Perfect Dark, players can unlock more content, with Gamerscore previously earned for the Xbox 360 games carrying over. 

Old-school features like scanlines and rewind are available for some games, as well as online multiplayer and most downloadable content, while a new feature called Snapshots presents small segments of the games as challenges for the player. 

In addition, a one-hour documentary feature on the history of the studio is included in the compilation, along with concept art and information about unreleased Rare games.

Replay through 30 years of video gaming history on Xbox One on August 4th.

What games are you excited about this coming August? Talk about your favorites in the comments below. 

Five Nights at Freddy's 4: The Final Chapter

What better way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the YouTube phenomenon Five Nights at Freddy's than to release the final game in the indie point-and-click horror series?

Developer Scott Cawthon has taken over the world with a trilogy of crafty jump scares, disturbing characters, and surprisingly cohesive stories.

But the latest iteration of horrifying animatronic bears may be taking it one step too far, as the wiry monsters will be let loose out of public property and into personal homes.

As a little child armed with only a flashlight, players will have their hands full as they try to stay alive to watch the sun rise five times.

Stay up for The Final Chapter on Steam on August 8th.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

Story-driven games have grown in popularity in recent years, and one of the best has arguably been Dear Esther by The Chinese Room. 

But while their first game didn't really have much in the way of interactivity, the British developer's first game on console is complemented with not only the freedom to interact with the environment, but much, much more.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture takes place in 1984 in the English countryside of Yaughton Valley, Shropshire. Through six different characters, each with their own story, players immerse themselves in a beautifully detailed open world to discover and uncover the mystery of the apocalypse.

Homes are left empty to be explored, and environments are left with traces of those lost. With a haunting soundtrack, revolutionary environments, and non-linear interactive storytelling, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is an innovation deserving of the current generation of consoles.

Discover the Rapture exclusively on PlayStation 4 on August 11th.

Armikrog.

After 20 years, the team behind The Neverhood and Earthworm Jim are back for another clay animated point-and-click adventure game.

A space explorer named Tommynaut crash lands on a weird planet and ends up locked in a mysterious fortress called Armikrog. Together with his blind alien talking dog, Beak-Beak, Tommynaut has to find his way out through clever puzzles and uninviting characters.

Developed by Doug TenNapel and Pencil Test Studios, the 2013 Kickstarter success is inhabited with characters that are brought to life by well-known actors such as Jon Heder, Rob Paulsen, and Michael J. Nelson. 

Enhanced by an original soundtrack by American songwriter and record producer Terry Taylor, the tongue-in-cheek adventures of Tommynaut and Beak-Beak is one not to be missed.

Escape Armikrog on Windows, Mac, and Linux on August 18th, and PlayStation 4 and Wii U in the near future.

Volume

The latest game from award-winning indie game designer Mike Bithell is a narrative stealth action game inspired by the father of all great stealth games, Metal Gear.

As Robert Locksley, players act as a futuristic Robin Hood robbing from the rich and giving to the unheard using the heist-simulating device, Volume.

In the face of a country-running CEO played by critically acclaimed actor Andy Serkis, Locksley seeks to take down the corporatocary over 100 levels of intense stealth action.

In addition, a full set of creation tools is provided for endless level-building and sharing, featuring an arsenal of gadgets to avoid, distract, and evade detection.

With the full campaign playable using pre-made or user-generated levels, the challenges in Volume never cease to excite.

Enter the Volume on Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita on August 18th.

Until Dawn

There aren't many successful horror games these days; same goes for PlayStation 4 exclusives.

But this summer, Sony Computer Entertainment developer Supermassive Games is looking to change that with a survival horror adventure made specifically for the current generation of consoles.

Until Dawn tells the story of eight high-schoolers who spend the night in a cabin in the mountains, unaware that their night is about to turn into a real-life nightmare.

Every decision that the player makes leads to consequences that can save someone's life or result in their death. 

Beautifully realized through an evolved Killzone Shadow Fall engine, the eight characters play a role in countless scenarios and multiple endings, where the death as well as the survival of all eight is possible.

But players cannot change the decisions they make, as a strict auto-save system prevents players from reloading a previous save file to an earlier point in the game, so every single choice bears an important amount of scrutiny.

Survive Until Dawn exclusively on PlayStation 4 on August 25th.

Satellite Reign

From Brisbane-based 5 Lives Studios comes a real-time, class-based strategy game set in an open world cyberpunk city.

Billed as a spiritual successor to the sci-fi Syndicate series, the 2013 Kickstarter success lets players command a group of 4 agents to climb up the corporate ladder and take over the most powerful monopoly of all time through every devious mean possible.

The city of Satellite Reign functions like a living, breathing world, where civilians, police, and corporate soldiers react uniquely to the actions of the player as they explore the manipulative world and uncover new missions seamlessly.

Each of the four agents can be customized for any play-style through different skills, weapons, gear, augmentations, and genetic base, while the freedom of choice also seeps into the emergent game-play, as a wide range of strategic options is available at every opportunity.

Reign supreme on Windows, Mac, and Linux on August 28th.

Disney Infinity 3.0

Disney Interactive Studios' popular toys-to-life series, Disney Infinity, is back again this year, and this time it's filled with battles of galactic proportions, as Star Wars will be the next mega-franchise to take over Disney's plastic universe.

Developed by Avalanche Software, Disney Infinity 3.0 will include three Star Wars Play Sets spanning both trilogies and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as a Disney•Pixar Play Set based on the film Inside Out, and a Marvel Play Set based on Avengers: Age of Ultron.

All-new multiplayer Toy Box Expansion Games such as Toy Box Takeover and Toy Box Speedway will allow every character from all three installments of Disney Infinity to play together in Toy Box 3.0, so there'll be lightsabers, superheroes, pirates, and more!

Fly to Infinity and beyond in a galaxy far, far away on Windows, PlayStation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, iOS, and Android on August 30th.

Summer Blues

As we approach the month of August, major game releases seem to slow down, as well as the buzz from major industry events of the previous months.

Students prepare to go back to school, and developers prepare to make a good impression during the holiday season at the end of the year. But that doesn't mean we won't have some great new games coming out to keep us busy before the frantic flurry of the fall.

So to close out the summer, here are 8 games to look forward to in the warm, sunny month of August.

The phenomenon that is Five Nights at Freddy's just continues with the surprises.

The latest surprise comes from an email apparently sent by the sole developer of the horror series, Scott Cawthon, to YouTuber Dawko:

The creator behind the YouTube sensation states that he's going to release the fourth instalment of the point-and-click survival horror series on August 8th in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the game that began it all, Five Nights at Freddy's. In place of its original release date of October 31st on Halloween will be a free content update for what supposedly will be the final chapter of animatronic-bears-gone-wrong.

In what can arguably be called a fairytale year (but is probably too creepy to be called that), Five Nights at Freddy's has gone from humble beginnings on relatively unknown digital distribution platform Desura, to public praise on Greenlight and Steam, and then to massive popularity through Let's Play videos on YouTube.

It has spawned two (soon to be three) sequels, an upcoming Warner Bros. movie, and a whole new generation of horrified teenagers.

With a rabid fanbase that never runs out of wild theories and speculation, it would be a sad moment if Five Nights at Freddy's 4 really turns out to be the final episode of an incredible achievement by the mind of only one man, but whoever has experienced the ingenious work of art will undoubtably be proud to say:

"Good night, Freddy." 

With all the teasers and the talks it looks like Five Nights at Freddy's 4 is set to be a "Who Done It" and in my opinion the better of all four games.

As long as Scott gets the 4 W's down of the who, where, what and why I think FNAF 4: The Final Chapter will be a perfect chapter to close the series.

What are some questions you are hoping to get answers to? 

What's The Timeline?

Just because the game looks like it will be focusing on The Bite of '87 doesn't mean it will actually be in the '87 timeline. 

I mean, think about it. The whole entire FNAF game was about five murders but as far as we know, never took place in the same year of the murders. Then again, I could be completely wrong because lets face it; the FNAF timeline is a little bit complicated.

Maybe we can get some clarity on all this come October. 

Where's Springtrap?

Springtrap was an integral part of Five Nights at Freddy's 3 as we found out he wasn't just another possessed rogue Animatronic but also Purple Guy or at least what was left of him.

Depending on your ending, the game ended on high or low note however, we all got the newspaper clipping informing us of the questionable fire that burned the Freddy Attraction to the ground. 

However, the real smoke signals didn't come from the burned down establishment but the actual picture itself. With a little fine tuning of the contrast levels the picture revealed Springtrap still lurking in the shadows. What's up with that? 

It is very unlikely we will see Springtrap as Springtrap but maybe we will get a glimpse of him in his former glory as Golden Bonnie.

Speaking of Guys....

Purple Guy. 

While the Bite of '87 doesn't exactly pertain to Purple Guy's appearance, it would be nice if someway or somehow we could get a more concrete idea of who he is or at least who he isn't. 

If the game is going to be titled The Final Chapter, finally revealing the man behind Purple Guy would be one of the smartest things to do. 

Who Is Phone Guy, Actually?

Throughout the game we get bits and pieces of Phone Guy's character and past with Freddy Fazbear Pizzeria yet, three games later and we still don't know too much about him.

What we do know is:

\n
• According to FNAF 1 he's worked in the office before you and was present in FNAF 2
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• Was being moved to the day shift
\n
• He likes Foxy
\n
• Hates the Puppet
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• And knows about the Bite of '87. In fact, his tone kind of hinted that he may have been there either as a spectator or as the victim.
\n

Sure there are a few more things that we've gathered but these are kind of the big ones.

Maybe, instead of playing as some obscure security guard, we'll finally get to play as Phone Guy. 

Who Did The Bite of '87?

This question has been on the minds of fans since FNAF 2 spilled the beans about the unfortunate accident. Naturally, Foxy and the newly introduced Mangle were the first on the suspect lists given their circumstances.

I mean, it kind of makes sense why Foxy is 'out of order' and Mangle is a heap of scrap metal (I know Mangle looks gets torn apart by the kids) if they were problems. 

However, people then started to take Chica's 'Let's Eat' bib as her literal mission but then later evidence began to pop up that pointed to Freddy as the biter. In FNAF 2 it was noted that you weren't supposed to touch the Animatronics, ironically enough a well-lit picture of Freddy began to circulate of what indeed appeared to  be a hand print on Freddy's face. 

Just about everyone looks guilty but only one of them could have done it. The question is who?

Scott Cawthon has some explaining to do. Well, not really. But it would be nice especially with Freddy Fazbear's finally looking to close down for good. 

The Final Chapter has been announced to drop on Halloween of this year as the; you guessed it, final chapter in the Five Nights At Freddy's franchise.

When the news dropped about the fourth and final sequel, fans began digging for plot clues and all began to point to The Bite of '87. It didn't take long for a confirmation as a teaser image featuring a rather vicious looking Springtrap-esque Freddy Fazbear began to surface across the internet. 

Whether you're happy to see it go or sad to see it leave if you're like me, you're hoping to see a final wrap up. So, Scott, we have questions and we want answers. 

Here are some of the top questions we hope to see answered in the upcoming and final game. 

The next Five Nights At Freddy’s has been announced. The game was created by Scott Cawthon and takes place at a pizza restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The player acts as a security guard at the restaurant and must defend themselves against the malfunctioning animal characters through the use of the security cameras. The games have been released to Steam, Android and iOS. There have been two other Five Nights At Freddy’s games released. The third installment took place at an amusement park, but plays the same way as the other two.

The fourth game was announced on Cawthon’s website via a image of Freddy Fazbear, one of the animals from the game. Before the game was announced, a teaser image was uploaded to the game’s official website. Fans took to YouTube and made videos questioning the meaning of the teaser image. A movie was also announced for the game series earlier this year.

Five Nights At Freddy’s 4: The Final Chapter will be released next Halloween.

Ah, nothing like another game that is slowly turning into a yearly (or what seems like monthly) release. Today, Scott Cawthon announced via his official website, that another entry in the Five Nights franchise is being created.  This fourth entry is titled Five Nights At Freddy's 4: The Final Chapter.

I am sure that many have thought that Five Nights At Freddy's 2 or Five Nights At Freddy's 3 should have been "the final chapter,"...

I am sure that many have thought that Five Nights At Freddy's 2 or Five Nights At Freddy's 3 should have been "the final chapter," but it does seem that this fourth installment will be the end. Although, I would not rule Cawthon out of returning to the franchise at some point in the future, but he might take some time off in order to work on the upcoming film based on his series.

For those fans that are looking forward to Five Nights At Freddy's 4, you can expect it to launch on Halloween (October 31) of this year.