Developer: Mega Cat Studios
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
Publisher: Mega Cat Studios
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit is a 2D adventure game. This game was developed by and published by Mega Cat Studios. There are a few games similar to FNAF: Into The Pit, such as Terror at Oakheart, Sally Face and others. This review was done on the PC, but it is also available for Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.
FNAF: Into The Pit is a single-player game that is based on the Fazbear Frights novel named, ‘Fazbear Frights: Into The Pit”. In the game, you play as a young boy named Oswald, who is a regular at a rundown Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Oswald is tired and annoyed at having to wait at the pizzeria for his dad and, one day, decides to jump into a sketchy, dirty-looking ball pit. As he goes into the ball pit, he finds himself in the ’80s, where the animatronics are still functioning, and the pizzeria looks as good as new. He roams around the pizzeria confused, only to encounter a yellow rabbit (Spring Bonnie?) animatronic who is murdering a bunch of kids. Oswald sneaks his way back to the ball pit to find that something horrifying has happened to his dad. It is up to Oswald to travel between the ‘80s and find out what happened whilst surviving the night!
The controls for FNAF: Into The Pit are easy to get a hang of. You start the game with the controls shown to you through the opening sequence. Much of it consists of movement and interaction. I do have to say that the in-depth movement in this game is so smooth, especially when Oswald is able to walk back and forth between the set locations. Other mechanics are also explained throughout the game, for instance, the sound metre that indicates a high level of sounds. Having the level reach a high peak will only trigger the animatronic to come after you. The game has many details in its setting designs, so the interactable button is really useful when not wanting to miss out on any important information or items that could be used in the future. Whilst using the controls, there were no noticeable delays.
The art style for FNAF: Into The Pit is fantastic! The spectacular pixel art adds so much more detail to the game and gives the FNAF game its nostalgic feel. Rather than games like Security Breach, where you have clanky visuals, the cleanliness and seemingly pixelated visuals with attention to detail make this game so much more lively. Even the gory visuals themselves are striking and create a creepy environment. The pixel style to this game adds much of a retro vibe, and the dulled-down colours make the game even more atmospheric, especially with the usage of coloured/dimmed lighting. One of my favourite parts about the visuals is the character designs, each so unique to the other, but the best designs are the horrifying animatronics. Nothing beats the visuals of this game, and being put into the FNAF world makes it even more exciting. In addition to the visuals are the subtle animations that pull together the style of the game; the animations are so flawless: Oswald’s stance, Jeff’s yawn, and the dancing from the animatronics. The soundtrack that accompanies the visuals are eerie and makes you extremely cautious. Sound effects make the game even more haunting, like when leaving Oswald’s house: you hear crickets chirping, frogs croaking and wind whooshing in one ear rather than the other, which makes everything feel surreal. Spatial audio is everything in this game. I like how each location has its own tune as well; some play no music in the back to make it more wary, whereas the pizzeria plays a jingle from the speaker to lighten up the area. The audio switch between the ears I find to be so alluring. I love the eeriness that is made from this game and how well it ties into the creepy story that unfolds. Even if you have never played a FNAF game or are heavily into the lore, this game still has a great horror vibe for players.
The gameplay for this Five Nights at Freddy’s game is simple in the sense it follows a point-and-click adventure. You pretty much walk around the environment and investigate areas. You can backtrack through locations and ‘time travel’ as some items may be needed from the present to the past. As you progress through the game, your objective is shown on the top right, which you need to complete by exploring various locations and interacting with items. The game almost plays similarly to a point-and-click game. The feature of the map is simple and sweet: where you can choose the location you want to go to, and it takes you there. Noisemakers are also fun to use as you can distract animatronics in order to time your escape to carry out tasks that are needed. Honestly, your inventory is your handy dandy friend in this game because you need various items to be able to unlock vents and doors but also recharge your flashlight, which is highly important in dark areas. The log (dialogue history) UI is also really helpful, so you can read back on anything you missed. I found this game to be so much fun, and it is a decent challenge in the nightmare difficulty. If that mode is not challenging enough, there is another mode that can give players an even bigger challenge.
What I quite like about this game is that when interacting with objects, the dialogue that follows either adds to the story or acts as clues for you to use in the future. It makes wanting to explore the area even more intriguing. The game does follow a story, and the story is gripping. The story that follows this game is nerve-wracking, scary and unexpected (unless you follow the FNAF lore, which this game does a splendid job of following and unveiling). Without giving away too much of the different cutscenes/encounters, the game gives players a fright they might not have expected. A wailing kid progressively getting louder as you get close to it gives the player and Oswald a spook. I also love how the game is like easter eggs for FNAF fans: for example, when I was taking out the garbage Jeff told Oswald to, you could spot the Trash and the Gang guys from the previous FNAF gamesAs a Five Nights at Freddy’s fan, there have been so many renditions and different styled games that have been developed to carry out the lore that is entangled within the FNAF universe, but no game that has come out, besides the originals, was able to give an everlasting fright like this one. FNAF: Into The Pit seeps into the story but makes it so that the game has a creeping feeling, subtle yet daunting. A feeling that gets you to be so varied about your space and be tuned into the noise from your surroundings. For instance, when trying to escape the house after Oswald’s dad gets possessed, you need to sneak around and be attentive to your surroundings so you can hide when he’s near or comes running at you. Even hiding can be a challenge itself, where you have to take part in little button minigames that include swatting spiders or hiding from the animatronics vision. The jumpscares really got me startled at times. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit is a game I highly recommend as it creates the eerie atmosphere you want in a horror game but puts up a challenge that keeps you enveloped in the story. I mean, what’s better than trying to out-joke an animatronic that’s trying to murder you?
Are you looking for a horror game that is set in the FNAF universe, a game where the story follows a young boy named Oswald who needs to travel through time from a ball pit whilst trying to save his dad and uncover the truth about Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria? This game features spectacular visuals with immersive audio that will get a chilling feeling running down your spine. Be careful because you never know when a yellow rabbit animatronic will come running after you. If you want to try out this outstanding horror adventure game, then be sure to check out Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into The Pit!
Overall: 9.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
