Five Nights at Freddy's 3

Since its release in August 2014 the Five Nights at Freddy's series has exploded into a massively popular franchise. With a constant flow of fan theories on how the story was going to end, now it's finally here. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 is the final game in the series and most are wondering if it holds up to the standards of the previous games. Does it have the same atmosphere, the same characters, and most importantly: how does it wrap up the story that has been established through the vague information in the previous games? Five Nights at Freddy's 3 seeks to do all of this and finally let this game series rest. Until the movie comes out, at least.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 takes place 30 years after the events of the first and second games. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been closed for years and now someone has decided to make a haunted house called Fazbear's Fright. The owner's intention is to capitalize on the mystery and tragedy of the events at the company. For those who don't know: five children went missing at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and their bodies were never found, supposedly they were stuffed in the suits of the animatronics. Fazbears Fright is using this as a backdrop for their haunted house, making a tragedy into a profit and a place of entertainment. Not that corporate cares all that much; in fact, because they wanted to replicate the old building, the ventilation in the place isn't working properly and the video and audio features are archaic to say the least. All to replicate the “atmosphere” of the original establishment. The player is shown all of this on the first night, giving you an idea of just what you're in for after you are briefed by “Phone Dude”, the new guy who talks to you on the phone.

You're the night guard again, and this time around you only have to worry about one animatronic, Springtrap. This yellow rabbit animatronic was found in storage, and currently is the only animatronic that wasn't scrapped. On night one you don't have to worry about him, since the first night serves as a tutorial on what to do. There are the cameras of course, but this time around you're not only limited to cameras in the main area but in the vents as well. These serve as additional ways for Springtrap to enter your office forcing you to keep an eye out and seal them off. Your only means of defense is an audio clip of a laughing child that makes him move into another area. Problem is, if your camera goes out you'll have no idea where he is, and if the audio goes out you'll have no way of redirecting him. There are no doors and no mask this time around, so the player is going to see Springtrap but will have almost no way of stopping him other than the audio clip or locking down the vents when Springtrap is inside.

Speaking of the ventilation system: when the ventilation system jams, the player will start hallucinating and see images of the animatronics of the previous games. They appear to be just shadows in the various cameras, and it's easy for the player to think nothing of them. If you don't look away quick enough, one of the old animatronics will pop up in your office, scare you, and turn off one of the essential systems required for you to stay alive, leaving you wide open for Springtrap's attack. The player must keep an eye on the systems at all times, adding a layer of anxiety in this already tense environment. Not only do you have to watch the systems, but you have to make sure you avoid getting caught up in the hallucinations you're forced to go through while the toxic air leaks into the office that you're staying in.

Despite there being only one animatronic, things are just as tense than they have ever were before. Springtrap isn't just some random animatronic, he has history with the place you're in and he knows everything that you know. He's aggressive and doesn't care who gets in his way. Unlike the previous animatronics, Springtrap isn't attacking you because of some protocol or the fact that you're breaking the rules for being there without a mask. He wants to kill you because he wants to kill you. As the nights go on he gets more and more aggressive because he's desperately trying to kill you, and the difficulty ramps up the closer you get to the final night.

There are multiple endings to the game, encouraging players to locate hidden clues and completing certain objectives other than just playing the game. The game is about surviving the nights and to go out of ones way to press some tiles in a random order while you're about to be murdered by a giant yellow rabbit is just silly. Luckily, this ending does pay off, and for those who have been following the story and the game since its conception, it comes off as a grand send-off to the players. It's a satisfying ending that may leave some in tears.

After essentially playing through the game twice, two new modes called nightmare mode and aggressive nightmare mode will unlock. These modes will test your skills on what they've learned throughout the game. While it's not as difficult as the previous entries' bonus modes, it does give the players a sense of accomplishment by putting those stars on the front of their screen.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was a short roller-coaster ride, but a fun one none the less. It gave closure to the plot of the series overall and it provided its audience one last set of terrifying nights with a killer animatronic. This was probably the best way Scott Cawthon could have sent the series off, and while it may not have as much to offer as the previous title in the series, it gives the players that final night to remember.

Angelina Bonilla, NoobFeed (@Twitter)