I think it's rather interesting to look back on this game, after all the hype of the franchise completely died out, and the usual annoying "scream into my webcam" YouTube personalities moved on to other things.

The first FNAF is the only one I ever bothered to play, because right from the beginning, I knew what the game and all of its sequels were going for, and I frankly never cared for it. A simple point-and-click game where you poke around menus and do basic camera/door management while you helm a striking fear of having a piercing (and frankly obnoxious) screeching sound effect stab into your ears; simple, and effective for those who enjoy the very bare-minimum of horror, but as someone who needs more than artificial tension paying off with a loud sound in my ears, I just can't find myself caring about it.

Honestly, it's the lack of interactivity that kills FNAF for me. I frankly find it boring to be locked within a set location, with little-to-no movement options while I await the inevitable jump scare. When things just feel so out of your control, I can't feel invested in it. Games that helm jumpscares like any horror-centric Resident Evil, Alien Isolation, or even Amnesia allow some sort of player control to handle your situations; you're still going to be spooked, but when I actually feel in control of my actions and not just plopped into a seat and told to just click buttons until my ears get murdered, I can't muster any effort to actually play it.

If this is for you, then I'm glad. The major success of not only this game, but the series overall proves that there's a market out there for these kinds of games and it's clear that plenty of people like it for wholly legitimate reasons; I just require more from a horror experience than the game version of blockbuster horror movies that think "scary" is only loud noises.

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S REVIEW
Note: I give spoiler warnings for spoilers.

I don't know why, out of all my options, I decided to pick up FNaF last night. Easy achievements, maybe? Its relative shortness? Who knows. (Probably those two things, though.)
I'd played a bit of it when I was a kid, at the peak of its hype, and, well... it definitely had a greater effect on me at the age of 14. It actually managed to be pretty scary back then - but that was indubitably because I was young, and because I hadn't encountered much horror at that point in my life. I just didn't know what was good in the genre yet.
Looking back on FNaF now, after many more years (and scary movies/games), it's safe to say that it's not what 14-year-old me thought it was. Once you get past the jumpscares, there's just nothing going on here. It's a mediocre mess that became undeservedly popular because of novelty and circumstance. It did nothing to earn the sequels, toy lines, and dedicated fanbase that spawned from it. That's easy to see that when you actually play the game... and yet, here we are.
Though it's not nearly as big or talked about as it was in its heyday, there's still hardcore FNaF fans out there. A movie is reportedly in the works. There's more sequels being made. In fact, there's apparently an entire expanded universe now, with in-depth lore and a whole host of animatronic characters. And while it seems weird at first glance that something so throwaway would have such a long-lasting impact, I think it's easy to understand if you really think about it.
To start with, 2014 YouTubers with young, impressionable audiences proclaimed it the "SCARIEST GAME EVER???!!!" - which it obviously isn't, but I think that, like me, this was a lot of the demographic's first brush with the genre. On top of that, the fact that FNaF is so easily digestible makes it easy for both kids and teens to enjoy. There's no deep, convoluted story. The mechanics are simple. The levels are all pretty much identical. It has undeniable novelty value. The edgy + cute animatronics appeal to both age groups. Even if it was unintentional, this was perfectly made to be baby's first horror media. A kid's going to watch a playthrough of this over something like Silent Hill 2 90% of the time.
Now, I'm not saying there's absolutely zero value to be found here, even if the game isn't good. If nothing else, it's an interesting piece of pop culture history. I just do not think it lives up to the hype surrounding it at all - and I think that's even easier to see 6 years after the fact.


SHORT REVIEW

Visuals: 1.5/5
Sound: 3/5
Story: .5/5
Gameplay: 2/5
Worldbuilding: 1.5/5
Achievements (Does not count toward overall score.): 2/5
Overall score: 1.5/5


IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Visuals:
The graphics are pretty ugly.
The first thing that struck me when I started playing was that the room you're in isn't 3D; it's a 2D projection of a desk and doors that wrap around you, causing some really weird perspective issues. It was very distracting the first few nights, until I got used to it - but by the time I got used to it, I was halfway through the game!
The room designs are pretty empty and uninteresting to look at. This would be fine, if everything else in game wasn't equally uninteresting. The only notable thing about the setting to me are the children's drawings hanging up in some areas. Those add a small bit of personality.
The menus and game over screen are incredibly simple. It feels like words were MS Painted over some decent enough 3D art, and that was that.
It's not the ugliest thing ever, but I was surprised that I'd never seen anyone talk about these flaws. I understand that it's a small indie project (at this point in the series, anyway), and I'm sure sequels improve upon the visuals. That doesn't change the fact that this one looks really bad, though.
I DO think that it does a good job with the positioning of the animatronics on the security cameras. There's definitely some pretty scary visuals in that regard, with them often looking right at the camera as they stalk you. I think the lighting is done pretty well, too, for the most part. The dimness helps create a creepy atmosphere. What I don't like is how lit-up the characters are when they're outside the doors. It takes away a lot of that creepiness.
Now, on to the most important aspect of this section for FNaF. The character design.
The animatronics are supposed to simultaneously be scary enough to be horror antagonists, and charming enough to be mascots for a children's place. I think it's a very interesting concept that COULD be done well, but I feel like FNaF ultimately fails at it.
There is nothing scary to me about the animatronics. They're just... Whatever. The only thing that ever made them scary to people is that they jumpscare you. I do like the colors, and overall they're not awful-looking... But a game like this relies heavily upon the fear factor of its designs, and there is nothing fear-inducing here to me. I think Chica is the only one that gets close, with her human teeth and bib.
I also have to note that Foxy's jumpscare is extremely underwhelming. He just pops into frame in a really boring way. The other ones are okay for what they are - again, they're just whatever. I think it would've been cool if they each had their own jumpscare, killing you in different ways. That's beyond the capability of the first FNaF, though, if we're being honest.
Overall, 1.5/5.

Sound:
I have to hand it to FNaF, I like the sound design. It does a very decent job with the audio cues. They are extremely helpful, while all being fairly creepy. I like the way they integrated ambient "scary noises" in a way that actually means something. Listening for those noises lets the player in on what's going on around them, and makes the game slightly more interesting to play.
Also, Phone Guy's voice actor did a really good job. He was entertaining and delivered the lines well. Thanks for adding a bit of actual fun to this game, Phone Guy!
Overall, 3/5.

Story:
There isn't one. There are a few hints toward possible lore scattered around, and I know that later games expand upon these tidbits. Still, there's not much going on in the first. In fact, nothing in FNaF1 really makes sense or works on a logical level, and I can only suspend my disbelief so much. Most of it is mindless horror for the sake of it.
If FNaF picked up the slack in other categories, I wouldn't hold this against it so much. I understand some games will be more focused on certain aspects than others. This one is much more so meant to be about the visuals and gameplay. Too bad that neither of those are good enough to make up for anything.
Putting aside all of the other entries in the franchise, and just taking this one at face value, there's not much more to even say here. There's almost nothing to review, because a 'story' is almost entirely nonexistent - and what does exist makes little-to-no sense.
Overall, .5/5.

Gameplay:
FNaF is reliant upon 'fun and cool' gameplay mechanics to make players stick with it until the end.
It fails.
The novelty wears off quickly, you realize you're playing nearly identical levels, and it becomes stale and uninteresting.
The mechanics themselves ARE a compelling concept. They're meant to contribute to a feeling of helplessness, which is meant to illicit fear in the player. You instinctively want to keep track of the animatronics, but doing so drains your power, taking you one step closer to certain death. Having the camera open also leaves you vulnerable to jumpscares, the one thing you're fighting to stop.
There are good ideas. It's just not executed well enough to be a full game. It has creepy mechanics that I ultimately think would work better as a sort of minigame in a larger project. It just doesn't work here. It's stretched out, and even though FNaF isn't long, the gameplay just isn't enough to carry it to the finish line. There are titles that make the player feel helpless in much better ways. Outlast comes to mind - even though I don't think that game is particularly great either, it does have some really cool mechanics, and manages to succeed in places where FNaF fails.
FNaF relies on the mechanics, and the mechanics rely on novelty. That novelty will wear off, and you will probably get bored.
It all falls apart anyways when you realize you don't need to keep track of Chica and Bonnie at all. You only need to keep the camera on Freddy and check the lights.
Overall, 2/5.

Worldbuilding:
There's some creepy children's drawing and a few kind-of-cool easter eggs. Since there's almost no story, there's not much to build upon in the first place, leaving the world feeling pretty empty.
Again, I did enjoy Phone Guy and the final phone call [SPOILERS] after he dies. [SPOILER ENDING] The calls gave the nights a slightly different feel from each other - and like I said before, the voice actor did a great job.
Overall, 1.5/5.

Extra Category - Achievements:
Achievement hunting for this quite literally gave me a headache. I thought it was going to be way easier than it turned out to be. The last one needed - completing the custom night with all animatronics set to 20 - forces you to repeat the same pattern in rapid succession for the entire duration of a night (nearly 9 minutes.) All you can do is hope that you're repeating it fast enough. Hardly intuitive gameplay. Night 6 feels like nothing in comparison to that now.
Overall, 2/5.

Overall, 1.5/5. Going in, I was hoping to be able to give FNaF at least a 2, maybe even a 2.5, but I just can't. The game wants to scare you, but nearly the only way it has to do so is a cheap jumpscare that isn't even scary, because the characters aren't scary. There is some creepy ambience and an okay atmosphere, but it's not enough to make the game good or worth playing. I'd suggest leaving this title in the past and finding something better to pick up.