like many 10 year olds, i was on that fnaf train for many years and i still hold the memories from that time close to my heart, countless hours watching theories, chatting with friends, listening to the fan songs, but wanna know a secret? i never played the games! i watched them as a kid on YT but i was always too scared of the jumpscares. i couldnt even watch my buddies play them on their phones i was that scared, lol

i tried to play fnaf 1 a year ago during halloween and got stuck on night 3, however with the buzz around the movie which i still havent seen but will eventually (and being honest an amazing will stetson cover of fnaf 1 song), i decided to give fnaf 1 a shot, and beat it, finally. and it's... pretty good, tbh.

sure the jumpscares are cheap, and it's just a glorified slideshow, but it's tense as fuck. they weren't kidding when they said its carried by atmosphere, once you see an animatronic at your door, its a rush to the door button. maybe it's cuz i havent played much other horror(if at all) but that adrenaline rush i got was unmatched. there's also the management aspect of it, it's fun to conserve power.

its nigh impossible to separate this game from it's impact on me, but the game itself has an addicting loop and i can totally see why it took the world by storm. i outgrew the series by sister location, and have heard by ear it's gone down the shitter both gameplay and lore wise. i will check out the other games up until sister location, maybe soon, maybe not.

i did not do night 6 or 4/20 mode but i beat the Five Nights at Freddy's so i think that counts as completed.

PS: i unintentionally beat the game on 11/12 which is the same day you get your paycheck. i thought it was a variable based on your pc date, but nope it's canonical. go me, i guess?