Why am I scared?

[Dustmop]

I'm sure this mostly has to do with the fact that I haven't played it personally, but it doesn't look terribly scary to me. Though I think what makes it so scary to some is, for one, definitely the atmosphere and design of the animatronics (they look quite creepy - there's always something about "cute" things made scary that's incredibly creepy)

I could not agree with that sentiment more. Dolls, man. ****ing dolls.

and also the fact that you have absolutely no means of defending yourself besides that door and light. In most horror games that I know of, you are generally, at the very least, armed with the ability to run for your life even if you can't attack, but you can't even do that here - you are completely helpless in your impending doom as the time ticks by slowly and your battery drains quickly, so I think that feeling of vulnerability is largely what makes it so scary.

Honestly, that whole "you can't defend yourself" schtick is often more frustrating to me than anything. Especially since that usually means most of the 'scary' bits in the game are just pop-scares. Most games really just don't do it terribly well. Penumbra and Amnesia were the only exceptions for me thus far, and those were still more atmospheric.

While I do have to agree that the concept of the game on its own doesn't seem all that 'scary'.. I'm still interested in this one. FNaF seems to run with that gimmick pretty well.. At least, more-so than some other little Indie 'minimalistic horror' games that got ridiculously popular on The Internet overnight. (I'm looking at you, Slender.)

So yeah, I'm inclined to agree with everyone else that it's likely the atmosphere that makes it scary, but I have yet to play it. $5 on an iffy game is too high for me, but $1.89 for it now that it's been bundled doesn't sound too terrible, lol.

 

[Juno]

$5 on an iffy game is too high for me, but $1.89 for it now that it's been bundled doesn't sound too terrible, lol.

That's what I was thinking too, haha. I love how all these bundles have got us thinking $5 is too much for a game. But yeah, it does seem pretty short and doesn't look like there's a lot of replay value unless you want to get the three stars or something.

 

[Necrum]

The game nurtures a sense of paranoia in the player, and what could be worse than the thing you're paranoid about happening? Personally, I think that the game is brilliant. The phone calls give you just enough story that you have no idea what's happening, but you feel like it has a good reason. But that's assuming you're not thinking about the fact that there are killer robots coming for you! I think a lot of people probably find old animations really creepy. This combined with the new Silent Hill teaser have me really excited about the future of horror, cuz they both rely more on psychological fear rather than jump scares (even though 5NAF does have jump scares, they are only used as a punishment for failure rather than the main source of the fear). Hopefully movies can keep up with the evolving game industry, as horror is very much dieing these days. :(

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

A sequel has been confirmed:

Spoiler:

I hope for more background history behind this haunted pizzeria.

 

[Yukari]

Well I just played it not too long ago... So I might as well put in my two cents.

What makes the game scary (But keep in mind that this is just my opinion) is the atmosphere. For one thing you have no way of defending yourself or avoiding these anamatronics, other then closing the door if they get too close. That in of itself makes you feel like a sitting duck. And that game makes you feel really paranoid because at any moment you could die if you aren't careful. And that's what makes the game scary. Sure, the jump scares get repetitive, but the game doesn't rely on jump scares. And that's good, because games that rely on jump scares usually aren't that scarey.
Maybe I could be wrong, but that's my perspective.

 

[GreenFlame]

I've played this on iOS and it's really not that difficult. I admit the atmosphere of it is very intense, but the thing that gets people is panic. If you don't panic and manage your resources well you can win easily. I breezed through the first 3 nights without a single death and then beat the 4th night on my third try. I'm too scared to do night 5 because I know Freddy will be active :(.

The dev did a fantastic job on the atmosphere though. I feel very 'on edge' while I play and my heart rate goes right up.

 

[HollyYoshi]

Perhaps my constant reading of creepypastas has desensitized me from some of this stuff, because I don't find FNaF that terrifying (still creepy though). However, I can understand why others are so frightened of the game.

In most horror games, you have some way to defend yourself, usually a gun or something like that. Or, you can at least run away from whatever monster or ghost is after you.

Not in this game.

In this game, you are stuck in a room where your only means of defense is a door on either side. That's it. Not only that, but the doors (and the cameras) run on electricity that is gradually decreasing as the night goes on. So, I imagine that most people with a job like this would have at least some bit of paranoia set in once they found out the animatronics could kill them. Then, the entire night would just be nothing but tensed paranoia as the security guard has to make damn sure he balances his camera use and waits for Freddy and his friends to come by and hope that his a)his reflexes are good enough and b) that he hasn't run out of electricity.

And that's pretty much it. The fear that some horrible fate is awaiting you and there's very little you can actually do about it makes for a fantastic horror game atmosphere.

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I had an epiphany yesterday. This game is literally Night Trap in a different setting.

Funny how failed ideas can be revived in new skin to be successful. Then again, FNaF's execution was much better.

 

[VeranithasVI]

I'm too much of a sissy to play horror games. :/ ZombiU was about my limit on horror and it wasn't even as scary as some of these games are purported to be. Much of my fear comes from the inability to move forward when I know scary things will be happening. I didn't even get past ONE door in Amnesia, despite owning it for awhile now.

Amnesia was the first scary/horror game I ever played (aside from many of the Resident Evil/Silent Hill games, but they were always played with my older sister around or other friends) and I got about ten minutes in beforeI turned it off, never to play it again for a few months.

When the time came around to play it again, I played it in my room whilst a few friends were over playing Playstation/watching a movie, and I was terrified still. Then a friend piped up and said "Dude why are you even playing that game if it scares you, what's the point, that's stupid" and I looked at him, back at the screen, then turned off and uninstalled the game. He completely ruined it for me.

Still scary AF though. So is the Slender video game, albeit poorly done.

 

[Alfieri]

I've only seen gameplay of it because my friend likes to show me all of those annoying facecam let's play videos. I don't find the game scary. Maybe it would be different if I played it myself but they're just toy animals. Jump scares only work on me if it was like some creepy bloody witch lady or a gigantic tarantula close-up.