Zero Punctuation: Five Nights at Freddys and This War of Mine

[FPLOON]

Looks like this year's Indie Double Feature is early! And good to hear more musical moments on Zero Punctuation. I'm trying to write words for the part of the Doctor Who theme music that starts at dooooWOOOOOOOooooooo WOOOOOOOOooooooo...

In Aaa boooooox~
FUCK you, Foooooox~
The Doctor's in
This World of Miiiiine~

That's all I got...

OT: A game so good that not even Yahtzee can fully play it? Seems legit... Then again, I only care about FnaF whenever I'm at some random dude's house and everyone's watching each other take turns playing the game and its sequel...

Also, I still don't know how I should feel about This World of Mine... Maybe that game would tell me firsthand, I guess...

 

[K12]

I guess Yahtzee :uts on shades:: wasn't ready for Freddy. ::YEEEEEEEAH::

Okay in all seriousness, this is why I claim Yahtzee is biased nowadays: it seems like he actually IS looking for superficial excuses to hate something. Really? You find FNAF TOO SCARY?

Also I'd like to point out that he probably didn't play it enough if he thinks it's all jumpscares and YouTube trending. Like, oh I don't know, the atmosphere and the hidden lore. For someone who likes his horror subtle Croshaw, you sure were quick to ignore the newspaper articles that sometimes appear in place of posters that give insight on why the animatronics are out for your blood. Oh and don't get me started on Golden Freddy.

And that's just the first game. Let's see you tackle the sequel.

Oh and we quit with the running gag on Smash Bros. already? It's really starting to get on my tits. To the people who keep requesting that: HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON FROM THE BRAWL REVIEW?!

I think "too scary" wasn't quite the point. It's that the horror ends up mostly focusing on anticipation on a known outcome rather than a sense of intrigue created by an unsettling foreboding.

It's less "on my god what's going to happen next" and more "oh shit I know what's going to happen now".

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

I guess Yahtzee :uts on shades:: wasn't ready for Freddy. ::YEEEEEEEAH::

Okay in all seriousness, this is why I claim Yahtzee is biased nowadays: it seems like he actually IS looking for superficial excuses to hate something. Really? You find FNAF TOO SCARY?

Isn't it more that jumpscares, even effective ones, are more annoying than actually horrifying? Creeping up on someone and shouting "Boo" in their ear will usually just make the other person angry and more likely to punch you in the face than run away in terror.

And being stuck in a situation where you can't do anything to respond to a jumpscare means that eventually the jumpscare really does become annoying because it's just a shouty game over screen which means there's a resting phase right after where you're perfectly safe since everything has just reset. It dissipates the tension completely just like after being shouted in the ear.

Saying that something had reliable jumpscares isn't necessarily the same as calling it scary.

 

[Thanatos2k]

A horror game criticized for being too scary. Ha.

Actually, this is why I don't like any kind of horror games. You said FNAF was just scary but not fun, but I don't see the fun in any survival horror game, which is why I don't play them.

With regards to the jump scares in FNAF, I think the effectiveness of the game is that you KNOW the jump scares are coming, and your desperation to avoid them is what ratchets the tension up to 11.

 

[rocker1600]

I'm surprised you didn't also recommend Spec Ops: The Line for a game that capture the struggle to maintain humanity in an extreme situation.

 

[Alien1375]

Five Nights at Freddys is the horror game equivalent of Flappy Bird: Cheap & Shitty.

 

[Amaror]

Don't really aggree with your points for The War of Mine:

1. The characters don't get the "sad" status affect to tell you that your supposed to feel sad, but to tell you that if you make them even more sad, they might leave your group. It's a gameplay mechanic, not a way to manipulate your feelings. The Game can also tell you that a character is wounded without meaning to tell you that you should hurt yourself.

2. The characters aren't that interchangeble. Each character has a different trait, which gives them advantages. A cook can half the amount of food needed to cook meals and can also brew tradeable alcohol cheaper. A handyman and a mathmatician use less ressources when building stuff. And a strong character can carry almost twice as much as a normal person. Not all characters are wildly different, i agree that traits like faster movement or more silent movement aren't that apparent ingame, but i think calling all the characters interchangeble isn't doing the game justice.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

I get the "too scary" vibe, definitely. I'm the sort of person who actively sought out Amnesia: The Dark Descent on Yahtzee's recommendation and would have bought both Silent Hills by now if used copies of the first one weren't going for around $40, but just from the images and descriptions Five Nights a Furry came off as 2spoopy4me. Haven't even gotten up the nerve to watch Markiplier's Let's Play of it yet.

"Like if Lars von Trier remade Little Computer People." I feel proud for getting both those references.

 

[Aeshi]

Wow, I think Yahtzee was actually nicer to FNaF in his review than he was in his Let's Plays/Drown Outs. That's gotta be a first.

 

[themilo504]

Your opinion of five nights at Freddy?s and jump scares is rather similar to my opinion of horror as a genre, I?m a massive coward who finds doom to scary to play, and even if I wasn?t I just don?t get the appeal of being scared, I get enough of that in real life just thinking about my future.

I actually like the fact that characters in this war of mine get sad if you do terrible things, it actually gives you some real negative consequences for doing immoral things, something that I feel most games really lack(cough fallout cough).

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

I guess Yahtzee :uts on shades:: wasn't ready for Freddy. ::YEEEEEEEAH::

Okay in all seriousness, this is why I claim Yahtzee is biased nowadays: it seems like he actually IS looking for superficial excuses to hate something. Really? You find FNAF TOO SCARY?

Isn't it more that jumpscares, even effective ones, are more annoying than actually horrifying? Creeping up on someone and shouting "Boo" in their ear will usually just make the other person angry and more likely to punch you in the face than run away in terror.

And being stuck in a situation where you can't do anything to respond to a jumpscare means that eventually the jumpscare really does become annoying because it's just a shouty game over screen which means there's a resting phase right after where you're perfectly safe since everything has just reset. It dissipates the tension completely just like after being shouted in the ear.

Saying that something had reliable jumpscares isn't necessarily the same as calling it scary.

Did you not read the rest of my comment. I'm not saying FNAF is scary because of the jump scares. There is subtly to its horror as well if you pay attention. Especially the sequel.

I read it, i just don't know if i can agree with the idea that random documents (which from your description sound like optional pick-ups too) can be used as an argument here. Sure they probably help to add depth and are interesting to the lore enthusiasts of FNAF, but if they're missable you can't blame someone for claiming FNAF lacks both subtlty and depth. It's a lesson a lot of Dark Souls players should take to heart; Not everyone reads the item descriptions, and not everyone finds every piece of gear. That is also true of codex entires in Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

 

[Sofox]

Love the "5 Nights a Stranger-I MEAN..." bit. Talk about indie horror games.

Now I just want some clueless poster to reply asking if Yahtzee has every played that game, so that all of us in the know can feel smug and use the internet for it's original purpose: Feeling better about ourselves through looking down on other people.

 

[Dizchu]

Usually I don't like it when people plug their own games in reviews, but that "5 Days a Stranger" part caught me off guard and had me in giggles.

Seriously, that game was how I first heard about Yahtzee and I highly recommend it to anyone that likes point-and-click adventure games.

Go.

Do it now.

Really, just do it.

 

[Olas]

I'm with ya Yahtzee. There's a difference between being too scared to play a game and just choosing not to play because you don't enjoy being startled. Calling someone a pussy for that is like calling someone a pussy for not flailing their own back for no reason.

Live-in-a-bowl Live-in-a-bowl Live-in-a-bowl Live-in-a-bowl Live-in-a-bowl

 

[Grumman]

Okay in all seriousness, this is why I claim Yahtzee is biased nowadays: it seems like he actually IS looking for superficial excuses to hate something. Really? You find FNAF TOO SCARY?

How is that a superficial excuse? He's saying it's incredibly effective at creating an atmosphere that he finds incredibly unpleasant. It's a remarkable achievement, sure, but that doesn't mean he wants to subject himself to it.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I'm with Yahtzee, Five Nights at Freddy's is pretty terrifying... though maybe that's because I'm a bit of a weenie when it comes to horror games. I like the concept, and the fact that one guy managed to craft such a terrifying story... but the atmosphere is too much for me. And don't get me started on the backstory...

"Five Nights a Stranger-I mean..." Ah, I see what you did there... well played. (Golf claps)

 

[weirdee]

five nights at Freddy was way better then he thinks and i'm disappointed that he did't look for the much bigger story much like half life a simple story at first but if you just dig a little you find it to be a much more interesting and a lot of story

I don't think he put it down for being a bad game, he put it down cause he couldn't bear (get it) to go back in after so many flipping the fuck outs.

 

[njrk97]

Wow, I think Yahtzee was actually nicer to FNaF in his review than he was in his Let's Plays/Drown Outs. That's gotta be a first.

Wait did Yahtzee actually upload a video of him playing it?



OT: It is a shame how Yahtzee could not get into the story cause he cant handle prolonged exposure to the game. Shoot I know every detail about the games and i still get nervous playing them. Im also one of those people that are not bothered by the FNAF jumpscares, yes they make me jump but they are the punishment. Unlike other 'cheap' jumpscares they are avoidable if you are skilled enough, unlike for example alot garry's mod horror maps where there is no build up and you have to walk through the hallway where the face pops up to progress.Thats why i think people who rope them in with other jumpscarefest games are wrong because they actually have some thought put in to how they are used.

 

[gamegod25]

FNAF has always been a game that while it does a good job making you tense and paranoid (at first), the forced restrictions needed to create that tension make no sense in a real world perspective. Why would you have doors that require power to stay closed or in the second game none at all, why would you have limited power. why would your character keep coming back? Even when the second game gives you a mask to fool them there are still mechanics in place to prevent you from being totally safe. Obviously the reason is because it's a game and there would be no tension if you could just lock the doors and curl up in a ball until morning. There has been lots of discussion about the lore in FNAF but my personal head cannon is that it's all either a recurring nightmare, this is your eternal punishment in hell, or the business owners literally have you tied up and threatening to kill your family if you don't do the job. Those are the only plausible explanations I can come up with as to why your character would keep coming back after the first night and for so little money.