Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (often abbreviated to FNaF4) is an indie point-and-click survival horror video game developed and published by Scott Cawthon. It is the fourth installment of the Five Nights at Freddy's series as well as a prequel to the second game. Originally planned for release on October 31, 2015, the game was pushed forward to August 8, then again to July 23 when it was unexpectedly released on Steam. It was released for Android devices on July 25, 2015, and for iOS devices on August 3, 2015. A sequel Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location was released on October 7, 2016.
Announced in mid-2015 under the working title Five Nights at Freddy's: The Final Chapter, the game is considered a departure from the previous games, which took place in a security office. Instead, the game takes place in a child's bedroom, placing an emphasis on timing and auditory warnings to complete nights.
Upon release, the game received polarizing reviews from critics; praise centered on its unsettling atmosphere, while others were divided over the game's new mechanics. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 is the only game in the entire series that has no spoken dialogue. Also, Five Nights at Freddy's 4 is the first game since the original Five Nights at Freddy’s to have physical movement, where in the original, the only physical movement was of the animatronic Foxy the Pirate, in which they run down the left hall to reach the player.
Gameplay
Unlike previous Five Nights at Freddy's games, the game is not set in a security office, but in a child's bedroom; there are also no security cameras and instead of "Phone Guy", the player is given on-screen instructions to help the player during the game. The player is equipped with a flashlight, similar to the second game, although the light has unlimited power. It can be used to ward away any animatronics seen down the hall; however, if the player hears either Nightmare Bonnie's or Nightmare Chica's breathing at the door or they see Nightmare Fredbear or Nightmare upon turning on the flashlight, they must immediately close the door. Despite this, the door will eventually open ajar as the player walks away. The player must also monitor the closet to avoid getting attacked by Nightmare Foxy by closing it if necessary, similar to the first game, as well as shooing three miniature animatronics named 'Freddles' on the bed before they, once all three are together, summon Nightmare Freddy to attack the player. If the player is not careful in shining the light towards the hallways or leaves the doors, closet and bed unattended for too long, the player will be jumpscared, leading to a game over.
After beating each night, the player may play a timed minigame titled "Fun with Plushtrap", where they must lure a plush edition of Springtrap, the central animatronic in Five Nights at Freddy's 3, to the top of an "X" marked on the ground within a specific amount of time. If the player wins, the player will start the next night at 2:00 A.M. Like the nightmare animatronics, this timed minigame becomes more challenging as the game progresses. It is impossible to use the time bonus in the unlockable modes. Additionally, if the player gets a game over, the bonus is no longer valid for further plays of the same level.
Like previous games, the game's main storyline takes place over five increasingly-difficult nights with unlockable extra levels. The first four nights will put the player against four animatronics: Nightmare Freddy, Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica and Nightmare Foxy. Nightmare Fredbear, who combines the scare tactics of the previous four, is the sole attacker on the fifth night. Completing all five nights will unlock an additional sixth night, where the four animatronics will haunt the player until Nightmare Fredbear takes over when the clock hits 4 AM. Completing the sixth night will unlock the "Nightmare" night, where the animatronics are very persistent and Nightmare Fredbear is replaced by the highly aggressive Nightmare, who has a unique game over screen compared to other animatronics. A secret code will unlock an eighth night or called as 20/20/20/20 mode based on the Custom Night modes from the first two games, which sets the A.I. of the animatronics to maximum difficulty. Other unlockables include galleries of the various animatronics and jumpscares, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at the 3D-modelling process for Fredbear and Foxy.
As in most of the previous entries of the series, the story of the game is revealed in interactive Atari-style minigame sections between nights. Each of the minigames are set in a time frame corresponding to the five nights, beginning with "5 days until the party", up to "0 days until the party".
Plot
The game starts with a minigame which shows a young boy who is locked in his bedroom with plush toys, which he calls his only friends. It is speculated that Five Nights at Freddy's 4's gameplay is the result of the boy suffering from nightmares that he is being attacked by the animatronics and thus must protect himself. After the player survives the first night, the boy's Fredbear plush tells him that "he" (the boy's older brother) is hiding in the house, before the boy is jumpscared by him, who is wearing a Foxy mask. After the second night, the boy is abandoned at the pizzeria (implied to be the Fredbear's Family Diner briefly mentioned in the second game), only to be warned by Fredbear's voice that "he" is coming and that he needs to be brave; however, since the boy afraid of the animatronics and costumed mascots, he ends up crying. An easter egg during this scene briefly shows William Afton from the second and third games placing someone in the Spring Bonnie suit.
After the third night, the minigame reveals that other children tease the boy, calling him a coward and crybaby, and that there are rumors of the animatronics coming to life at night and attempting to murder people. The boy sees his plush toys as his only friends and generally eschews interaction with other people in favor of them. Another easter egg in this minigame establishes the time period, via a commercial or TV show named "Fredbear and Friends" with a 1983 date. After the fourth night, it is revealed that he was once locked in the building's parts and services room as a prank. If the fifth night is completed, the boy is shown crying at his birthday party in the pizzeria, with his brother (alongside other bullies) wearing the masks of the animatronics to terrorize the boy. The bullies, deciding to prank the boy, grab him and try to get him close to the Fredbear animatronic's mouth for a "kiss", and end up stuffing the boy's head into the animatronic's mouth. Suddenly, Fredbear, who was in the middle of singing, forcefully closes his mouth and crushes the boy's head while the brother and his friends stare in firm horror, realizing their mistake.
After the sixth night, the boy hears a voice apologizing to him as Fredbear promises him that no matter how many times he "breaks", he and the others will always be there to "put him back together" and will always be his friends. The characters then fade out one by one, and the faint sound of a heart monitor flatlining can be heard, ending the game. Following this, the player unlocks Nightmare mode, which is the same as the sixth night with the exception of a new animatronic, Nightmare, a more aggressive version of Nightmare Fredbear.
If the player completes Nightmare mode, an image of a locked metal trunk is displayed; if the player wiggles the padlocks, the game states that "Perhaps some things are best left forgotten, for now." Cawthon remained cryptic about what is inside the trunk, and eventually announced that he would not disclose what was in it. He gave only one clue: "What's in the box? It's the pieces of the franchise's story put together."
