I’m going to be honest, I hesitated on writing this review given I played through Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 and never gave anything too much thought. I vividly remember when playing the game hearing my friend go on about how PewDiePie was railed for not finding this game scary after playing three others back to back (Man, if only we lived in a world where being him being a fascist was still not as controversial as his opinions on the “HAR HAR HAR HAR” game) but my experience was definitely in line with his. Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 is notable to me for being the first truly narrative focused Five Nights at Freddy’s game and where the series started to step away from its horror roots (Well, I say roots, but this game came out 10 months after the first).

For those who are reading this review as a part of my Five Nights at Freddy’s mini review series I just so happened to find myself in and do not know much about me, I am a very rhythm centric person and this game is very much designed around having good hearing. The gameplay loop consists of a child in his bedroom, reliving a never ending nightmare stemming from this said putting his Brother in the mouth of an animatronic which would proceed to bite off his frontal lobe. Given that premise and the fact you’re in a bedroom, there isn’t much to defend yourself. In fact, the game is very minimalist in both its gameplay and presentation. You have two doors to each side of you, a walk-in closet in the middle of your bedroom, and your bed behind you. There isn’t a camera system to watch out for the animatronics but instead you rely entirely on your ability to the animatronics breathing behind each bedroom door, as well as rustling in your closet and on your bedspread. It is kind of genius in its approach. However there’s one problem that I have with tasks you are required to complete…

It is piss easy.

There isn’t a good way of putting, nights one to five are genuinely the easiest in the entire franchise and the new animatronics don’t do the game any favors given they look like Coldsteel The Hedgehog inspired animatronics. The only animatronic that looks even remotely terrifying in the new design is Foxy which is without a doubt my favorite incarnation of Foxy, no questions asked. The latter half of night five offers easily the greatest blatant switch in this entire franchise that I will not discuss in depth as I truly want whoever is reading my review to play and experience it for themselves. Though, the two new animatronics did keep me on my toes, although I’ll say that Nightmare Fredbear did so in a way that was entertaining while Nightmare Lucifer just kind of kept ending runs at 4:00 AM because he’s a dick. There is also a rhythm mini game that lets you skip from 12:00 AM to 2:00 AM (Yes, I have gone this entire retrospective without mentioning the mini games and no, I am not sorry because I feel as if the Atari styled minigames ran their course before the third game ever came out).

I’m definitely being a bit negative towards the game, but to be fair, this game followed up what is in my opinion the greatest entry in the franchise. The story of the kid who shoved his Brother in the mouth of the animatronic didn’t solve anything (Especially when you learn that you didn’t even see The Bite of 87) and the locked box just felt it was there to have data miners dig through the game to solve whatever ARG was going to tease the next mainline entry. Ultimately Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 just feels like a filler game. I don’t have much to say about it and the fact I replayed the entire game minus its night seven just to form the opinion that I have no strong opinions is the biggest shortcoming of this entry. Also, dream theory is stupid, fuck you Scott for even attempting to make that canon.

Rating: C/B-
Genre(s): Point and click adventure, survival horror

The best Five Nights at Freddy’s game and it isn’t even a debatable topic. The game features the most enjoyable gameplay loop in the entire franchise with easily the most satisfying ending. The murder victims of the purple guy were set free from their eternal Hell of the animatronic suits while the very man who took the lives of the innocent children is left to forever exist between a state of the living and the dead as an ironic punishment for his crimes. Honestly a genius ending and if Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 was the final game, then I’d say the series would be one of the greatest in gaming.

I know a reason the game was heavily disliked when it first released was because of the “weak jumpscares” (Which isn’t where the horror in these games comes from, but whatever), though I would argue the game has the greatest set of jumpscares as getting hit by a ghost animatronic and not immediately hitting a game over causes quite the panic which in turn makes Springtrap's jumpscare all the more great. Speaking of Springtrap, his design is genius. It is what a good horror villain should be. The fact you can’t quickly spot him in the camera makes later nights terrifying as you’re frantically looking between each camera to see where he’s moved so you can lock him out of the office.

The office design is also great. The building makes a lot of sense with each point of entry for Springtrap making sense and no useless spaces that don’t make sense for the design of the building (Something that Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Sister Location just fail at for whatever reason). The game requires you to be on your guard at all points which makes potential deaths actually feel like your fault instead of being at 4:00 AM and Toy Bonnie just fucking up your day and allowing the wind up box to reach 10%.

I mean, the game isn’t perfect, but there isn’t much to criticize at a base level. My personal favorite and infinitely better than Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Wait, you like Five Nights at Freddy’s as well? I just got into these games recently, haha. What’s your name? By the way, I like your TV Girl shirt, do you listen to Deftones?

Rating: B+
Genre(s): Point and click adventure, survival horror

I don't think I can give Ultimate Custom Night a rating. It is a best of compilation that exists to push masochists to their absolute limits. It isn't a Five Nights at Freddy's game as much as it is a bragging right, which I can respect.

I would explain how the game operates but I had to watch a four hour long playlist of explanations of each individual mechanic to reliably make it to 1:00 AM. I don't know where this falls in the Five Nights at Freddy's narrative (And to be honest, I'm terrified of looking up any story past Sister Location), but this game is my own personal Hell. Every issue I have with each individual Five Nights at Freddy's game is accounted for made exponentially worse by the fact this game requires 100% concentration to play (Which if you require me to be sober and not listen to random Spotify playlists when playing a game as simple as Five Nights at Freddy's, you've pushed me to my absolute limit).

Ultimate Custom Night lives up to its name because if you do not care, then you'll move on. I mean, most people have better things to do than put 119 hours in a video game to say you beat it (That's just my Steam time, I tried on PlayStation but stopped after seeing the control list and feeling like I'd have an easier time learning how to play "Tommy the Cat" by Primus with a missing arm). This game is terribly designed and it revels in that fact. It knows its audience and who is going to be playing it and it earns respect for that. The game is fucking brutal and asks you for its undivided attention because you can't brute force this game.

I enjoyed my time... but if you ever make me play this game again, the screams of the voices of the damned will be heard from across the world.

Rating: ???
Genre(s): Point and click adventure, rage game

If you hate this series, then you most likely hate the domino effect of cheap knock offs and the Markiplier's that wanted to become the next famous horror indie game YouTuber (By the way, CinnamonToastKen's playthrough of Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls is better than anything Markiplier has ever made and I will not debate why). But as a first game in a series and even a horror game, Five Nights at Freddy's is absurdly good.

The gameplay loop is easily the most engaging in this one. The power supply and Pirates Cove add resource management that keeps you on your toes and can't be easily exploited in your favor. Furthermore, each animatronic is honestly really good, with my favorite being Freddy as I think he's easily the most terrifying (Freddy caused the bite of 87' and I will not debate this). Chica is the weakest of the robots and even then, it isn't too bad given how she looks in each subsequent game.

I do have an issue with how movement opportunities work in this game because it requires you to stare at Pirate's Cove the entire night from night 5 onwards. Furthermore, how Foxy drains power when stopped during an attack either means I'm gonna win 4/20 with 8% power or lose it all by 4:00 AM.

Another issue I have is with the power shortage sequence and how you're literally gambling with a random number generator as to if you're going to live 5 seconds or 50 seconds which doesn't create tension, but rather mild irritation from the guy who just wants his PlayStation trophies.

The narrative is also way too vague for its own good. Like, I wasn't around during the series peak (I played this game for the first time October 2023, lmao) but I would place money down that Mark discovering Golden Freddy by complete happen chance is the only reason people put an effort into discovering this games plot.

Though, Five Nights at Freddy's is a game that your enjoyment will ultimately boils down to "I have nostalgia" or "This game is really good despite its flaws." The game is good and plays a lot better than a majority of Five Nights at Freddy's games after (Check out my FNAF 2 review). Though, I can't say this series is the pinnacle of gaming. The Five Nights at Freddy's movie, though?? Yeah, that's one of the greatest modern thrillers and I will die on that hill.

Rating: B
Genre(s): Point and click adventure, survival horror

Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 is virtually unplayable on any night past shift 4 and I’m tired of pretending it’s a good game. Sure, the horror factor easily reaches one of its peaks in the franchise, but given I played these games when I was 21 and not 11, there’s some glaring issues with the game I feel people have looked over because of their nostalgia for this game (I just wrote that out and felt existential dread, bring me back to Black Ops 2 multiplayer and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire wonder trading).

First and foremost, let’s talk about the toy box. The game encourages you to look at each of the monitors since there is some terrifying stills throughout the building, but to do so would be wasting your time of winding the toy box, putting down your camera, putting up the mask, and getting jumpscared because Toy Bonnie should be hung for being the worst fucking animatronic this series has to offer. There’s no skill, it is just getting yourself in a rhythm and hoping the game doesn’t cock block you out of a 10/20 win for the upteenth time.

Speaking of Toy Bonnie, why the fuck are half the animatronics just outright terrible? Balloon Boy doesn’t make the game more interesting nor is he notably scary, as well as Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica. There are good additions to the cast with The Mangled being one of my favorites, as well as having the best versions of my two favorite animatronics, those being Classic Freddy and the Puppet. But for every great scare, the game takes away from it with its dogshit gameplay loop. Like, why the hell does the maintenance office have two vents with lights on each side? Five Nights At Freddy’s 1 and 3’s offices made sense and Five Nights at Freddy’s 4’s bedroom makes a lot of sense given the narrative of the game. No building in human history has, is, or will be built like this Pizzera.

Also, the jumpscares are weak. Classic Bonnie, Classic Freddy, Foxy, and The Mangled are the only ones worth noting. Golden Freddy’s jumpscare is easily the worst in the entire franchise besides the White Woman Jumpscare™ from that new game I refuse to pay $40 to play. Toy Chica’s is kinda frightening because of her missing beak, but it is still ultimately whatever. Like I said, there are good jumpscares (My first playthrough I purposely let the toy box fully unwind, heard the lullaby, looked in the camera, saw the puppet floating out of the toy box, audible say “Huh…,” checked the vent, saw a fucking endoskeleton, and had just about shit my pants in a panic before getting jumpscared). The Mangled’s jumpscare is also really cool because I got it for the first time on my first attempt of 10/20 at 5:00 AM and heard the police scanner then felt my fucking heart stop beating.

I don’t get the praise for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 is better in every single way imaginable and Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 is much scarier. The game is mediocre and the horror completely falls flat because the gameplay loop does not allow you to feel scared. I mean, sure, it isn’t terrible, but one of the best horror games of all time? Eh… no.

Rating: D
Genre(s): Point and click adventure, survival horror

My personal comfort game. Etrian Odyssey is just one of those that despite the attention required to do anything, is best enjoyed being played with half your attention while you’re in a Discord call blaring MGMT and Mild High Club through Spotify. Each class in Etrian Odyssey V is interesting with a level of uniqueness that isn’t found in most tabletop role playing games (I can confirm this because my go to character in DND campaigns is based off a character I used in a playthrough of this game). Add the amazing dungeon crawling, difficult but rewarding combat, in depth character customization, and the exceptional gimmick of using your consoles touch screen to mark the dungeons map out as if it was an actual map, and you have a recipe for my go to game when I just want to spend 200 hours over the course of 3 years relaxing to JRPG perfection.

Rating: S
Genre(s): Dungeon crawler, JRPG, puzzle

The panicle of 2D platformers. Mega Man X is widely considered one of the greatest games of all time and with good reason. Each level is wholly unique and the ability to tackle them in any order and see your impact from previous levels make other stages more difficult was never done before Mega Man X. Combine this with its plethora of collectables and secrets and the game holds up even today. I usually don't play platformers, but if you show up to the function with Mega Man X Legacy Collection, hopefully everyone's okay watching me 100% in two hours.

Rating: S
Genre(s): 2D platformer, run and gun

I have never wanted to like a game as much as I do Persona 3 Reload. The game is an improvement on every other Persona game before it, matching the pure emotion and stunning gameplay of Shin Megami Tensei IV and Devil Survivor Overclocked. I have enjoyed all 14 hours I have put into this masterpiece… but I can’t finish it.

Maybe it is my distaste in Atlus or my inability to play JRPGs on anything that isn’t a portable game console, but I can’t finish it. The engaging and strategic combat mixed with the lovable cast of characters that feel so human that could be sitting next to me playing the game can’t hold my attention. The beautiful shades of blue that match the serene and pretty theme of water is something that won’t keep me going. Experiencing a story that gripped me when I was 14 can’t keep me hooked. I hate it.

Hopefully I come back to Persona 3 Reload because this game is truly a masterpiece. It hits in places no other game has and knowing the eventual outcome of certain characters is going to be all the more bittersweet given what I’ve experienced over the past 18 months of my life. As for now, I am gonna leave this game unrated and just kind of put up this review as a mental note and a sort of self reflection published on the internet. Is it healthy turning a video game cataloging websites review forums into a personal note for therapy? Probably not, but I just want the reminder here.

Persona 3 Reload is genuinely one of the greatest games I have ever played. It just doesn’t hit the same places it did when I was 14, 15, or Hell, even 20. Time doesn’t stand still for anyone and this game is proof of that statement.

Genre(s): JRPG, visual novel

The campaign is unremarkable, the time trials are tedious, and there is no Nazi Zombies mode (Something that was present in the DS port of Black Ops). Multiplayer is kind of fun and strangely still extremely active, but a Call of Duty multiplayer on a console without two sets of triggers or L3/R3 can only remain novel for so long. I will say that the game is still interesting given I love the plots of WAW, BO1, and BO2 but besides that, I couldn't care less.

Rating: F/D
Genre(s): First person shooter

I'm going to put my review very gently and say this game is insulting to abuse victims. Chihiro's father and the use of the word "Gently" potentially making people uncomfortable is proof of this. Komaru has so much going for but is somehow less interesting than her Brother Makoto who in Trigger Happy Havoc was DESIGNED to be a cookie cutter protagonist with plot armour. If you can write a character that I will call a "Mary Sue" in complete sincerity, then that's somehow more impressive than writing a Joel, Walter White, or Sol Badguy.

The games attempt at humor is somehow even worse than the rest of the series. There are good bits ("Lets Play With Monokuma" being a song sung by children's choir sung about the genocide of adults and abusers is a level of absurdity that I love from this series), but most of the jokes fall of their bike and eat shit in comparison to Danganronpa 2 and even V3.

The location is also somehow more drab than Fallout 3. How you can throw a pink filter and somehow everything look more washed out than a game with a "Shit green and bark brown" filter over it isn't something I am going even question.

The game isn't completely irredeemable as the expansion of Genocide Jill and Togami are exactly what they needed after the first game given they were the only two survivors who didn't really grow despite being the two most interesting (Besides my wife Kyouko, I want her to hit me with a car, kick me in the shins, and light me on fire). The gameplay is also really addictive and one of the best third person shooters I've ever played besides Gears of Wars or Fortnite.

The game is so just indicative of what I think a Danganronpa fan from 2019 would want to see from their favorite series (Massive shoutouts to people who remember 12-15 year old Danganronpa fans posting irl snuff as a joke to Instagram, we looooove mental illness). It's drab, boring, tasteless, and terrible with its few defining features being despised or forgotton.

I need to mentally prepare myself if I want to review V3 or THH because I would have to replay the games and I fear Death less than touching these games.

Rating: F
Genre(s): Investigation, third person shooter

One of my favorite games I had on for my GameBoy as a kid. I owned Pokémon Blue, Ruby, FireRed, as well as a few Hal Laboratory pinball games and a few Super Mario games including this one.

The game has really bad screen crunch but when your 7 or 8, you don't care because it reminds you of Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 2 (Games I also had on my GameBoy). The overworld added an absurd level of entertainment and the mini games like the coin flip and Valentine's game are great, especially when they were expanded in New Super Mario Bros. DS.

Not only that, but when you beat the game, you unlocked Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels and a "Race Boo" mini game, which if you managed to make it past 2-4 on this game, you're officially better than 8 year old me at this game.

I know the screen cropping and the terrible audio quality turn this into a deal breaker for most, but I do think it's the best version of both Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels.

Rating: B/A
Genre(s): 2d platformer, mini game collection

The Last of Us is widely regarded to be one of the greatest video games ever made. The characters in this desperate post Apocalyptic world feel like your acting out a movie where you play the grieving father Joel and he escorts a daughter figure across the country. Yeah, it's a trope Sony's done a million times before, but The Last of Us did it first and best.

The gameplay of The Last of Us is both a survival horror shooter and third person cover based shooter, with puzzles scattered in between each chapter to change the pace of the game. There are multiple different weapons, some of which are better against certain enemies than others. You can also craft items such as med kits, nail bombs, and Molotov Cocktails, as well as gears which allows you to upgrade items at workbenches with extended clips, scopes, and silencers. The game can be absurdly difficult, even on the easier difficulties which makes the satisfaction of finishing a shootout section so you can experience this world even more rewarding.

You also have the option of stealth throughout most of the game. Certain enemies react differently to stealth, such as humans being manic but observative or “Clickers,” enemies who are extremely aggressive but will only react to noise. However you approach the game, there are collectables called “Supplements” which allow you to upgrade your stealth or combat abilities in a similar way to gears.

The gameplay is really simple but the amount of depth and planning that goes into every single encounter isn't something you find in even the most observational of games. You need to be on your toes because one missed bullet or the mere crunching of glass can send you back 5 minutes.

I mentioned at the beginning of the game the main character Joel and his daughter of sorts Ellie. Joel loses his daughter Sara in the first 20 minutes of the game before it skips 20 years into the future. In this world, fungus has advanced to a point where it takes control of a human host and puts them into a dangerous, zombie-like state. You play the outbreak of the apocalypse during the prologue before being out 20 years in the future with your friend Tess in a survival camp run by the US Government. You are told through a hit that there's a request of urban matter before meeting up with by a woman named Marlene that you are required to travel a teenage girl named Ellie across the country to a Fireflies outpost, which are essentially remnants of an organized government that seizes control of areas in order to make them safe and inhabitable through supply camps, agriculture, etc. The camp is run by Joel’s Brother Tommy and you, Tess, and Ellie set off to travel her safely to the firefly outpost.

Along the way you meet many interesting characters like Bill, a business partner of Joel who is schizophrenic and suffering from paranoid delusions, as well as Harry and Sam, a group of Brothers attempting to survive after their Mother's passing, and David… let's just NOT talk about David so I don't have to incorporate a nervous breakdown into my review.

The game’s premise has been seen a million times in other media but The Last of Us nails it through character interactions, voice acting, and the moment to moment gameplay. Like I said, the gameplay is rather easy to understand but extremely complicated to maneuver through on even the easier difficulties, let alone “Grounded Mode,” difficulty introduced in the PlayStation 4 remaster as well as the PlayStation 5 direct recreation entitled The Last of Us Part I.

The game also features the greatest piece of DLC in any single player console game ever that I would like to review separately rather soon, but besides that, there's not much to say besides what I have been trying to get across this entire review, that being The Last of Us’ unique style of storytelling mixed with its amazing character writing makes it feel like your playing a film. I know that's an insult for video games nowadays, but The Last of Us is essentially an interactive art piece of the greatest horror movie that doesn't exist.

If you're reading this, you have already either played the game or read up on it. If you have, you most certainly have an opinion on the game. But if you're by chance reading my review without knowing what The Last of Us is, first of all, hey, thanks for reading, second, go do yourself a favor and play this one of a kind masterpiece.

The sequel to The Last of Us called The Last of Us Part II just got a direct remaster which I already reviewed alongside the original game. If you're even slightly interested in checking out The Last of Us even if you know every detail about it, please still do yourself the favor and experience this game. It's one of my favorites of all time and while everyone has praised it for over a decade, it deserves all the awards it has received. A magnum opus of not just film, gaming, and literature, but art as a medium itself

Rating: S
Genre(s): Third person shooter, survival horror