Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was a game that we used to play back in high school. I remember pretty much everyone in my class was afraid by it, while I was hating on it because it lacked the improvements of the sequel and was so far removed from the original's atmosphere. Fastforward a few years, I still believe that it is a lesser sequel to the first, but I certaintly don't have the same frustration that I used to have from it now.

In terms of presentation and challenge, FNAF 3 is an entirely different entry. The familiar and unsettling atmosphere that made the first game, and to some extent the second game, such a distinctive entry in the genre, is no longer there. Additionally, the large roster of animatronics from the second game has been replaced with just Springtrap, the only animatronic.

You'd think that by only focusing on a single animatronic, it would be the most threatening by far, but that is not the case at all. As springtrap can easily be exploitable by simply using the lure noise to keep him in place in a single room, I was able to use this strategy for the first four nights and even part of the fifth.

The challenge, instead, lies in figuring out where Springtrap is. That being said, I'm not really sure if it was intentional or just a design error. Unlike the full-screen camera view in the other two games, the small camera panel makes it impossible to tell where Springtrap is. The poor placement of Springtrap, static effects, and gloomy hallways further compounded this problem.

The one thing that I hate the most about the game, though, both now and in high school, is the sheer inconsistency of Springtrap. None of his jump scares, if you could even call them that, elicit any kind of reaction. He's supposed to be this scary animatronic that's more powerful than any of what has been introduced in the franchise, yet his attacks in the game are nothing more but goofy. Additionally, his inconsistency can also be found during his hunting segment, as he could be at the very edge of the building then he's already in the room with you in a matter of seconds. This really threw me into a loop, thinking that I might have been doing something wrong with the game.

Overall though, I expected it to be a lot worse than I remember it to be, but honestly, it wasn't all that bad. Sure, I can't really give out anything positive about the game because honestly, I didn't find it anything worth noting about it, but at least it isn't as frantic and random as FNAF 2.

Weirdly, I've found myself playing a lot of point-and-click games lately; however, Clock Tower might just be one of the best yet.

Despite being an old and forgotten game, Clock Tower remains a strong contender for one of the best horror games of all time. All due thanks to its amazing atmosphere and minimal but iconic sound design.

The visuals also remains impressive, providing a detailed sprite work that looks artistically better than most modern 2D games today. The implementation of RNG also ensures that no playthrough is ever the same. And while the Argento inspiration is quite blatant, it all works to satisfy my itch for a single player slasher game. In fact, I think this is just one of the first and few singler player slasher game on the market, which makes the game all the more unique.

Although some aspect haven't aged as well as some parts of the game. The hallway map all look the same, making it very easy to get lost in. The RNG can also be a bit way too random, causing me to restart the entire game on my first run because it probably didn't expect me to use an optional item that early on in the story.

Sure, it may be the least scariest game on the list, but it surely is one of the most unique out there.

Five Nights at Freddy's is one of those games that I think didn't really need a sequel, and yet here I am playing one that was released only a few months after the first game.

As a sequel, I think this game succeeds at expanding the overlooming mystery as well as providing many game-changing mechanics from the first game, some for better and some for worse.

One notable inclusion from this sequel, though, is the massive roster of animatronics. Each of them boasts a pretty slick and creepy design. It's pretty fun trying to find a way to expose the animatronics' weaknesses. When I found out how this one specific sound can be an indicator if an animatronic is near me, it felt so satisfying, and it felt like I was actually learning.

Although, because of the amount of animatronics this time around, trying to keep tabs on all of them can be kind of hectic, which also results in a higher difficulty. I remember only really dying once in the first game, but here, I died on the 2nd night three times!

The difficulty is also not helped by the unresponsive mask. Often times, it doesn't really respond quickly enough to my inputs, and sometimes it doesn't even register it entirely, causing many unnecessary and unavoidable deaths.

I also thought that this sequel never really managed to reach the same heights as its predecessor in terms of atmosphere. I never once felt scared with the game, nor did the jump scares really work. In fact, the jump scares were so common that it lost its impact pretty quickly. Simply put, the first game's atmosphere remains unmatched.
The first game's atmosphere remains unmatched

Maybe someday I'll get to finish this hectic jump scare simulator, but today, it will remain unfinished.