“Five Nights At Freddy’s: Into the Pit”
Initial release date: August 7, 2024
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Series S|X & PC
Mode: Singleplayer, First Person, Side Scrolling Adventure
Genres: Horror adventure, Puzzle game, Survival Horror

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 

Given the high-quality experiences that the Five Nights at Freddy’s series has consistently delivered, “FNAF: Into the Pit” challenges those elevated expectations. This latest series aims to uphold the franchise’s reputation for producing intense and immersive horror. This review seeks to help gamers understand how well “Into the Pit” stacks up against its predecessors, examining its narrative depth, gameplay mechanics, and overall scare factor. 

Whether a long-time fan or new to the series, you will discover this latest video game that meets the high standards set by the FNAF legacy. The game takes place around the year of 1996. The player plays as a kid named Oswald, who wishes his town and life weren’t boring. 

It all changes when he explores a ball pit at an old, run-down open pizzeria and finds himself in the past. However, not everything is what it seems when his deepest desire to find his father comes with an unexpected cost.

The game plays out in a 2D side-scrolling game, which allows the player to move laterally from left and right or vice versa depending on where the player wants to move. Oswald tries to escape and find his father, but he is being stalked and hunted by The Creature. If it catches the player, the game is over. You can try to hide from the enemy by hiding in various spots including the vents, but you will have to deal with spiders crawling down the ceiling.

Cabinets are another way to hide, but Oswald must try to stay out of the line of sight of the enemy, as the enemy paces back and forth. While Oswald is running around trying to find his father, he must find items to help him open rooms. These rooms could have additional items that could help him find his father. In some rooms, the player may need to help kids trapped by The Creature.

Some items that the player could find while searching the rooms are a sticky hand which helps them to reach high places or arcade tokens which allows the player to get other items that can help them to create a distraction in another room allowing a clean getaway. 

The enemy can create traps that are animatronics which will make the game harder when the player comes in contact with one of the animatronics, when near one it will play a sound cue alerting the enemy, where the player is, giving them less time to try and hiding from the enemy even if the player thinks they are safe from the enemy.

The game tends to emphasize atmospheric tension and unsettling visuals over the intense, in-your-face scares in the main series. It still has its share of jump-scares and creepy moments, but it’s often considered to be less terrifying compared to the core games. 

The overall scare factor is more about maintaining a sense of dread and unease rather than delivering constant shocks, getting a rating of 9.5 out of 10. 

If one wants a brain teaser for an adventure all in one, then this game is well worth it.