Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 - Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Surviving the Nightmare

[Trying to decide if you want to subject yourself to the horror? Have a look at our Five Nights at Freddy’s review.]

So you’ve gone and found yourself trapped in a nightmare from which there is no waking. Fantastic. You still have a chance, though. You can still make it out (sort of). We’ve put together a collection of basic tips and tricks to help you out if you’re still having a tough time with it. We’ve tried to keep spoilers to a minimum but there are a few in the “Misc. tips” section. Oh, and sweet dreams.

The basics

• Use headphones - Sound is the most important it’s ever been in Five Nights at Freddy’s 4. If you don’t perk up your ears you’re as good as dead. So make sure to play with headphones on because most of the extremely important audio cues (and clues) won’t be easy to make out on your iOS device’s speaker and over any background noise.

• Listen very, very carefully - All of the important information you need to survive comes from sound, so listen up! Much of it is background noise designed to get in the way of what you’re trying to listen for, but if you turn up the volume (within tolerable levels) and be patient you should be able to make everything out.

• You can sort of queue actions by holding the appropriate section of the screen - The game doesn’t really support multitouch, but you can make use of those transitional running animations by getting a thumb in the right spot. Once you make it to wherever you were headed you’ll immediately perform the appropriate action (i.e. turning on the flashlight, closing a door, turning, etc).

• Animatronic footsteps sound like someone walking over gravel - Whenever you hear that sound, you know that someone’s on the move. The direction the sound comes from seems to be inconsequential, though.

Survival tips

• Not all sounds are important - The barking dog, cars driving by, the clank of dishes - none of these sounds matter. The ones you really want to listen for are the crunchy footsteps of the animatronics, the pitter-patter of tiny nightmarish feet, and of course the breathing. Everything else is inconsequential.

• Don’t worry about where you think a sound is coming from - When you’re in the middle of the room you might hear footsteps off to the left, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find an animatronic on that side. Oddly, the orientation of the sounds seems pointless (except when you’re right up against a door). So rather than worry about which side you hear footsteps coming from, just know that you’re hearing footsteps and someone is moving around out there.

• Keep moving - The first night isn’t as intense (you’re still probably going to die), but the further you make it the more “aggressive” you have to be. These animatronics will relentlessly come at you, and the only way to fight them off is to push them back with the flashlight or slam a door in their face. If you dawdle, you’re a goner.

• Check the bed regularly - Things will get hairy if you go for too long without taking a look at the bed. make sure you remember to spin around and shine your light every so often - preferably after each “cycle” of checking the left and right doors.

• Don’t worry about the closet for the first couple of nights - Nothing really happens with the closet on the first night but it won’t hurt to run up and check it once or twice. The same goes for the second night. By night three you’ll definitely want to check it regularly.

• Never use your flashlight as soon as you reach a door - It’s tempting, but do not do it. You need to stand at the door to listen for breathing for a few seconds before shining your light, and if you hear any then slam the door shut immediately. Turning on your light when there’s an animatronic at the door is instant death.

• Hold the door shut - If you think you hear breathing make sure to close the door, but don’t just close it real quick and then open it again. Instead, hold it shut for a few seconds and listen for the sounds of the animatronic walking away.

• Make sure you hear the animatronic walk away before opening the door - It usually will only take a few seconds before they wander off, but make sure you listen for it (the sounds of walking over gravel). If you open the door and they’re still there, it’s all over.

Misc. tips (SPOILERS)

• Take your time on the Plushtrap bonus levels - It's tempting to get antsy and keep clicking your light on, but the more time you waste shining your light the less time you have to catch him on the "X". And even if you fail and he ends up taking a bite out of your face you'll be no worse off than if you ran out of time. But that 2 hour head start is worth the potential jump scare. Just be patient. Keep the light off and listen, and only click the light on for a moment when you think he's getting close otherwise you might waste precious seconds.

• Bonnie and Chica follow the same pattern as they did in the first game - In what could only be an intentional homage to the original Five Nights at Freddy’s, Bonnie and Chica only approach from the left and right sides of the room, respectively. Chica also still likes messing around in the kitchen, so you might hear her clanking around in there from time to time.

• Press the attack - I know I’ve said this already but it bears repeating: keep moving and checking everything constantly. If you go too long without checking any given thing you’re apt to get grabbed. And then probably eaten.

• Hold your light on the tiny Freddys - The mini Freddys will start to pile up on your bed if you let them go unchecked for too long. When you turn around and spot any make sure to keep your light on them until they all run away. And if three of them hang out on your bed for too long you’re toast.

• If you see the closet door move, check it immediately - This means that Foxy is getting ready to pounce, and if you don’t stop him you’re done for. If you think you see the closet door move then make sure to run up and shine your light at it.

• Light up Foxy until he reverts to a toy - If you check the closet and find Foxy there, quickly hold the doors shut for a second or two and check on him again. He should go from “face in the door” to “preparing to lunge” to “creepily standing in the back” to “aww, he’s adorable” with each glance. Once he’s gone cute you’re safe to step away from the closet.

• Foxy and the tiny Freddys are more important - You definitely want to keep an eye/ear on the left and right bedroom doors, but Bonnie and Chica’s meandering isn’t as pressing as the closet or the bed. Both locations work on a sort of timer, and if you fail to “reset” them often enough you’re doomed.

• You’re on your own for night five - We could spoil even more by breaking down the particulars of night five, but it’s much better left as a surprise. Suffice it to say you need to be very quick, listen very closely, and make liberal use of the flashlight.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Released: 2015-08-03 :: Category: Game

$2.99