Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 picks up some 30 years after Fredy Fazbear’s Pizza was shuttered for good, and some genius thought it would be a brilliant idea to collect as many relics from the wreckage as he could to cobble together a sort of haunted house. Three guesses who gets to guard it.

What sets this third installment apart from the first and second games is that it quite honestly feels like more of a game now. The original Five Nights at Freddy’s was something of a trailblazer (and is still super creepy) despite being rather simple, while the sequel was more involved but to the point of being messy and overwhelming.

This time around there’s only one animatronic stalking the halls, which may make the game sound like a cakewalk but that’s definitely not the case. You’ll be able to keep tabs on "Springtrap" using a CCTV system much like in previous games, but now you can trigger audio clips to try and lure it into different areas (i.e. away from you). Trouble is the electrical systems are old and unreliable, so your audio, video, and even the ventilation may cut out at any time.

You’ll inevitably have to pull yourself away from monster-wrangling in order to reboot these vital systems, either because they shut down or because some horrifying apparition sent you into a panic, which of course makes it highly likely that you’ll lose sight of Springtrap. And then immediately start freaking out when you can’t find it again. Because it could be just about anywhere - milling around in the arcade, crawling through the vents, or even right outside your door...

Despite the original being a well-loved classic (that’s less than a year old) I find myself enjoying Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 a lot more. As I've mentioned it feels like there’s more game here, with you having to employ actual strategy to keep the homicidal monstrosity as far away from you as possible while at the same time staying on top of three malfunctioning computer systems and trying not to succumb to the various spooks that will ruin your day. It’s palm-sweating, panicky strategy, but it’s still strategy. Another plus is that the animations are also more in-line with the PC version. They’re still a little janky, but they’ve definitely got more than three frames this time around.

The map you use to interact with the cameras and trigger audio covers up quite a bit of the video screen, which can be something of a problem. Although based on what I’ve seen of the PC version it looks like the image quality has been cleaned up so that it’s a little easier to make out Springtrap’s shadow (or freaky glowing eyes) hiding in the background. You also won’t have to unlock the mini-games with all manner of obscure tasks; now they’re just there for you to play in-between nights. I think you still have to “glitch” them the right way if you want to get the good ending, though.

This is a great way to cap off the horror trilogy, and it’s far less frustrating than the second game without making things too easy. The original will always be the one everybody remembers because of the trilogy and the Fazbear mythology that it spawned, but as far as I’m concerned Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 is the best in the series.

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