What can I say, I love the 2s! Bioshock 2, Silent Hill 2, Postal 2… and FNAF 2!

Five Nights at Freddy's needs zero introduction. The reach of such a small and simple indie game is astounding. The first game had a very basic premise: fend off four (and a half) possessed animatronics with four buttons in a claustrophobic office. Although I never liked the first game much because of its slight reliance on RNG, and you only ever needed to use the cameras to check on Foxy; past the first few nights, the cameras become useless. FNAF2 continues the trend of (first) sequels I love for a multitude of reasons. The gameplay in 2 is kind of insane. Critics even said the game was “too hard,” and that only fans of the original game would enjoy the second.

Personally, I enjoy how difficult this game is. Gone is the tight little office, and now we’re in a large open area. This gives the game more depth, literally, and the addition of a flashlight makes it a lot more tense. The player can aim their light down the hall to see the animatronics approaching in “real time.” When one enters the office through the echoey hall or the rumbling air vents, the player can quickly don a Freddy mask as a disguise. The rubbery noise and the muffled breaths make it so tense as you wait for any animatronics to leave; this game is even more reliant on noise cues. Like the first game, 2 has great sound design.

Because there’s not a lot of animation, the tension comes mostly from the noises made by the unseen. The new animitromo designs are fantastic. The idea of having a newer, shiner version of the gang while the OG four are rotting in a backroom somewhere is so great. The Withered designs are my favorite in the entire series. It’s obviously not as subtle, but if your main antagonists are robots, it’s a great visual direction to go. Not to mention they’re MASSIVE compared to the Toys. It’s the little details like this that make 2 so great, not that you’ll be able to catch all of them as you’re speedily swapping between the music box and slapping your mask on between bursts of your flashlight.

It’s just good.

What can I say, I love the 2s! Bioshock 2, Silent Hill 2, Postal 2… and FNAF 2! Five Nights at Freddy's needs zero introduction. The reach of such a small and simple indie game is astounding. The first game had a very basic premise: fend off four (and a half) possessed animatronics with four buttons in a claustrophobic office. Although I never liked the first game much because of its slight reliance on RNG, and you only ever needed to use the cameras to check on Foxy; past the first few nights, the cameras become useless. FNAF2 continues the trend of (first) sequels I love for a multitude of reasons. The gameplay in 2 is kind of insane. Critics even said the game was “too hard,” and that only fans of the original game would enjoy the second. Personally, I enjoy how difficult this game is. Gone is the tight little office, and now we’re in a large open area. This gives the game more depth, literally, and the addition of a flashlight makes it a lot more tense. The player can aim their light down the hall to see the animatronics approaching in “real time.” When one enters the office through the echoey hall or the rumbling air vents, the player can quickly don a Freddy mask as a disguise. The rubbery noise and the muffled breaths make it so tense as you wait for any animatronics to leave; this game is even more reliant on noise cues. Like the first game, 2 has great sound design. Because there’s not a lot of animation, the tension comes mostly from the noises made by the unseen. The new animitromo designs are fantastic. The idea of having a newer, shiner version of the gang while the OG four are rotting in a backroom somewhere is so great. The Withered designs are my favorite in the entire series. It’s obviously not as subtle, but if your main antagonists are robots, it’s a great visual direction to go. Not to mention they’re MASSIVE compared to the Toys. It’s the little details like this that make 2 so great, not that you’ll be able to catch all of them as you’re speedily swapping between the music box and slapping your mask on between bursts of your flashlight. It’s just good.