Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNaF) could not have been any more scarily good.
When the release trailer for FNaF: Into the Pit came out in 8th August 2024, I bought the game almost immediately on Steam. I was surprised to see the game only costs RM49 ($USD19.99), because I was expecting the game to cost about twice as much.
The trailer alone was already captivating enough; I was first lured in by the beautiful pixelated arts the game’s direction was going for. And then the animation shown in the game – I knew I had to try the game out.
I tell you this: as a long-time FNaF and horror game fan, this game is definitely top-notch, even in 2025. There are a few things I want to highlight in this game that I find most thrilling.
The Sound Design in This Game is Just Top Notch
FNaF games have always relied on audio designs to enhance the fright and eerie vibes of whichever setting they take place — be it the pizzeria, a horror attraction, or even a bedroom.
Even the silence in the games does decent in contributing towards the horror element of the game. After hearing constant background noises going off for so long, the sudden silence would bring about anxiety in anyone playing the game.
This FNaF game is no different.
I’m going to highlight the character sounds in this game, particularly Spring Bonnie (or Pit Bonnie). It’s a lot different from previous FNaF games we have played so far, where the characters would sound robotic, or have a metal clanking sound as they walk.
Pit Bonnie, on the other hand, sounds demonic.
Granted, this was Oswald’s (the main character) alleged schizophrenic perception of the events, and what he saw was what the kids imagined Pit Bonnie appeared as when it took their lives — a demonic animatronic.
So, whenever the player encounters Pit Bonnie, the scream, the breathing, the staggering noises — all of these trigger a fight-or-flight response from them, considering that Pit Bonnie is a one-hit-kill character, similar to any other animatronic in previous games.
Not to mention some worryingly convincing sound effects in this game, too. You will hear adults screaming — that’s normal in any horror game.
But you will also hear crying children and babies — I’m referring to really good ones. As if they’re really hurt when doing the recording. I wonder how they got the sound effects from crying babies?
Just listen to the screaming sound effect below:
Hiding during a chase is also insanely terrifying. The sound of the player’s heart beating as the loud thumping sound of Pit Bonnie approaching the hiding spot before the minigame initiates just create panic in players’ mind.
And when the player is found, you know what comes next.
The Pixelated Art is A New Approach that Receives Well
Pixelated arts have always been my favourite, and FNaF surely does a good job of taking a bit of a new direction in this game in particular.
They’ve tried a new direction before with Security Breach, but it didn’t sit well with me to that extent. Not to mention the bugs and poor optimisation the game had.
Into the Pit, however, was light on most machines.
But let’s not talk about the system requirements; almost everyone can play it. I want to touch on the pixelated art as a design choice in this game. Apart from the art being efficient to develop and run on a variety of hardware, the design also breathes new life into FNaF’s horror aspects found in the animatronics.
We’re so used to seeing the animatronics with realistic visuals as much as they can be. But seeing them animated in pixelated arts or cartoons — it’s not a familiar sight for most.
After witnessing Pit Bonnie in the trailer and in the game, I must say that the developers did an excellent job in creating a monster that the previous games haven’t quite achieved, for me at the very least.
Don’t get me wrong; FNaF 4 had some terrifying Nightmare animatronics, and FNaF 3’s Springtrap design was genuinely eerie, if the players are aware of the lore. But after witnessing animated Pit Bonnie in action, it brings out the thrills of being terrified again in me.
It’s just too good not to play it. The animation is undeniably great in this game, too. Once you play it, you can tell the developers didn’t cheap out on the animations for a lot of things in the game. Cutscenes, character movements, jumpscares — they did animated pixelated art so much justice I can’t thank them enough.
That, combined with the sound effects they implemented in this game, makes horror games scary once again, and that hasn’t been the case with modern horror games as of late.
The Game is Short Enough
A lot of FNaF fans grew up with the franchise, and they have mostly aged now. I spent my teenage years on the games when they were still growing rapidly in terms of lore, number of games released, fanbase, merchandise, and others.
As most working adults, games that require thorough grinding and endless hours of gameplay to finish just aren’t appealing anymore. It’s not that we hate those games; we just don’t have the time.
So, when this game came out, and it was only a 2-to-3-hour gameplay, it’s definitely a big attraction point for us adults who still want to experience new games without taking away too much of our time.
But, the game doesn’t lack content. That’s what I like the most about this game: it offers replayability for those who want to experience all the different endings and secrets found in FNaF: Into the Pit. If I recall correctly, there are about four endings in this game.
In essence, whilst the game is short if you breeze through it, it does offer multiple endings and secrets for you to find.
Not to mention two additional difficulties and a custom difficulty setting for you to tweak (similar to Custom Nights in OG FNaF games) if you are feeling up for the challenge.
Let’s Get Into the Pit!
When the trailer for this game came out, I was expecting the game to be costly, considering the success of the FNaF franchise, but apparently it was affordable. The content offered by the game far surpasses that — you can get lost playing it.
If you want to see my own playthrough of the game, feel free to check out my YouTube video here.
Note that the gameplay does not reflect me as a whole in a professional setting; it’s purely for fun and nothing else.
I won’t be the one endorsing anyone to buy anything, but if you do want to play a good horror game, you should definitely check out Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit on Steam. Even in 2025, the game still holds up pretty well.
Anyway, if you are interested in reading some other game reviews I have written about, you can check my articles here. Or, feel free to check out my catalogue instead to see the whole list. We’ll catch up again another time.
Muzhameer Putra