Five Nights at Freddy's

Five Nights at Freddy's is a horror strategy game by Scott Cawthon. A new night guard watches over Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, while the mechanical stage figures move on their own after closing time. Safety here does not come from escape or weapons, but from attention and using the few available tools wisely.

The nights take place from a fixed office. If you fail to spot the characters' routes in time or waste your power, you may not survive the shift.

The first Five Nights at Freddy's was released on Aug 18, 2014 for Windows. Versions for iOS and Android followed later, along with console ports.

Nintendo Switch and Xbox One received the game on Nov 29, 2019. The German PlayStation Store version for PS4 came out on Feb 3, 2020. Console release dates vary by region.

Five Nights at Freddy's is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. The console versions were adapted for controllers by Clickteam.

On PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, the previous console version can be played through backward compatibility. This is not a separate PS5 or Switch 2 release. The Xbox side also lists Xbox Series X|S as a playable device, while the console release comes from the Xbox One generation.

Each shift starts at midnight and ends at six in the morning. The guard stays in his office and switches between the surveillance cameras and the doors on the left and right. On the camera feeds, he can see where the figures are at any given moment.

The key trade-off: camera checks help you watch, while closed doors protect you from immediate danger. At the same time, the security systems use up power. The difficulty rises with every night.

The PC version lists a 2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, graphics with 1 GB, DirectX 9.0 and 250 MB of free storage as minimum requirements. Steam lists Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 in the original technical details.

These are the minimum values listed for the game, not a guarantee for every modern Windows setup.

The cameras show different areas of the pizzeria, including corridors and the stage. Animatronics can move between camera views, so their positions need to be checked regularly.

The limited view is part of the horror. From the feeds, the player does not always know which path an enemy will take next.

Each night you only have a limited energy budget. Cameras, door lights and security doors are useful, but they use power.

If both doors stay closed without reason, your power runs out quickly. When the power fails, the doors and lights no longer work as usual. Anyone who wants to survive has to use each protective measure carefully.

Freddy Fazbear and the other animatronic figures are part of the pizzeria's entertainment during the day. At night they threaten the security office. The figures differ in their movements and in how the player has to react to them.

Recognising patterns is a key part of the game. Despite the simple controls, the pressure builds with every new shift.

On iPhone, iPad and Android devices, Five Nights at Freddy's uses touch controls. The newer mobile versions are based on a reworked version of the PC game and feature adjusted controls and high-resolution graphics.

Clickteam also offers optional extras as in-app purchases in the app versions. For basic survival, watching, power management and doors remain key.

The original is a single-player game. The Steam version lists English as the language for interface and audio. The current PlayStation version also supports German on-screen text, while the voice audio stays in English.

Multiplayer mode is not part of the original Five Nights at Freddy's.