Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location is a 2016 point-and-click survival horror video game developed and published by Scott Cawthon. It is the fifth main installment in the Five Nights at Freddy's series and the sixth game overall. Set at a sister location of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria called Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, players control a new employee who must perform maintenance work while defending themselves from the animatronics, which become mobile and homicidal at night. The gameplay in Sister Location is significantly different from the previous Five Nights at Freddy's games in that it grants players mobility between rooms where tasks are completed.
| Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location | |
|---|---|
 Steam storefront header | |
| Developer(s) | Scott Cawthon |
| Publisher(s) | Scott Cawthon (PC) Clickteam LLC USA (Console and Mobile) |
| Composer(s) | Leon Riskin |
| Series | Five Nights at Freddy's |
| Engine | Clickteam Fusion 2.5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Survival horror, point-and-click |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Cawthon teased the game in April 2016 with the tagline "There was never just one". Following a trailer released in May, it was released on Steam on October 7, 2016, on December 22 of the same year on Android, and on January 3 of the next year on iOS. It received mixed reviews, with praise for its plot and voice performances, and criticism for some aspects of its gameplay. A sequel, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, was released on December 4, 2017. Ports for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 were released in 2020.
Gameplay edit
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location is a survival horror video game wherein the player assumes the role of a late-night technician named Mike at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental who must survive five nights against murderous animatronics.[1]
Though it continues the series's point-and-click format, Sister Location introduces a more dynamic gameplay environment. Players use crawlspaces to move between the facility's rooms: Primary Control Module, Funtime Auditorium, Circus Control, and Ballora Gallery.[2] The player must perform tasks (which vary from night to night) in each room to continue.[3] Instead of requiring the player to survive within a set timeframe against the animatronics each shift like in previous installments, the night concludes upon the completion of the player's assigned tasks.[4][5]
In addition to a company-issued AI voice named HandUnit, a variety of tools are available to the player to subdue the animatronics. For example, players can use an elevated control pad to light a room and shock the animatronics. On night two, circuit breakers can be used to activate or deactivate lights in the facility. On night three, the player is tasked with crossing Funtime Auditorium; a flash beacon is used to see in the dark room and avoid its animatronic Funtime Foxy.
As with all Five Nights at Freddy's games, failing to defend oneself from the animatronics results in a jumpscare, causing the night to restart. However, in this game, the animatronics do not actively pursue the player; instead, a jumpscare occurs if the assigned tasks are not completed correctly. If the player dies, there is a chance for them to enter a simple Atari-style platformer minigame—akin to the post-death minigames in Five Nights at Freddy's 2—where they play as Circus Baby delivering cupcakes to children, the completion of which grants access to a Night 5 secret level, reintroducing the immobile survival aspect of the original Five Nights at Freddy's.
Completing all five nights unlocks extra features: pictures and blueprints of animatronics, their making-of, a facility map, and menu access to the post-death minigame. A December 1, 2016 update added the non-canon Custom Night mode, set in a modified Night 5 secret room. Players choose from various modes and difficulty settings, facing new animatronics while conserving power and oxygen. Completing these modes unlocks a series of mostly 8-bit cutscenes that are considered part of the series canon.
Plot edit
This plot section possibly contains original research. (August 2023) |
Mike is hired by Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, an underground facility where animatronics of Circus Baby's Pizza World, a sister location of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza that shut down, are stored and rented out from. Every night, the facility's partially malfunctioning artificial intelligence, HandUnit, assigns Mike maintenance tasks.
On the second night, the power goes out and the animatronics come to life. Circus Baby communicates with Mike, warning him of the danger posed by the other animatronics, and assists him in resetting the circuit breakers. The subsequent night, Mike is attacked by Funtime Foxy and placed in a springlock suit overnight by Circus Baby. Throughout the fourth night, he must repel the tiny Minireenas from crawling into the suit before he can escape. On the fifth night, Mike discovers two hanged technicians in the location where the animatronics should be, preventing HandUnit from detecting their absence. Circus Baby directs Mike to dismantle her empty shell in the Scooping Room, where the animatronics' endoskeletons are extracted. She explains that this is necessary to "save what is good so the rest can be destroyed." However, she warns him that he is being pursued by the animatronic Ballora, who intends to kill him.
Between nights, Mike watches an animated sitcom at home. Elizabeth, William’s daughter, is heard begging him to play with Circus Baby, despite her father's insistence that she must stay away.
Endings edit
If the player follows Circus Baby's instructions, they will find that all of the animatronics, including Ballora, have already been "scooped". Circus Baby's voice is revealed to be Ennard, an amalgam of the animatronics, who uses the Scooper to eviscerate Mike and disguise itself in his skin to live among people.
An alternate ending can be unlocked by playing an 8-bit minigame which occasionally appears after a game over, where the player controls Circus Baby. If the minigame is completed a certain way, Circus Baby is shown extending a claw from her stomach and pulling a little girl into it. This girl is implied to be Elizabeth, whose soul now possesses the animatronic. The player is then able to disobey Circus Baby's instructions and enter a private room, where they must fend off Ennard (who is upset that the player ignored its instructions) until 6 AM, similar to the first game in the series. An easter egg accessible in this area shows camera footage of the house featured in Five Nights at Freddy's 4, which belonged to William Afton and his family. After successfully surviving the night, Mike returns home, where Ennard is revealed to have followed him.
A series of 8-bit cutscenes plays if the player completes each mode of Custom Night on the hardest difficulty. Ennard eventually abandons Mike's decomposed body, but as Circus Baby's voice repeatedly says "You won't die", Mike somehow reanimates. In a final cutscene, Mike is revealed to be the son of William Afton, the mysterious murderer mentioned in the first game and represented by a purple figure in the last three games. He mentioned that he is now "living in shadows" due to his disfigurement. He reveals that William had instructed him to head to the underground facility to find and free "her", which he did, and that the animatronics mistook him for William, which is why they attacked him. With nowhere else to go, Mike resolves to find his father. The camera then pans over to the burned remains of Fazbear's Fright, from which Springtrap emerges.
Release and reception edit
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 62/100[6] |
| OpenCritic | 20% recommend[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | PC: 6/10[8] |
| Gamezebo | MOB:   [9] |
| GameCrate | PC: 7.50/10[10] |
Developer Scott Cawthon had previously stated that Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (2015) would be the final game in the series. However, he announced Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location on his website in April 2016 with the tagline, "There was never just one."[11][12][13] A trailer was uploaded online on May 21.[14][15] On October 7, after a joke made by Cawthon that he would delay the game's release to make it more "kid-friendly",[16] Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location was released on Steam. Upon release, user complaints circulated about the difficulty of the fourth night; thus, a patch was released that eased its difficulty.[17] Downloadable content was later added for a non-canon Custom Night.[18] Sister Location was ported to Android on December 22, 2016, and on January 3, 2017, a port for iOS devices was released.[19] Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 ports were released on June 18, 2020; July 10, 2020; and July 21, 2020; respectively.[20]
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location received mixed reviews. According to Metacritic, a review aggregator website that compiles reviews from publications and assigns a weighted average score out of 100, the game received a score of 62 based on 4 critic reviews.[6] The aggregate website OpenCritic calculated that only 20% of critics recommended Sister Location.[7]
Critics have praised the voice acting. GameCrate opined that the "best thing" Cawthon financially invested in was a full voice-acting cast. He felt that the addition of voices to fit the animatronics enhanced the scare factor, stating that the animatronics "don’t seem like mindless death machines anymore. They are intelligent. They know who you are, and they can manipulate you."[10] The A.V. Club opined that the game's use of professional voices "pays off memorably."[21] CGMagazine asserted that combined with other factors, its crisp voice acting "really make your hair stand on end."[2]
A source of contention for the game is its use of humor. Kotaku argued that "Sister Location is actually funny," positing that "Scott Cawthon pokes fun at the player, and isn’t afraid to have some fun with it all."[22] GameCrate echoed similar thoughts, arguing that, despite the assertion that humor cannot be in a horror game, humor in this game is used to calm the player, leading to a more intense next jumpscare.[10] The A.V. Club described the humor in Sister Location as "some of the series' best," specifically pointing out the humorous TV show playing during the downtime between nights.[21] Conversely, CGMagazine expressed that any potential uneasiness from other aspects of the game is ruined by the "ill timed attempts at humour." They felt that, because the game is so story-driven and the player is forced to listen to much of the dialogue, the awkwardly-placed jokes kept disorienting them.[2]
Destructoid rated the game 6/10,[8] while GameCrate rated it 7.50/10.[10] Rob Rich of Gamezebo gave the mobile version a decent review, giving the game 3 out of 5 stars, saying, "I don't necessarily think Sister Location is the worst mobile iteration of the FNaF series, but it's certainly not the best despite the overall improved visuals."[9]
References edit
- ^ Gelmini, David (August 8, 2016). "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location Launching in October; New Plot Details Released". Dread Central. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c Shlapak, Helena (November 1, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location (PC) Review". CGMagazine. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023.
- ^ Oxford, Nadia (October 14, 2016). "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location - Guide, Tips, and Walkthrough". VG247. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Herrick, Langdon (October 27, 2016). "Local voice actor's first stab at horror game is scarily successful". The Advocate. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Derek Russell, W. (June 4, 2018). "Zombies, 'Avengers,' '5 Nights at Freddy's': Ex-teacher finds new voice". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ a b "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024.
- ^ a b "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location". OpenCritic. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Rowen, Nic (October 10, 2016). "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ a b Rich, Rob (January 10, 2017). "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location – Why Always With the Sacrifices?". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c d D’Argenio, Angelo M. (October 11, 2016). "Review: Sister Location isn't FNAF...but it is terrifying". GameCrate. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Walker, John (April 25, 2016). "Sister Location Is Probably Five Nights At Freddy's 5". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Good, Owen S. (April 23, 2016). "The next Five Nights at Freddy's game is called 'Sister Location'". Polygon. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ Favis, Elise (April 24, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's Creator Teases New Game Sister Location". Game Informer. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ Donnelly, Joe (May 23, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location Gets First Trailer". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Blain, Louise (May 23, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location trailer goes back to the series' creepy model roots". GamesRadar+. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Hernandez, Patricia (October 4, 2016). "Five Nights at Freddy's Creator Gives Worst Reason For Possible Delay [UPDATE]". Kotaku. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- ^ O'Connor, Alice (October 10, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location Lurches Out". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Santos, Jerome Delos (October 19, 2016). "Five Nights At Freddy's Sister Location Custom Night DLC: How To Unlock, Release Window, And What To Expect". TheBitBag. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ^ Dotson, Carter (January 3, 2017). "'Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location' Finally Available on iOS". TouchArcade. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Craddock, Ryan (June 18, 2020). "Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location Surprise-Launches On Switch". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Hughes, William (October 21, 2019). "Five years of Five Nights at Freddy's". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023.
- ^ Hernandez, Patricia (October 7, 2016). "Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location Is More Than Just Jump Scares". Kotaku. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
External links edit
