Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit review - A modern hit dressed in retro attire

While the Five Nights at Freddy's series is synonymous with horror jump scares, the latest spin-off entry "Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit" steers the franchise in an unexpected direction, for the better. Created by WrestleQuest developer Mega Cat Studios, this chilling horror adventure game is a surprise offering that will appeal to both series fans and newcomers intrigued by what's on offer.

Is it truly a scary experience and does it differ from the other entries in the Five Nights at Freddy's saga? Our full review of Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit will answer all these questions and more.

Experience horror like never before in Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit

Welcome to Jeff's Pizza (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

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For those unaware, this game is based on the book of the same name, the first volume in the Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights series by author Elley Cooper and FNAF creator Scott Cawthorn.

The plot stars the protagonist Oswald, (one of the three main characters from the novella) a 10-year-old living a normal life, attending school in his boring town, and wishing something exciting would happen.

While waiting for his dad to pick him up at the local Jeff's Pizza outlet, he stumbles across an abandoned ball pit. Wanting to prank his dad for keeping him waiting, he dives into the sea of balls, only to emerge on the other side. Oswald is shocked to find out that he has time-traveled to the past in the year 1985 when the restaurant was at its peak and known as Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

A shocker indeed (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

As if this revelation was not terrifying enough, he soon discovers that his antics have unleashed an unknown yellow rabbit terror that would chase him across both universes, from the past into the present - the killer animatronic Spring Bonnie.

Barely escaping its clutches of death, Oswald returns to the real world to greet his impatient father, only for the latter to get kidnapped to the pizzeria of the past. At the same time, the yellow rabbit shapeshifts into his dad in the present, taking the kid home for five nights of terrifying misery.

Burdened with far more than what he bargained for, Oswald must evade the mimic Spring Bonnie in the present while finding a way to get his real dad back from the past. Now, the FNAF series has not been particularly big on the story aspect, but as an adventure game, Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit is all about it.

As if the glowing eyes didn't give it away (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Oswald will meet various NPCs, like his mother who is oblivious to a deadly intruder in their house, or the jaded pizzeria manager Jeff in the present. He will also come across kids from the past like Chip and Mike, all in a bid to track down his father. Overall, the story and its presentation are both stellar.

Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit makes the player feel for Oswald, as they watch him deal with the trauma of seeing his father get replaced by a malicious entity and shouldering the grunt of fixing it all. At the same time, the background characters are all distinct and play their roles perfectly.

On the run between two worlds

Despite momentary respite, nowhere is safe for Oswald (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

As the game title suggests, the story takes place over five days and five nights. Unlike the mainline entries, this is a 2D sidescroller. During the day, Oswald will attend school and plan how to proceed, considering that no one else can see the entity that has replaced his dad. When night falls, the creepy animatronic at his house goes rabid and hunts him.

Oswald must run and hide to try to escape his haunted abode and make his way to the pizzeria, where more horrors await within the ball pit. After traveling back in time, he must explore Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria for clues as to his dad's whereabouts while also avoiding the patrolling animatronics that have turned the beloved party place into a circus of terror.

Various key items are littered around the pizzeria (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

This is where the real fun begins. As a 2D game, much of Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit's gameplay will feel familiar to fans of classic adventure titles such as Clock Tower on the SNES.

The gist is to explore Oswald's surroundings to find clues that can aid his investigation while also saving the kids who have been held captive by the animatronics. To accomplish that, item-based progression and light puzzle-solving are in order.

This is easier than done as the main antagonist of the game, Spring Bonnie, will do its best to thwart Oswald's rescue plan. The pizzeria is split into different rooms, with some level of interconnectivity and the yellow rabbit will patrol the pizzeria in search of the player. When spotted, it will initiate a chase immediately, forcing Oswald to flee and hide.

Hide to live another day (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

There are a bunch of hiding spots in each room (including Oswald's own house) and sometimes hiding in sight of the killer will initiate a QTE minigame which differs depending on the hiding spot. Chests, for example, will see Oswald swat at spiders to avoid making noise, while hiding in a closet will see him lean left or right to avoid the creature's vision.

Furthermore, noisy objects like a sewing machine or juice stand let Oswald distract or lure the flesh-hungry monster. Due to the sidescrolling nature of its visuals, Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit provides a general sense of the foe's direction by featuring blinking sides of the screen that the animatronic is in.

While the yellow rabbit is the key antagonist, a couple of familiar faces, including Chica, will be introduced later on.

The subtle blinking glow color on the sides of the screen indicates the general direction of an enemy; in this case, it is pink for Chica

Furthermore, running for long periods can cause Oswald to trip, while making loud noises (indicated by a Noise Meter) by interacting with some objects can also alert the enemy. All in all, the solid sound design is the cherry on top, allowing players to discern if the animatronic is in the same room as them or the next - so playing with headphones on is highly recommended.

Finding clues or items adds them to Oswald's inventory and items can be used on the right object to progress; like finding a screwdriver to free the kid in the past who's been trapped inside a metallic endoskeleton of one of the animatronics.

That said, not every item will be available in each era, so Oswald must hop between the past and present to solve problems - like grabbing said screwdriver from his home's basement.

Escape set-pieces ramp up in tension and variety as the game progresses (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Accomplishing these things while under the pressure of the creepy yellow rabbit can be nerve-wracking even though Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit is not a scary game as a whole - or even hard as players just restart from the last checkpoint after death. The ability to use vents to travel between rooms later in the game also mellows the tense factor.

More than just a cat-and-mouse chase

Repairing the arcade machines is also a requirement for getting one of the endings to Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Don't let the game fool you into believing that running and hiding is all there is to it; while that is a fundamental portion of nighttime activities, Oswald also has the daytime to spend. While much of it is linear story progression, he can visit different areas of the map, such as the School, Mill, and Library. These don't really have a lot to do besides one or two set pieces, but that's where the pizzeria arcade comes in.

The present-day Jeff's Pizza is home to a bunch of broken-down arcade machines from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria era. Oswald can track down arcade parts in the real world to fix these machines, with some items only available on specific days or nights. In other words, a thorough exploration of every nook and cranny in Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit is necessary, as it is not possible to rewind days or nights.

Leapfrog pizza delivery, anyone? (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Each of the arcades in Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit features a different retro-inspired minigame such as "leapfrog pizza delivery" or a portrait sliding puzzle. Completing these games earns tickets which are paramount to acquiring additional key items that are crucial to obtaining different endings.

Yes, Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit features multiple endings with one accessible pretty early right during the first Night itself. That said, the game features many secrets and references that fans of both the series and the "Into the Pit" book will appreciate as some of them also tie into the core plot and endings. The game is also short, clocking in at about 5 hours for all nights in total, so different endings and scenes do add to the replayability factor.

The context of some items adds a layer of depth to the story (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

In a nutshell, Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit is deeper than it looks at first glance despite simple gameplay mechanics. This is largely thanks to the attention to detail and polish that developer Mega Cat Studios has poured in.

Graphics, performance, and audio

A night of endless terror (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit is the first FNAF game to feature a pixel-art visual style. Those familiar with the studio's previous games, like WrestleQuest or Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, will be delighted to know that the same level of effort is evident here when it comes to the graphics.

For example, the fear on Oswald's face as he barrels down the hallway of a haunted pizzeria with a killer robot on his tail. Environments are densely packed with detail too and the smaller score of the maps does help. The graphics peak when it comes to the cinematics, with hand-drawn art depicting some of the creepiest and goriest scenes in the FNAF universe.

The performance is rock-solid too and players should have no issues maxing out their monitor's resolution and refresh rate with this game. Additionally, those bored with the repetitive hiding QTEs can choose to turn off hiding minigames from the Accessibility settings - though this does not affect the key story QTE sequences.

Inventory disappearing bug in Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

With a fine sprinkling of eerie audio and crisp sound design on top, there really isn't much to complain about Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit - except the bugs. I had a few one-off situations where my controller inputs refused to work despite it being fully functional.

Another time in Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit, a QTE section failed despite mashing the correct button and one scene did not allow me to talk to an important NPC to progress. However, dying or resetting fixed these minor gripes.

The worst offender was when my entire Inventory turned invisible. While all my items were still there, the entire UI disappeared, making navigating it a pain during the last two nights. We're hopeful these issues will be fixed, making Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit enjoyable without any caveats - because it is a game that will no doubt speak to FNAF fans.

In Conclusion

What a hoot (Image via Mega Cat Studios)

Bugs and glitches aside, Mega Cat Studios has done it again. Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit is a gripping adventure that impresses despite its relatively lean showcase. The beautiful pixel graphics, engaging story, tense stealth elements, and various endings make for the complete package.

The title's short length is the highlight, ensuring the experience doesn't overstay its welcome. Five Nights At Freddy's Into the Pit may be light on real scares, but it more than makes it up with everything else - from the immersive pixel horror scenes to authentic FNAF representation. All of this is while paying homage to retro classics with its old-school gameplay and design.

If Mega Cat Studios intends to remake the other Fazbear Frights anthology, I eagerly look forward to it.