Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach Review ([S.T.A.R.S.] egyFM)
This game is good, but missed the opportunity to be great.
I was really hoping for Security Breach to be the episode where the franchise could mature up and stop relying on jumpscares.
I was wrong. The game is an aggression, lacking breathers in-between sequences. Everytime you get out of a sticky situation, you're directly shoved back into another panic, leaving no time to assess what you've just survived.
The problem is this: I cannot understate how incredible the map is. There are details everywhere you look, the place feels massive yet within reach, and the atmosphere is sooo gloomy in its own way, all while exploding with colours - but you can't take it in. It feels like the devs wanted a more atmospheric experience, then were slapped on the wrist and therefore spammed the robots.
Good, but not great.
Speaking of the latter, I love the memorable character design so much. Bonnie is gone, replaced by Montgomery Gator and Vanny the Bunny, and that's a straight upgrade in my humble opinion. Especially Vanny. What a character. The devs had this jarring character, with a great entrance, and she knows exactly where you are, but she's not going to chase you running, just playfully skip along in your direction while your character goes mad. She's paranormal scary. But then the devs ruined it by keeping the patrol robots and other animatronics spawned in, which is such a waste. She should have had her own sequences.
Good, but not great.
Also you're playing Gregory, a small and fragile kid in a large and hostile environment, and you can rely on the help of the big and strong Freddy, although he is a bit dumb and useless. Think about this concept again: since 2015, we've never had to trust an animatronic, and the devs explored how effective this Freddy-Gregory dynamic can be, yet kept its unsettling and uncanny nature apparent. Freddy is a safe armor, however his glowing eyes in the dark will remind you that his kind stems in murder. All that would be great, if not for the duo being separated too often by, all in all, arbitrary reasons. So it's just good.
So many good ideas too. I like the integration of the security cameras at all times - even if the map is meh. I like the omnipresence of hiding spots. I like that one fake jumpscare where you acquire a map. I like the multiple endings and their cutscenes. I like the lore and how everything fits together. I like Sundrop and Moondrop. I like the gun and the fact you can damage the animatronics. But (and that's a shocker, I know) I don't like bugs, and there are a lot of them. People have already talked in great lengths about them so I'll leave it here. Again: good, not great.
The result is a game that numbs you to the point where you just give up and play it frantically like an arcade experience.
However, fear is an emotion that can be enjoyed, like the burn of pepper on your tongue, great horror games making fear very much a blast by pacing themselves. And Security Breach failed to be a great horror game, probably because the devs are afraid of dropping the staple of the FNAF franchise: its abundance of jumpscares. And while it would be absurd to drop them entirely, dear developers, there will be a point where their reinvention will be necessary.
So I recommend the game, but in the state it is when I write this review, it needs two things:
1. A difficulty slider that will completely overhaul the spawns and behaviour of the robots. Let the map spook me.
2. A comprehensive fix of all the bugs.
Other than that, play Security Breach. It's good.