I remember the time ALL the way back in elementary school when the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game was announced and released. Everyone around me was immediately hooked, but we were all too afraid to even try and play it for more than 2 minutes.
So when my school teachers told me that I’d have to monitor the main school entrance I knew that THAT was my time to shine. I charged up my tablet, downloaded the game and when everyone was in their classes I booted up the game and started playing it.
I can’t even describe the feeling of fear I had, but despite that feeling, I still went on with it and managed to beat the first night. And after that I deleted the game and went on with my school duty.
Despite being terrified, my love for FNAF grew strong that day and it only kept growing stronger.
Years passed and it took all the way until after my highschool graduation for me to play and finish all the main FNAF games. With time we had many main entries, TONS of fangames and stories… and today we have Secret of the Mimic.
Compared to other “bigger” Five Nights at Freddy’s games, this one stood out for me. It was different and in my mind all I was thinking was “wait, that’s… FNAF?”
So I bought it, booted it up, and after just a couple of minutes I was immediately hooked.
The biggest improvement for me was the atmosphere. Where earlier games had music playing through its complex, here you are called in to investigate reported movement inside a factory. While the premise is simple, the game quickly feels oppressive: There is no music, no fun pictures on the walls, few bright colors… just sparse mechanical sounds. And that’s creepy!
And to me, this makes it one of the best games on the franchise altogether as you must investigate an old factory where all the animatronics we love and fear were being created… What else do I have to say?
Upon entering the factory we slowly start to see how all the things will play out. The game slowly “trains” us on how we are going to be navigating the factory and its areas. It’s pretty well done and it doesn’t throw too much information in your face and I am a huge fan of that.
Freedom of movement at the beginning of the game is also only limited by closed doors that require special permissions to open. You acquire those as you progress. Apart from that, you are free to explore any area you can reach.
The whole factory is designed in a way where you will get the occasional feeling of claustrophobia but it also gives you multiple ways to escape when you need to, or just interesting paths to search for the secrets and collectibles.
The more you progress through the game, the more of the factory you can explore without any hiccups or dead ends. It flows well and it never gets boring. It only gets more intense.
Our main “safe haven” is the security office which has a terminal that allows you to play a text based computer game, as well as housing what I can only describe as a “stationary inventory.”
The inventory system is neat and smart, and will be mainly used for storing your collectibles. These don’t work like in previous games though. You don’t just pick them up and you have them forever.
Here you find presents that hold a collectible, and in order for that collectible to count, you have to bring it to the inventory machine. There aren’t a lot of collectibles in this game but once you realize how it works, you quickly find out that collecting them isn’t such an easy task since you can only hold one in your hand before you can pick up another one.
But there are quite a few inventory machines scattered around the factory, so it doesn’t become overly tedious.
Honestly, it’s very well executed and a welcome change of pace as opposed to what we’re used to. , And collectibles are required if you wish to beat the text based computer game located on almost all terminals (which I highly recommend).
But before putting you into any fire, the game will make you explore the factory and you will walk past TONS of different animatronics. And at some point you learn about the main antagonist of the game: The Mimic. What if I told you that in this game, the animatronic that will wake up and hunt you is randomized?
I honestly cannot express enough how that one simple change makes you walk past every animatronic with full fear of “will it wake up?”. It’s so well done, so clever that I couldn’t believe we had to wait this long to have something like that in a FNAF game.
And you have to make sure you don’t get spotted out in the open because it’s basically game over at that point if you aren’t near a corner to lose the enemy or near a hiding place to hide from it.
But for all that brilliance it feels the developers missed the mark too, like with our protagonist Arnold, that’s way too silent. This is a big miss because a lot of character development could have been made if they just made him talk and comment on his surroundings and current situation every now and then. But unfortunately there’s none of that here, which makes identifying with him a hard task.
But there’s more that goes wrong…
Boss fights in this game are grandiose, which at first could feel like a great point. But the feeling of horror that the game builds up so well until you reach them completely disappears.
Now don’t get me wrong, the horror feeling is still there, but to me some moments during those boss fights could have been done with a bit more horror and dread in mind.
I can definitely commend one boss fight though (hint: health checkup), where the whole ordeal is so brilliant and intense that I was praying it doesn’t end.
Now i talked about the atmosphere earlier which is amazing but the music is somewhere the game falls short again. While the compositions are good, they are more action-focused which feels a bit odd. So I have to commend the silence in this game.
Because, let’s face it, silence breaking with animatronics feet stomping around you makes for one hell of a fear inducing experience, and a way better job at it than the music…
Apart from that, there isn’t much else to say. This game shows that you don’t need many fancy mechanics to make a game scary, but rather that you only need one or a few to make an unforgettable experience.
If I had to give out my final thoughts on the game I think I would definitely say that this game is for a select group of people, those being FNAF fans, and ones that want to get into it, and it’s definitely a big step in the right direction for bigger FNAF games to the point where Secret of the Mimic can be used as an example on how to make a better horror atmosphere for all future games.
Positives
💚 Amazing horror atmosphere and experience.
💚 Unique mechanic design when it comes to inventory and collectibles.
💚 Engaging and an interesting story.
💚 A very well done “random animatronic” mechanic.
💚 Multiple endings (including a secret one).
💚 Awesome design on the animatronics.
💚 Spot on location and setting.
💚 Good for newcomers to the FNAF universe.
💚 Step in right direction when it comes to bigger FNAF games.
Negatives
❌ Protagonist doesn’t talk much.
❌ Music could have a bit more impact.
❌ Animatronics move WAY TOO QUICKLY when you get spotted making it almost impossible to lose them if you get spotted.
❌ Collectible system might not be for everyone.
Written by
Landbird
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic
by Steel Wool Studios, ScottGames
PC (Steam), Playstation 5
Edited by
Kevin Fernandes
2 Comments
SuTheKitty
What a great review!
I feel like I can play these games through your words so I can save myself the scares XD
Kevin Fernandes
Definitely did a great work to go over all the essential elements!