FNAF Fan Games That Actually Scared Me

Fun fact:, a shadow over Freddys was created out of phisnoms fear of the dark! at least I think that’s how the story goes, i’m probably wrong though.

If we're talking about the scariest FNAF fan game that isn't in VR, A Shadow Over Freddy's is probably the scariest. It took what I love about FNAF 4 to a new level by simply exploring a building rather than just being confined to one room. Of course, it's subjective as to whether or not you think being able to roam a building and survive is scarier than being forced to survive in a confined space. I personally believe that FNAF 4 and A Shadow Over Freddy's handle this pretty well even if FNAF 4 has more of a pattern to it. They're both stressful games in their own right since it's a matter of whether or not you make the right decision and if that decision is wrong, you get punished for it.

One of the scariest moments I've ever seen in a FNAF fan game was in The Joy Of Creation's basement level, specifically that one segment in which you end up in a tight, dark hallway and have to slowly walk all the way towards the end of it. And as you get closer to the end, you hear the sound of something loud running towards you from behind, and all you can do is keep walking at that same slow pace and not look behind you. That moment was PEAK tension.

13:11 It's the eyes! From what I've observed, a very commonly used technique in horror media is giving animatronic or supernatural characters completely open eyes, but putting some amount of black space around the eyes. I assume the reason it works is because of the uncanny valley, and I don't think I'd be too far off to assume its one of the main pillars of the phenomenon. (To clarify, "characters" beyond this point refers to animatronic, supernatural or robotic characters.) In my experience, characters with obscured eyes, completely "mechanical" eyes [like glowing red dots] or eyes that are too cartoony tends to make a character less scary than if it were to have "hollow" eyes. I think that's why FNAF took off in the first place: because the characters are animatronic, they have those soulless, naturally unnerving eyes by default, even if to a lesser extent. Scott may not have even been aware he was using the technique at all. I'd say it's also why something like The Walten Files is so disturbing while BATIM is more of a thriller. One makes incredible use of it, while the other mostly uses obscured or cartoonish eyes. Going off of that, that's why the animatronics in most FNAF fan games made by rookie devs tend to not be as scary as other games, even if the design would be scary if they used this technique. They usually give the characters glowing eyes to give them a supernatural feel, not realizing regular eyes would basically double the effect. My first run-in with this was as a FNAF kid during 2015, hyperfixating on fangames. I decided to check out five nights at treasure island, and after witnessing distorted mickey, I didn't sleep very well for about a week. Honestly, if a game uses this technique, I'll be biased in its favor right off the bat. Putting that hollow space around natural eyes is a great way to make use of the uncanny valley in any horror media. This technique wedged itself into a special place in my heart, and I'm not objecting to it either.

I recommend checking out a freshly released fangame called "SCP: The Endurance". To sum it up, it combines SCP and Fnaf and was in the works for SEVEN YEARS. Although personally its not the scariest Fnaf fangame out there, I love the mechanics of the enemies and how they work together to stress you out. It also has a really interesting mechanic that I won't spoil, but it is triggered via dying to a specific enemy... Seriously, again, i recommend it with all my heart.

Another thing that adds to the creepy tone of Five Nights at Chuck E. Cheese’s Rebooted is that there’s no ghosts or murders, it’s just a series of nightmares that a mascot employee is having where the animatronics are aware that they’re being replaced while the restaurant is being renovated and it pissed them off. That one “animatronic” that pulls the gate up isn’t even an animatronic, it’s a costume. A fully sentient costume that’s a reflection (no pun intended), of the main character. In the secret cutscene that plays after completing the hardest mode in custom night, the costume unmasks itself to reveal a mirror, which is where the dream implication becomes more clear. It’s even foreshadowed early on with things like the flags being backwards.

I haven't played Sub Zero, but I did play a couple nights of Polar Dread, and seriously that game is anxiety inducing. When the bear animatronic runs into your office out of nowhere on night 2 and you have to physically duck to avoid him, that's when I mentally shit my pants. 9/10 horror VR game IMO

Yooo, couldn't help but comment that I LOVE Chuck E's Rebooted! Not just because I love real animatronics (The Rock-afire Explosion, more specifically, but Chuck E. used to be kinda cool back in the day too) and because it's a semi-accurate representation of a Pizza Time Theatre in the late 70's, but also because it's an amazing game by itself. Very well made and actually fun and scary, and this is coming from a guy who played through all of the OG FNaF games and wasn't scared even once by any of them. The most genius part for me was the post-night minigame with Crusty. He was actually a character that was only present at the first Pizza Time Theatre store, but right when the second opened, they replaced him with Munch (the purple alien monster), so putting him abandoned and worn in the basement was a really smart reference! Plus the mechanic of the minigame makes it really stressful, specially when you're Brazilian and you sometimes forget the translation of the things you need to get, lol! There are other things that I love about it though, like the fact that it doesn't follow that stupid "animatronics possessed by kids" cliche, but rather puts them as sentient machines that are just angry that they're getting replaced by the new Cyberamics, or the fact that actual showtapes play in the background of the extras menu (and good ones). Overall, they just nailed the atmosphere, the graphics and the gameplay. This game is a masterpiece!

Here's a fun fact about Sub Zero; Before it was a game, Sub Zero had it's own analog horror series back in early 2020.

I think for future videos, the border around dark gameplay should not be bright orange. The bright border around the dark game not only kind of kills its atmosphere, it also makes it harder to see the game because the dark game is surrounded by a bright color.

I love how in traditional fnaf games, people usually cannot wait until clock strikes 6 and they beat the night, however, in shadow over freddy's, people need to go as fast as they can before 6 am, dreading the clock striking it. It is a really neat idea.

Haven’t seen Sub Zero in a good minute lol Basically, PolarDread existed as a Remaster of Sub Zero, attempting to polish it! That’s why the two have the same gameplay and characters

5:19 they aren't booths! If the game is accurate to real life, this is the portrait stage and the characters hang out of big wall-mounted frames!

Hello! Co developer of polardread and a close friend of squeaks! Polardread and sub zero are essentially the same game, polardread was meant to be a remaster of sub zero, in its eary days it was referred to as “sub zero remastered” until we decided upon a name change to separate the game from mortal combat, which helped it a lot. But that’s why you see all the same characters in polardread, just updated!

The web has to be one of the most scariest ones because of the realism aspects and intense situations you're put through.

Really loved the reviews and I do agree with some of the fan games you mentioned being especially terrifying! So many FNAF fan games try too hard to have overcomplicated mechanics to amp up the pressure and make it 'feel scary' but Web of Cogs and Oil proves you don't need to take note of like 20 animatronics to keep someone on their toes. A few very simple mechanics executed well is sometimes all you need to put on the pressure. (On a side note, I've been watching your past videos and it's nice to see you've loosened up a bit more and gotten more natural with the commentary though it's still not quite there it's atleast better than the past videos where the nervousness makes you sound like you're doing an 8th grade report infront of class. Keep up the good work!)

Dude, you are totally right about VR. I don't get scared often, but playing help wanted in VR made me so scared that I screamed like a baby then quit immediately. My dad was watching me as well, so while I sat there pale, he was laughing his ass off

Five Nights at Chuck E Cheese's Rebooted is one of my most favorite fnaf fangames for all the main reasons that you noted down. Glad to see that you like it as well.

Despite the controversy surrounding it, JRs is a good example of how scary old ideas can be if used right

Some classics are underrated and very well made, and the new ones/reboots Radiance are making already feel like terrifying classics. Glad I’ve got to follow them along.