FNaF Security Breach has quickly become one of my favorite games. While I've always been interested in the world and lore of FNaF, I never found the games that fun and have always been bad at them. This game changed all of that around for me. I never minded the horror aspect of it, but I also never cared too much about it, so having it be a much more upbeat, happier vibe was much to my personal preference.

Immersion is such an important factor for whether I like a game or not and this game does that for exceptionally well. This game has some of the most endearing, interesting, and likable characters that would've made my past teen self wanna write fanfiction or draw fanart for days on end. The world is absolutely beautiful and the cutscenes are a pleasure to watch. The game's own story, separate from the rest of the FNaF lore, is something that I always want to know more about, before, during, and after playing the game, in different ways. And then there's just enough overall lore sprinkled in for long time fans that will keep them engaged as well as ready for the next installment.

Gameplay, obviously, is arguably the most important factor in whether or not a game is good, and I have nothing but great things to say about it. On my first playthrough, I thought it was as simple as running away from animatronics, and while that may be the overall gimmick, there's a lot more that goes into it. I think many, including myself, lose patience every once in a while that we just want to run past animatronics, dodging and weaving as you go, but taking your time to hide and look at cameras every once in a while makes it feel a lot more strategic and fun, which makes sense as it is the intended way of playing the game. The gameplay became a lot more interesting on my second run where I tried to beat the game without using a hiding spot once in order to get the Hide and Seek Master achievement. Crouching, and stealth-walking behind animatronics becomes a lot more necessary and makes the game even more fun to play than I already felt it was.

There are really only two drawbacks to the game I can think of. As everybody knows and talks about, the game is very glitchy. Whether it's maps not fully loading, animatronics constantly spawning behind you, or invisible walls getting in your way, there's a lot of them throughout. However, none of it is game breaking, and while I admit that's a low bar, it's still important to note. What's more important, though, is that to me at least, it doesn't ruin the fun in the slightest. An extra 5 seconds of loading time for a map that looks gorgeous once it's loaded in is okay by me. Invisible walls are fine when I can jump right around it at no extra effort and can proceed normally. The constant animatronic spawn could get frustrating at times, but you have fazcams and fazerblasters to deal with that as well. I've played enough Sonic the Hedgehog games in my life to know what true game-breaking and patience-ending glitches feel like, and none of these come anywhere close. Where my real issue with the game lies is its lack of instructions.

Personally, I didn't struggle too much in playing this game, but that's because I had watched two and a half playthroughs of it first before trying it out myself. I knew what I was doing and what I was getting into ahead of time. I always knew what my goal was and where I was supposed to go next. But BOY does this game fail at telling you that itself. Yes, there is a general mission menu, but other than that, you're left with nothing but hope that you're exploring the right place. I know the game tries to make itself seem linear and straightforward, but if you're gonna go that route, I feel as though you should go all the way and always let the player know what their next immediate goal is (and not just a generic mission). It's far too easy to just get "stuck" in this game.

Money-wise, do I think this game is worth it? I'd say so. I had just about 24 hours of gameplay for the $40 price, 18 hours in my first playthrough, 6 in my second. And this world and its characters are gonna stick with me for much longer. I truly do find it worth the price.

All in all, do I recommend this game? Absolutely. Incredible world and characters. Pretty good story. Very fun gameplay (if you play stealthily, as intended), and the glitches are mostly insignificant as long as you know what you're doing. But all of that is assuming *you know what you're doing*. If you're willing to at least watch one playthrough of it beforehand or follow a walkthrough, I think you're golden and will have a fantastic time playing this game.

UPDATE RUIN DLC REVIEW 7/31/2022:

Honestly, I liked Ruin just as much as I did the original, if not slightly more. Everything that I liked about the base game applies to Ruin. The characters and atmosphere are PEAK. The spookiness of it all, being a horror game, is used significantly more than the base game, and the emotional aspect the base game puts you through is only amplified in this one. The two concerns I had in the base game (glitchiness and lack of instructions) are completely gone in this DLC. It feels very polished and I pretty much always knew what I had to do, and this was even going in blind (as opposed to the base game where I had already watched a few playthroughs).

The only downside is that it's significantly more linear and level-based than it is open-world, which was an aspect I really appreciated about the base game. I think if you played both the base game and the DLC from start to finish, it would create a really fun overall experience where you get the best of both worlds, and a better conclusion than any ending we've had before.

Looking forward to what Steel Wool comes up with next!