User blog:TheFazDude/Fan Game Reviews 1: Five Nights at Candy's 3

Hey everyone!

I'm starting a brand new series of blog posts reviewing fan games. Just to be clear, by fan games, I mean games I can actually play, so don't expect any games on this wiki to be reviewed.

Also, keep in mind that I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings by doing these reviews. You could make the worst fan games known to man, and as long as you were a nice person, I'd still like you. As PhantomStrider says, take these reviews with a pinch of salt.

With that said, let's dive into our first fangame, the recently released Five Nights at Candy's 3 by Emil "Ace" Macko.

Story: 9/10
In order to keep this review spoiler-free, I'll try to keep the plot of the game simplistic.

Basically, the playable character is seeing a psychologist due to her constant nightmares of RAT and CAT, who were both introduced in previous games in the Five Nights at Candy's series. In order to get over her fear of the robots, the player must try to figure out the origin of her fear, which is a pretty big spoiler which you can see by beating Five Nights at Candy's 2.

That's as simplistic as it gets without going into spoiler territory, so if you want the rest, you gotta play the game. However, the story is so well tied together that you'd get a huge chunk of the story from this game alone. However, there are some loose ends, but most of those are spoilers for the game, so I won't mention them.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is one of the very few fangames to focus more on the minigames than the actual gameplay itself. Most of the game's events take place in Atari-style minigames, with the actual nights being only a chunk of the game. However, with how well the minigames are put together, you wouldn't even notice it.

The minigames have you exploring the theater where RAT and CAT were housed prior to the game's events. You'll also get to explore the Dreamscape, a weird void where you can find many objects that will piece together the lore of the Five Nights at Candy's games. Also, I think this is the only game to allow you to die in the minigames. Yeah, I know about Fun With Plushtrap in FNaF 4 and stuff like that, but I'm only talking about 8-bit minigames.

Anyway, onto the real meat, the nights. This game is unique in the regard that you only have a flashlight to defend yourself. That's literally it. Sure, you have a tape player that will make the nights go faster, but that isn't required. You must shine the flashlight into Monster Rat's eyes (as well as Monster Cat on later nights) in order to make him retreat. However, the monsters have quite a few tricks up their sleeves to keep gameplay fresh.

Overall, Five Nights at Candy's 3 has solid gameplay. It's the type of gameplay many FNaF fangames are missing, and the type I've been longing for since the days of FNaF 4.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics are pretty nice, and there's a lot of variety for them.

For the minigames, it's mostly 8-bit, as I mentioned earlier. However, the minigames have FOUR different art styles, depending on what the minigame's about. This is pretty darn creative, seeing as most fangames have only two art styles for their minigames.

As for the nights, the graphics there are pretty solid as well. Emil said that he was aiming to make the monsters look like actual creatures than robots, and OOH BOY, did that pay off. Monster Rat was the first fangame character that seriously scared me the first time I looked at him. Sure, I got over my fear, but... jeez, Emil, you really stepped up your game this time around!

Audio: 9/10
I'd have to say that the music is the weakest part of Five Nights at Candy's 3, but it's far from bad. In fact, the soundtrack is pretty nice. I love the tape player music, and the minigame themes are pretty darn solid as well. However, if I had to pick one thing to complain about, it would be the ending theme, which just sounds like a repeat of the tape player. Either that, or I'm missing something.

Replay Value: 9/10
There's a ton of replay value in this game. Like in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and Sister Location, you can unlock minigames to play in the extras menu, and these games are actually really fun. You can also unlock a step-by-step behind the scenes look on how Emil made Monster Rat, which I always like to see in fangames.

There's a ton of extra content, but much of it is spoiler-worthy, so if you wanna find out for yourself, head into the game and explore!

GRAND TOTAL: 46/50
Overall, Five Nights at Candy's 3 is one of the best FNaF fangames I've seen in a long time. People say graphics make a good horror game, and this game clearly proves it. Among with the great soundtrack and lore, any FNaF fan who loved the first two Candy's games can easily enjoy this one.

So, that's my review. If you want, leave a request for what fan game I should review next. It doesn't have to be your own, I just have to be able to play it.

Until next time, stay freaky! :)