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.

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.

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 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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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!)

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

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!

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

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.

The Jollibee one is horrifying, not just for the jumpscare, the lore! Like, saying kids are being poisoned from the food is dark, It's so gosh darn nerve wracking

I used to be afraid of Dormitabis due to the creepy nature of the robots. I got used to it over time

Although not technically a FNAF fan game, Scrutinized is one of the scariest games I've ever seen. It has FNAF style gameplay where you look at cameras to find enemies while surviving through nights, and it plays off of all of my worst fears, I would highly recommend checking it out if you haven't

Chuck grabbing that gate actually scared the spine out my body. Probably the scariest one cause chuck.E cheese's was my childhood cause damn

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.

Honestly out of all the jumpscares and premises in this video, The Corpse fills me with the most gutteral and genuine dread. I think it has to do with the fact that the jumpscare itself is pitch black. One thing that kind of breaks the immersion of the jumpscares in FNAF are the fact that they're all well lit and visible. Even after the power goes out in FNAF 1, Freddy is still lit up. The Corpse on the other hand has almost a seamless transition, and he blends in so well with the darkness that it's hard to really see any detail. All you see is just a hollow shape lunging towards you in the dark, erratic and unwavering. Truly, as a horror cinema and gaming buff, I will hold that jumpscare in my top 5 of all time.

6:36 first time i played and this happened i swear my heart skipped a beat, it took me so OFF guard

Imagine “The Joy of Creation” in VR

Fun fact: five nights at Chuck E. Cheese takes place in the 19 70 pizza places witch is why none of them have legs

Fun fact: the reason why sub zero is actually called like that is because the animatronics are: an seal and a artic Fox, both representing the cold.

The corpse jumpscare is such a damn good jumpscare

6:37 Idk if it’s just me but seeing the animatronics in Chuckee Cheese lift the door like that is so badass idk why lol

For me, the scariest out of the FNAF Fangames listed is A Shadow Over Freddy's.

Porkchops adventure is a pretty creepy game as well, although you do a lot more arcade playing with a somewhat lighthearted tone the rest of the game is eerie

Tbh "Flumpty Night" made me shake in fear. I'll always remember my first attempt.

"the clown looks more funny looking than anything" me with a clown fear: "WHAT"

The corpse jumpscare its just how i fell when i go out at night to a forest and feel soemthign watching me and then bamp i see this behind so creepy omg

I cannot play polar dread or sub-zero. I tried once but the looming threat of an opening behind me where something could sneak up and kill me was terrifying to me, even worsened when i actually saw it for the first time, it freaked me out so much i couldn't keep playing

Dude the animatronics from the Chuck E.'s one do look so on model, thankfully we never had those models at my location only the more newer ones. Though they were still kind of scary when I had worked there especially since I was the afternoon to closing shifts. The lights on the stage always stayed on even when all the lights were off and none of us really knew why it was like that. Even some of the stuff those animatronics did were unnerving like Helen always seeming to look at you whenever you came out of the bathroom, she always scared me the most with that stuff.

When you said that the first game was scary because it had an actual corpse/person coming after you instead of an animatronic, isn't that just fnaf 3

I gotta say, Dormitabis gave me the most stomach-knotted feeling out of all the fangames I've watched someone play. I found it scary in a way that made me slightly nauseous so it always sticks out in my memory.

6:37 this happens if you let the costume get to the gate your supposed to stare at him in the camera's

Five nights at treasure island 2020 iš probably the most terrifying gameplay in my opinion

Not sure if you've done it yet but Animator's Hell is a pretty cool UCN type fan game, worth checking out imo.

Me when i remember Flumpty pits you against three characters who are corpses (Redman, Eyesaur, and Beavowl):

2:40 - I can name a fnaf fangame were you fight a human; Teddy's Nights. In the fifth night, you not only battle a person, but they're alive and well.

There is no animatronic in A Shadow Over Freddy's called Shadow. Those shadow animatronics that appear in the room you're currently in *only* appear when an animatronic moves into *your* room

2:24 "Security breach" Michael looking down from the havens

The Chuck E. Cheese mascot is so damn realistic and it’s horrifying the way it looks in the cameras and the gate

Always a good day when plaintrace uploads

im here to say something about a horror game called "forced to play" it has a sequel also. it doesnt have much videos on youtube and thats why im saying it exists

Context on the gate not going down: mascot Chuck got to the gate. If he gets to the gate, he won’t kill you, but just forces your gate to stay open.

Well, Jolly from the 3rd game (chapter 2) kinda scared me, not because of his overcooked corpse head it’s just how MASSIVE he is, he can litterally pick up a whole person. And the fact that the body in jolly is actually the gaurd from the 3rd game (original) makes it more creepier.

6:37 That definitely made my heart stop for a second.

6:00 honestly I really want to see someone try to port fnacec rebooted to vr. It would be terrifying if done right.

bro vr makes thing so much more horrifying and then you have to look behind you

personally, a fangame i played that scared me was return to bloody nights. mainly just because the designs and the animations are really creepy, and the small jumpscare when the animatronics appear at your door always gets me for some reason

4:52 For FNAF it didn’t decide to not take itself seriously anymore until FNAF 5 Sister Location came out and that’s when it went downhill but before that is when it was serious and that’s it

10:43 to be honest the jumps care didnt phase me im not sure how i guess i just grew up with horror games

FNACECR is actually such a goated game, easily top 5 fan games for me

Pretty sure I had a nightmare that was literally the corpse mission

What are the next games you are going to make videos on? I got some like popgoes, animators hell aaaand some more tho

at the end though, we all know the animatronic characters all got a bit quirky at night

Five Nights at Treasure Island is pretty scary as well

You know what scares me is how underrated you are

FNAF: *Is one of the most creative and iconic horror games of all time* "Um actually it's a kid's game 🤓"

Did you know in five nights at Chuck E. Cheese the reason why they have it behind your desk is because it actually pulls influence from original Chuck E. Cheese’s because the animatronics will come out of picture frames to the audience

Thank you for making this I can't sleep Your gonna give me nightmares

Man, I’m glad to see that Five Nights at Chuck E Cheese getting recognition. That game felt the most real out of all the other fan games and the animatronics all having a different mechanic to keep track of created a good gameplay loop.

Did you know squeaks actually has two separate five nights at treasure island series One is called a week at castaway cay and the other is breaking the magic

PlainTrace: “A Shadow over Freddy’s has the scariest jumpscare I’ve ever seen” TJOC: *Bonjour*

btw, the door being forced open in chuck e cheese's is ONLY by the costume, which their only role is to keep the door open the costume doesn't kill you, it's only there to assist in your death

DUDE the animatronics holding the gate was so clever and scary

I played five nights at treasure island once, and I got jumpscared by Oswald once. And it came out of nowhere because he’s so dark it blends in with the background, and his specific jumpscare sound not only jumpscared me, but genuinely disturbed me long after I got jumpscared

Now I would NOT say the entire Porkchop's Adventure game is scary, it's not, but I credit the jumpscare in the Porkchop's Horrorshow teaser ending to be the first jumpscare (and one of the few) that actually scared me. I didn't jump, I froze as dread set in. Most jumpscares don't really scare me, I just jump out of surprise. I think there's only been one or two jumpscares since then that actually gave me that dread.

Babe wake up, PlainTrace posted

I played sub zero because of you and so far it’s great, thank you

I have never been more terrified of Fnaf game more than Eddie and the misfits. The character designs give me chills. The gameplay isn’t scary at all, but the audio and imagery just spooks me

Dormitables or wtv the name was actually scared me mostly bc of the environment and the animatronics

Man you deserve more than 77k subscribers

Sub Zero and A Shadow over Freddy's both look terrifying. I would love to play Sub Zero but unfortunately I only have a PSVR 😭

all of them i need to get over my fears side note please review scp the endurance you'd be a great youtuber to make it

The Return to Bloody Nights is truly scary, believe me!

Wait there is fnaf fan games that scared you wait what just how? Also thanks for showing me some new scary and good looking fnaf fan games

For the corpse one if it was irl I would crank with one hand and use the other to raise the temperature

have you played jr's? if not you should definitely check it out. they tried their best to make their designs and story as good as possible (i prefer designs cuz they are terrifying) you also get to do a repair on the animatronic if they're getting aggressive

And the thing that scared me the most is that when I tried to leave the game I couldn't

I definitely agree that in the Chuck E Cheese fan game, it's terrifying that you sometimes try to close the gate but the animatronics will force the gate up, I'd like to see these cheeky bots try that with the fnaf 1 doors, have fun losing a hand/arm. 😆

Oh god that grabbing the gate thing is actually so damn unsettling

I am not shure if you know that polardread is a remake of subzero. It also has the same characters( perry is a seal)

Love your videos of FNAF my favorite horror came franchise

phisnom confirm the animatronic jumpscare sound in shadow over freddy's is just him screaming

Fun fact: In the web of cogs and oil the machine is scrap baby you can just barely make her out

A Shadow Over Freddy’s scared me so bad that I start shaking and having panic breathing when I play it.

Any Team Radiance game is too scary for me

Scary≠great Great graphics≠great A lot of mechanics≠great Difficulty≠great You need a balance.

it would be cool if there was a fnaf style game but it had the learning that the alpha build hello neighbour had, so you have like a bunch of methods to protect yourself doors, power, audio lures, hiding and other stuff, and not only are you trying to fake out the enemy to trick them into thinking your in a different room or not in the room your actually in, the enemy is trying to trick you into revealing yourself or using the tools to reveal what room your in. so no only do you have to play defensivly you have to play offensivly to throw the enenmy off, and its not some solve the puzzle escape the house or set up traps the enemy will always find out eventually try to take him out before he does kinda thing. its just a survival game

to be honest, in the "Shadow over Freddy's" when he talked about shadow, it reminded me of RWQFSFASXC (Shadow Bonnie)

I think a game where the animatronics slowly creep towards you and where the jumpscares sound like a human voice screaming in fear would be pretty darn scary

6:29 The gate failing to close is because you failed to ward off a specific character, Costume. He moves when you’re not looking and when he reaches you, he doesn’t kill you but instead holds the gate open, allowing whatever is on the other side to get in.

And also the costume is only able to be prevented by using the cameras like foxy and always holds up the gate