In the not-too-distant past, I completed my first ever FNAF game: Security Breach, and its DLC, Ruin. While probably not the best entry points for the series as far as understanding its lore and characters goes, I found the experience to be mostly enjoyable and suitably weird and creepy. I was surprised by jump scares a’plenty and found myself in awe (often tinged by frustration) over the bizarre and unsettling world of Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. (“Mega” is right – the place is enormous!) Returning to its decrepit state in Ruin scratched well that Fallout-like itch to uncover secrets in abandoned places.

Much of the game has stuck with me since finishing it – it’s hard to forget some of its scarier moments – but nothing quite compares to what I found to be its most harrowing and difficult challenge: the Moon “chase” in its Daycare. (You can watch the whole freaky sequence here courtesy of our own Duck of Indeed!) What stood out to me the most during this part of the game was the music. For weeks I could not get the boppy “Daycare” theme out of my head; but, it was topped only by the dread-inducing “Moondrop” theme that slunk around in the dark as the player was chased around the daycare by Moon, the dark and ominous alter ego of Sun, the daycare attendant.

Throughout the chase, Moon sinisterly taunted the player, taking on on the role of Gregory, a kid stuck in the Pizzaplex overnight, and the music reflected that feeling of terror that comes with the stress of being pursued. One wrong move and BAM! Moon popped up out of nowhere seemingly to grab Gregory, and the chase began anew. Sure, there were ways for Gregory to distract Moon so that he could do what he needed to do to silence him (activate several generators to turn on the lights), but that was no easy task when one’s hands were shaking out of fear. Between Moon’s heckling and the menacing background music, I found it very hard to concentrate on anything other than freezing up in the daycare maze! As challenging as this portion of the game was, the marrying of Moon to his theme was not lost on me, as that cat-and-mouse sequence showcased well the game’s survival horror billing.

If you’re looking for a creepy game to try this Spooktober, FNAF: Security Breach isn’t a bad one attempt. Just be ready for lots of running and hiding if you’re a scaredy-cat like me!

Lede image: Screenshot by The Duck of Indeed