The wildly popular Five Nights at Freddy's franchise recieved another entry yesterday, when Five Nights at Freddy's World got a surprise release on Steam thanks to creator Scott Cawthon.
The game is far different from the horror titles fans have come to know and love. Five Nights at Freddy's World is an old-school RPG, filled with random encounters and turn-based battles. So far fans have reacted positively to the title (with 479 positive reviews and counting on Steam), but the majority of top rated reviews are all negative, with players saying the game doesn't feel finished. Some are criticizing the game's visuals, while others say the game's combat is confusing and tedious.
The game was originally slated for a February release, but as is the case with Cawthon's previous Five Nights at Freddy's games, he released the title early. It has worked wonders for him in the past. This time, however, Cawthon admits he may have made a mistake.
"You know, I've been accused of rushing my games ever since FNaF 1, but I've never felt that I'd released a game too early... until now," Cawthon writes on the game's Steam forums. "There are a lot of features that this game should have had before release, features that I was told about, but ignored and didn't implement. Features such as being able to see what abilities do during battle, or being able to see a stats page for your characters. These are features that any good RPG would have.
"I got too eager to show the things that were finished, that I neglected to pay attention to the things that weren't."
Thankfully, Cawthon is taking responsibility and says he will be updating the game to make things right.
"I'm going to fix this, and I'll be updated the game with these features in the coming weeks," he writes. "So I say this to a community that I've enjoyed and respected for over a year and a half now- I'm sorry. I will continue to add features to the game and make it right."
Five Nights at Freddy's World is currently sitting at the #11 "Top Selling Games" on Steam spot, a far cry from the usual top five spots that previous entries in the franchise have held shortly after their release. It's hard to say whether the change in genre or the game's lackluster reception so far is to blame for the slower sales, but it will be interesting to see how Cawthon can improve the game in the coming weeks regardless.
