There’s no doubt thatFive Nights at Freddy’smade a splash within the horror genre with the release of the first game back in 2014, and now its many games, books, and the movie, have cemented the franchise as a household name. Its impact is so strong that mascot horror has become its own video game genre, with plenty ofgames following inFNAF’s footsteps in hopes of a glimpse of the series’ success.
Bendy and the Ink Machine, thePoppy Playtimeseries, andAmanda the Adventurerare just a few of the mascot horrors that have followed on fromFNAF, blending child-friendly esthetics and characters with jumpscares and deeply unsettling storylines.Five Nights at Freddy’spioneered the genre, but now it’s become an oversaturated marketthat could well be doing more harm than good for horror games.
Horror Games Are Losing What Makes Them Fun
Five Nights at Freddy’sstarted as a truly great horror franchiseoffering a deep, lore-fuelled story that fans are still trying to figure out even a decade later. Big content creators, such asMarkiplierandTheGameTheorist’s MatPat, helped drive popularity of the game over the years, amassing millions of views on YouTube for their playthroughs and lore videos. As popularity grew and grew,series creator Scott Cawthon was given more responsibility to provide more.
Over the years, the franchise’s story has become more and more complex and hard to follow, possibly due to Cawthon struggling to compete with such impressive and far-fetched fan theories on his characters and world. The situation gotinfinitely more complex with the booksand the movie, which throw the timeline into disarray and still havefans arguing over what’s canon and what’s not.
Too Many Games Are Trying To Be FNAF
Poppy Playtime Is One Key Example
Despite this, the immense success of the franchise has seen plenty of other games try to dominate in mascot horror.Poppy Playtimeis perhaps one of the most successful, going on to spawn three mainline games, with afourth releasing next year. LikeFNAF,Poppyis also popular with younger children, and has plenty of merchandise as well. Comparing the two series,Five Night Freddy’sgeneral premise followed the idea that its animatronics were possessed by murdered children.When looking atPoppy Playtime, it becomes clear that the toys in PlayTime Co are also children,but more physically, making the toys organically from their bodies.
Poppy Playtime Chapter 3: Deep Sleep Interview - “There Is Always More To The Story”
Poppy Playtime’s developers discuss creating Chapter 3: Deep Sleep, the DLC’s new antagonist CatNap, and its biggest changes and improvements.
It’s hard not tocomparePoppyandFNAFwith their creepy-but-cute mascot characters and this repeated focus on death and murder. To some extent,Poppyloses its originality.Today’s horror games are centered on children’s entertainment industries,withFive Nights at Freddy’sas an entertainment restaurant andPoppy Playtimeas a toy factory.Amanda The Adventureris similar, focusing on a child-friendly setting and child’s perspective.Indigo Park, another new horror game, is set in an amusement park for children with animatronic mascots, perhaps also taking inspiration from the trope.
The Future Still Looks Bright for Horror Games
Indigo Park Shows How It Should Be Done
The oversaturation of the indie horror mascot genreis starting to kill the uniqueness in horror plots and the enjoyment behind the gameplay.Players are encountering similar enemies, jumpscares, and - to some extent - similar story elements. But that doesn’t mean every new mascot horror is a copy-paste of what came before.
Indigo Parkhas been breaking the moldsince its release in May 2024. The free Chapter 1 is currently rated as “Overwhelmingly Positive” onSteam, with users praising the gameplay and scares. On the surface, it may look similar toPoppy Playtime, but the developer has taken a unique approach to the plot, leaving deep mystery. Although the mascots display consciousness, they are different from the in-game humans, resorting to their animal traits.Indigo Parkgives hope to genre fans that mascot horror games can bring back their individual uniquenesswithout relying onFive Nights At Freddy’s.
