A full disclosure to open, I’ve never been a fan of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series to this point, nor even of pretty well any of the clones that have been created in its image. While I’ve always appreciated the concept, the character designs, and some of the lore, in execution I’ve always lost my patience pretty quickly with the poor quality of actual gameplay. In my mind its popularity was always far more driven by people enjoying watching others playing and reacting to it than by a well-made experience.

With that in mind, I’ll admit that Into the Pit has finally managed to crack my resistance to the franchise. One central element that has been changed here is the game’s look, which in this case is more of a traditional pixel art look you’d have seen in the 16-bit-ish era. This helps everything play out more like a classic side-scrolling adventure, and just honestly feels better in execution, leaving less opportunities for wonkiness (though, yeah, there’s still some of that regardless). While some may disagree, I also found the way the close-up jump scares looked with this art style to be far more effective, but it’s also the outstanding sound design that helps the adrenaline kick in the most anyway.

Another deviation from the norm is tied to the time travel aspect of the game, since the bulk of what’s happening here actually takes place in the past. This is tied to the pit referenced in the title, which is actually an old abandoned ball pit that transports your character Oswald from the present back to a Freddy Fazbears right before all hell breaks loose. What follows will be a mix of puzzles, some stealth, an occasional quick action sequence to try to save yourself from doom, and a fair amount of hopping through time and some different locations in search of the things you’ll need to succeed. Depending on how things go there are a number of different endings that are possible, so there’s also some incentive to make it more than a one and done experience.

While many of the elements in a typical FNAF title are here, in my mind this particular entry has managed to stand out from the rest, feeling both a bit more ambitious and polished. I can see where a deviation from the norm may rub franchise fans the wrong way, but I also see an opportunity for people like me who were previously unconvinced to come around. If you’ve been on the fence about the series, and are looking for something that does a good job of creating tension and some terror without resorting to anything terribly over-the-top, you may find it to your liking.