Into The Pit is a divisive new spin-off entry in the massively popular “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) franchise developed by Mega Cat Studios. The game opens with a monotonous drive to the newly introduced Jeff’s Pizza, an establishment built on top of where Fazbear’s Pizza used to stand. As quickly as things go well, they take a wrong turn, and a mysterious yellow rabbit mascot wreaks havoc on Jeff’s Pizza.
Amidst the clearing of the chaos, and the apparent departure of the terrifying mascot, a trail of clues leads you and your father to a mysterious ball pit at the back of the establishment. In an instant, the rabbit spontaneously emerges from the ball pit and snatches him, dragging your dad into the unknown. Your mission is now to save your father, and the only way to do so is to enter, quite literally, the pit.
At first glance, the game demonstrates a significant disconnect between the more iconic elements of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, moving away from the signature point-and-click gameplay and allowing the player to roam around instead of being confined to an office. Into the Pit succeeds at hooking new and returning fans with its engaging first few hours of gameplay, yet potentially loses the interest of its audience through repetitive gameplay segments.
Entering the pit, it is revealed that the pit has mysterious properties, serving as a gateway to the past. The player emerges on the other side of the “portal” directly into Fazbear’s Pizza, leaving it up to you to discover what horrors lie in the franchise’s history. Upon waking up in the old Pizzeria, the main gameplay loop begins. The game consists of objectives requiring you to find different items to progress in the game. A lack of variety in the tasks quickly proves to make the objective system uninteresting and turns navigation that may seem fun at first into a chore.
A majority of the game features stealth segments requiring you to sneak past killer mascots and hide under tables, inside vents, or even in boxes full of toys. The stealth segments are entertaining but can be a struggle when it comes to keeping the player engaged for a long time.
The game could benefit from a wider variety of movement options. The controls of the game are relatively simple, providing basic movement options and having specific buttons for hiding or interacting with items. Everything is snappy and is perfectly serviceable for the game, but the lack of unique ways to sneak around in a game that demands a certain extent of stealth from you can certainly detract from the immersion the game works to create.
On a more positive note, the art direction and sprite work are something the game does well. Aside from perspective tricks that may look wonky at times, Into the Pit consistently has polished and refined pixel art on display. Unity’s built-in lighting engine adds realistic depth that blends nicely with pixel art to build a brilliant atmosphere that perfectly fits the horror aspect of the game. Animations in the game are incredibly smooth, but can occasionally lead to odd-looking in-betweens and certain frames looking silly or strange. Overall, the animation is still spectacular, and the art direction of the game has much love and dedication poured into it.
The sound design is a stand-out. Something many horror games struggle to get right is sound design. Half of what makes a horror game scary is the auditory element. Leaving players on edge and in a state of constant fear of the unknown is key to creating an effective horror sequence. The game has exceptional sound design; the subtle ambient noise and ominous droning build a tense and terrifying atmosphere. The player is often left wondering whether or not a killer mascot is lurking nearby or trailing right behind them. The antagonist would not be nearly as threatening without a chilling environment to match.
Overall, Into The Pit is a solid new entry into the long line of games in the FNAF series. The game successfully creates a scary experience with a brilliant blend of visual and auditory horror. The game’s thrilling chases and wonderful presentation suck players into the world it creates and immerses them into the horror of the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe in a new and unique way. While the game may struggle to grip players throughout the whole journey, it succeeds at telling an interesting story and scaring the audience with the twisted scares that lie in store. “Into the Pit” sets a new benchmark for what FNAF games can experiment with and opens the door to a multitude of unique ideas yet to come to this beloved franchise.
