Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery

While the surprise attacks are entertaining, clunky controls and bugs scare up more frustration than frights in this experience. Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery has a fairly simple premise -- essentially, players are just trying to shock ghoulish-looking animatronics before they complete their attack. A second tool, a flashlight, provides illumination that may help you briefly see the creatures before they strike. You can also send a sparse Bare Endo robot out to scavenge for parts for a certain time period, ranging from 30 minutes to four hours, to help build it up, or direct it to freak out any friends you’re connected to through the app.

The AR element doesn't necessarily make the game scary -- players basically just see a view of their surrounding environment that's occasionally disrupted with wavy lines until the animatronic leaps at them. The noises the animatronic makes and vibrations you can feel heightens tension during its approach, though, and players may get a kick out of seeing the creepy devices lunge at them suddenly. But while the gameplay isn't complicated, it isn't easy. The window you have to shock an attacking animatronic is slim, and using your flashlight to spot them will also run down the battery you need to protect yourself. The robots strike extremely fast, which doesn't help. What's more, the shocking device has a cooldown period, so if you're too jumpy, it may not have recharged in time -- even if you determine the exact moment an attack will begin, which seems to involve as much luck as skill. Players hoping to figure out a strategy may find they're struggling to come up with a plan, or react in time, which can make the game more frustrating than fun. The developers also have a few bugs to work out, as the game can freeze while loading, leaving you unable to access or play it without deleting and downloading the app again. Fixing the glitches and adjusting the mechanics for fighting animatronics would go a long way in helping Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery provide an uninterrupted, consistently creepy, and enjoyable experience.