Considered by the overwhelming majority of fans to be the worst game in the entire Five Nights at Freddy's game franchise, FNAF World (or Five Nights at Freddy's World) is a Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest style RPG where the player has the opportunity to explore the world of Animatronica, a "magical" and "fun" universe (without any terrifying aspect, as if it were designed for a children's audience) where all versions of animatronics live in harmony. With a weak premise, confusing gameplay and inelegance of the final product, FNAF World received so much criticism at the time of its release that Scott Cawthon himself withdrew it from Steam, leaving it free (just like Ultimate Custom Nights) on his profile on Game Jolt, the website for independent game developers.
After choosing the difficulty of the game (Normal Mode or Hard Mode), the Player can choose whether to start with a Standard team (made up of two teams of four Animatronics) or a Fixed team (the Fixed team being unchangeable throughout the game) and, after choosing the type of team, they are introduced to Fredbear who informs them of a "great Evil" that is terrorising all Animatronics. Once the conversation with Fredbear is over, the Player is "dropped" without any kind of tutorial or indication into the game's "First World", a setting that mixes 2D and 3D and gives the impression that it hasn't been finalised yet. The player is then forced to explore the map, embarking on a cartoonish adventure where they can occasionally engage in battles with enemies who are apparently from Five Nights at Freddy's lore. With more than 48 characters available to "capture" and use in battle (a bit like Pokémon) and with a wide range of combinations with "Bytes" and "Chips" (in-game collectibles that alter the statistics of the team the player uses, giving certain advantages against certain enemies) the player has the opportunity to collect around nine trophies that will only become available if the player manages to complete all eight alternative endings (each trophy associated with an ending). Beyond the Normal Mode Ending and the Hard Mode Ending, it becomes a challenge to figure out how to unlock the rest of the endings, since the game gives absolutely no hint, clue or even indication that these endings exist, being treated as "easter eggs" that only the most daring and curious can complete. Between precarious and outdated combat mechanics, a weak narrative (which only serves to "play" with the player's patience and advertise the next game in the franchise, Sister Location) and the use of "glitches" (parallel dimensions that lead the player to enter epileptic scenarios in order to teleport around the six worlds on the map), the game doesn't know what audience it wants to reach. Despite the "interesting" concept, the most inattentive players will have a hard time finding these "glitches" and, if they do, they may think they are flaws in the game itself (as the first players thought).
Even though I'm an avid fan of role-playing games and appreciate the extensive narrative developed by Scott Cawthon, FNAF World is, in my opinion, an incomplete game and totally out of keeping with the horror or thriller premise of its predecessors. With many limitations, poor graphics and a weak exploration system, this game only manages to stand out because it is precisely an RPG from a popular franchise and because it offers the chance to play with your favourite characters. I therefore conclude this review by giving the game a 6/10 rating.
