♪ (dramatic chord) ♪

♪ (dramatic chord) ♪

♪ (dramatic chord) ♪

♪ (eerie music) ♪

"What is it that you think you see?"

Is this going to be scary?

- (in trailer: flashlight clicks) - Oh, I'm scared already.

Oh, I know what this is.

Come on! Come on!

What? You too?

Oh, god. It's Five Nights.

(in game: flashlight clicks)

Hide-and-seek?

- (flashlight clicks) - (whimpers)

Oh god. (laughs)

They're not in a Chuck E. Cheese?

What a creepy child's room!

That's the one thing this didn't need.

Okay, there's a jump scare.

Ah, god, I hate this stuff.

(startled yelp)

Is that Foxy? That looks like Foxy.

(nervous laughter) I gotta go now.

♪ (eerie music) ♪

- It's 1 a.m. - (in trailer: growl)

- (in trailer: growl) - (yells)

Oh, I don't like the music.

- (in trailer: growl) - (yelps)

(laughs)

Aah! That was just a trailer.

I've had this tweeted to me so many times.

I just didn't watch the trailer.

Oh, Five Nights at Freddy's 4?

- (Dan) That's a terrible font. - (Phil) That is so bad.

(Dan) I'm so sorry. I really support this game.

I love it, but that's a really ugly text.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know anything about this but the title.

You have no idea what Five Nights at Freddy's is.

Oh, is that that video game?

- Yeah. - Okay.

(everyone laughs)

(Phil) That's interesting that it's in a house.

(Dan) I had no idea. That's cool.

I mean, we learn everything from Game Theory and Markiplier.

(Phil) Yeah.

We'll-We'll talk. We'll talk.

God! Stupid FNAF.

♪ (dramatic chord) ♪

(Finebros) So have you played the previous Five Nights at Freddy's?

I have no idea what this is.

I'm not a gamer.

I have. I've played Five Nights.

I actually hated it.

Yes, I have.

Dan has fallen off the chair twice while playing these games.

I screamed so loud that my headphones came off and I broke a screen.

I have played all three.

Did I say "play"?

I really just sit next to Michael

and look through my fingers while he plays.

I like the atmosphere.

I like to turn down the lights and put a onesie on

and really get into it.

(Finebros) So this game series, to this point,

the way it works is you play the role of a security guard

in a haunted Chuck E. Cheese-like restaurant.

- (laughing) - Okay.

(Finebros) And the animatronic characters come to life when it closes

and then come to your office to try to kill you.

Why?

I mean, that's a little bit what everyone thought

when they went to Chuck E. Cheese.

(Finebros) The game play is essentially just pointing and clicking,

but it's become one of the most popular games on YouTube.

Why is something so simple so popular?

I think that kids love it.

There's loads of kids that I've seen that are like,

"Oh, I love Five Nights at Freddy's."

I'm like, "Does it not terrify you?"

And they're like, "Nah."

There's nothing more exhilarating than being scared.

I can see why that would be fun. Fear is addictive.

I personally am a huge fan of horror in general,

but more than watching horror, I love taking a friend

who hates horror to a horror movie

because it's just the funniest thing to witness.

I think it's because it's such a simple concept.

Anyone can pick it up.

It seems like the kind of game that people have a great reaction to

and they get really scared.

It's fun to watch other people play this game and freak out, right?

"Oh my gosh, there's a jump scare!"

But then there's the lower component as people are trying to unravel

this unsolved mystery.

(Finebros) Five Nights also benefited from practically

every major gaming channel on YouTube playing the game.

Why does it work so well to be something that a gamer on YouTube

would choose to play?

It's totally about hanging out with your friends.

You are going to have a visceral reaction to the jump scare

just like the person who is playing the game in the video.

If you see someone else has got a video with loads of views

on Five Nights at Freddy's, all the other gamers are gonna make

a video of Five Night's at Freddy's as well.

I think as soon as videos of the first game went viral,

it just became a YouTube thing to do.

Throughout the history of gaming on YouTube,

horror games have always been a huge draw, right?

PewDiePie started off with Amnesia.

Everyone and their mother was playing Slender.

People love to be scared.

(Finebros) So the game, as simple as it is,

has a very intricate and detailed backstory and lore.

Are you familiar with the lore and complicated backstory

- of the world of this game? - I know nothing about this.

The only time I've ever seen it is on Tumblr

or people use it as reaction GIFs on things.

It's like a crazy pizzeria, and with some crazy ex-employee

that killed people and then . stuffed them inside the suit

It's because there was one missing.

This whole-- there's several events that occurred before the first game,

but I totally did read all the lore on Five Nights

and I watched Matt Paz's videos explaining all that stuff.

The timeline is literally all-- here, I'm gonna talk to the camera

'cause we need to connect here, guys.

The two biggest things that people are trying to uncover

in this game are: what was the bite of '87,

which is this mysterious event that's referenced

from the very first moments of the game,

and secondly, who is this serial killer that keeps stalking these pizzerias?

It's this figure that's only described as "the purple guy".

Can you tell I've thought way too much about this franchise?

(Finebros) Why do you think people, for Five Nights at Freddy's specifically,

have become obsessed with the lore?

I don't know. I have no idea.

The lore means there are things to do, even when you're not playing the game.

I used to play World of Warcraft constantly

and when I wasn't, I was reading Wowhead.

I think there's a fun mystery solving element to it.

I mean, the game is so simple that it's quite funny

to just discover the backstory that is told by the spooky poster

that you may not have realized.

Most huge franchises, whether it be Star Wars or Zelda,

they exist far beyond the actual games or the actual movies

- because people-- - Can be creative on their own?

Yeah, they can be creative.

And it sounds like, in this game, they actually have

that ability because nothing is fully tied together.

It's actually a psychological phenomenon called Cognitive Completion Theory.

Humans want all of the pieces of a story

to fit together in neat, clean way.

Scott Cawthon, the creator of the game, has done such a great job

of giving you just enough information that you know that there's

something beneath the surface.

And so that's why people are so eager and rip this game to shreds,

to find every last ounce of hidden material.

(Finebros) So Warner Bros. recently got the movie rights,

so there might be a Five Nights at Freddy's film.

That would be cool.

(Finebros) So what are your thoughts about that,

that an indie game that YouTubers play can now get so huge

- that a movie might be made? - Isn't that how everything happens now?

I mean, that's exactly what happened with Flappy Bird.

If they make Flappy Bird: The Movie, okay, I'm not going to that.

It's weird that we have this influence now.

I think it's great.

I'm so glad I didn't do my Masters in psychology

and I just started making YouTube videos.

YouTube is changing the world and it's a huge part of culture.

It's shifting back.

It seemed to be before that everything came from traditional

and pushed YouTube, and now it's kind of gone the opposite way.

It shows the power of a simple concept and how far it can go.

It makes me feel really excited for the future

because this will just keep happening.

You can just say, "Look, all I need is some really talented people

to like what I'm doing," and then boom!

You've already got your foot in the door.

(Finebros) Another element of the game is trying to survive all five nights.

Does that add to the addicting quality of wanting to try to just make it

because it seems like, "It's just another night!"

Yeah, it's really frustrating when you get to night four,

3 a.m., and then Freddy comes and gets you

because you're so close to finishing it.

You can say, "I did all five nights" and night six, which is a bonus.

I think there's a credibility you can get.

You get very mixed feelings when you hit a new night

in Five Nights at Freddy's.

It takes up to 6 a.m. and you're like,

"(relieved) Oh, god!"

And then it just goes straight into the next night

and you're like, "I don't even know why I was relaxed."

Survivor bias means that you survive one day,

you go, "Oh, well I'm still here.

Clearly this can be done.

And, clearly, I'm gonna be okay."

And then you live a second day, well pffft!

"Two days in a row? This is easier than I thought."

But that's dangerous thinking.

(Finebros) There's also a lot of people that think Five Nights is very overhyped,

that it isn't that scary or only kids are playing

and that so many of the reactions to it are fake.

What do you think about that?

I feel like I would find it funny then

because there's a certain point where I find scary movies just to be funny.

Anyone who says it's not scary, they haven't got

their headphones loud enough because when I did that jump scare,

when I got it and I leapt up, it was genuine.

Everybody that disagrees is just like an edgy, anti-circle jerker

and it just annoys me so much.

They're like, "(derpy accent) I don't like that PewDiePie played this scary game."

And it's like, no, objectively, it's a well-made indie game.

And it's not the highest piece of art ever created,

but for what it is, it's great.

(Phil) You can't hate something just because it's successful,

even though it didn't set out to be.

It should be celebrated.

(Dan) That's the reason most people don't like things [inaudible].

I would argue that Five Nights at Freddy's

should have been the game of the year last year.

Do I think that, at this point, they're milking it for all its worth?

You know, four games in less than a year?

Less than a year, Scott? Give me a break!

Say what you will about the scares, the gameplay, the graphics--

it has clearly resonated with an audience,

and for that I think it's worthy of respect.

(bing of approval)

(Finebros) So finally, the game actually just came out

earlier than it was supposed to.

- It's out now. - It did?

It did, while I was at VidCon no less.

(Finebros) Are you going to play this game right away,

never, or eventually?

I'm gonna say eventually.

Eventually, for sure.

Uh, yeah! Can I borrow this?

- I'll watch some YouTube. - I'll watch the YouTube videos.

I'm just gonna live through Mark playing it.

Eventually.