Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator

About Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator is a game in Scott Cawthon's Five Nights at Freddy's series, released free on Steam on 4 December 2017. Clickteam later published it on iOS and Android in 2019 as FNaF 6: Pizzeria Simulator, on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2020 (Xbox on 31 October), and on PlayStation 4 on 31 March 2021; those versions are paid, $7.99 on the PlayStation and Xbox stores. It is in English only.

Its Steam page presents it as a fun adventure with a lighter touch for the holidays: design pizzas, feed kids and get high scores in a little pixel-art arcade game. That is only the start. As the console store puts it, you push through the glitchy arcade game and find yourself at your own Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

The game then runs over six days, each in phases. In the tycoon phase you buy decorations, attractions and arcade machines for your restaurant, weigh up liability risks and accept sponsorships for extra money; a high-risk purchase can let something unwanted in. Each day an animatronic may be offered for salvage: you play it sounds, go through a checklist with it in front of you and can use a taser to stop it from attacking, though tasing too much or too little both carry a risk. Whatever you take in can join the animatronics that hunt you at night.

At night you work the office. Unlike earlier games in the series, you do not wait for 6 AM: you finish a list of tasks on the computer, such as printing flyers or ordering supplies, and can log off once they are done. Meanwhile the animatronics hiding in the building move through the vents. You have a flashlight, a motion detector and an audio lure, can only run one system at a time, and a fan that keeps you cool also makes noise that draws them in.

Arcade minigames such as Fruity Maze and Midnight Motorist break up the days and earn Faz-Points, and they carry much of the series' story. One retrospective review praises the tension of the night shifts and the way the game ties up the story of the earlier games, but finds the nights very hard with even two animatronics loose. It suits players who know the series and want its answers, and anyone who likes a management game with something waiting in the vents.

How to play Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator

1. Play through the pizza arcade game at the start until the real game begins.
2. In the tycoon phase, buy items and attractions for your pizzeria and decide whether to take sponsorships.
3. When an animatronic is offered for salvage, work through the checklist and use the taser if it moves on you.
4. At night, finish your task list on the computer in the office; once it is done you can log off.
5. Use the flashlight, motion detector or audio lure, one at a time, to track and drive off the animatronics hiding in the building.

Tips

• Do not overuse the taser during salvage; it lowers what the animatronic is worth.
• At night, pick the right tool for the moment; only one can be used at a time.
• Check each item's liability risk before you buy it; high-risk items can bring an animatronic in with them.
• Turn the fan and computer off when you need to listen; the noise draws the animatronics toward you.
• Every animatronic you salvage or take in is one more at night, so how many you keep sets how hard the nights are.
• Play the arcade minigames; they carry much of the story.

Questions