Five Nights at Freddy's is a survival horror video game with point-and-click elements. The player acts as a night security guard for a fictional pizza restaurant and must complete their shift that lasts from midnight to 6:00 a.m without being jump scared by the four animatronic animals that inhabit the facility. The player, alone in an office, is given access to a network of security camera feeds that provide them with views of various parts of the restaurant. These feeds are used to track the movement of the mobile animatronics throughout the night. Each animatronic character has distinct movement patterns, and most of this movement takes place off-screen. The camera feeds are poorly lit and grainy, and one security camera, located in the kitchen, only provides an audio feed. The cameras do not cover certain areas of the building, most notably the two hallways directly to the left and right of the player, which require checking by lights that the player can control by clicking a button located adjacent to each door in their office. The player cannot leave the office and must close the office doors for self-defense, also achieved by clicking buttons adjacent to each door. The use of these mechanics consume the player's limited electrical power; if all the power is exhausted, the cameras become inoperable, the doors open and the lights go out. Freddy Fazbear will subsequently appear in the left doorway with flashing lights in his eyes while a music box rendition of "Toreador March" plays. After a random amount of time, the office will go pitch black and Freddy will jump care of the player, resulting in the game-ending unless the player makes it to 6 a.m. before this occurs. If the player is jump scared by any of the animatronics, they must restart from the beginning of the night. The game will crash if the player encounters “Golden Freddy”, an easter egg whereby a gold-colored Freddy Fazbear appears in the office, subsequently jump scaring the player. The game has five levels comprising five "nights" in-game, each increasing in difficulty. Completion of the main game awards the player with a star that appears in the main menu and unlocks an even more difficult sixth "night". Completion of this level awards another star and opens up a "Custom Night" during which the player can adjust the AI difficulty of each character except for Golden Freddy. Completion of the game's most difficult challenge in which all robots are set to the highest level of 20 awards the player with the third star.
