Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic Review – Secret Origins (PS5)

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic is the newest game in this juggernaut of a horror franchise from Steel Wool Studios. Serving as both a prequel to The Mimic’s in-game debut in Security Breach: RUIN, and a prequel to the game series as a whole. Taking place in 1979, years before the other games. A lot was riding on this game after the less-than-stellar reactions to Security Breach. Though RUIN already did some damage control for them.

Secret of the Mimic is, largely, a success. An improvement on the Security Breach format presented much stronger on a smaller scale. The story is also presented pretty well. Being an adaptation of the short story “The Mimic” from the Tales From the Pizzaplex series. I very much appreciate Steel Wool dedicating a game to the origin of the franchise’s new big bad instead of hiding it in minigames across three different games. Or assuming everyone has read the short.

Murray’s Costume Manor

The game still has its issues, however. Steel Wool still haven’t quite mastered atmosphere like Scott Cawthon had. There are still occasional glitches and bugs, though nowhere near Security Breach‘s level. And it has the same problem as Security Breach in terms of pacing. Feeling more like a collection of good set pieces with padding in between. Though Secret of the Mimic‘s smaller scale makes it less of an issue.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic is available on Steam and PlayStation 5 for $39.99.

This review contains minor spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic.

Story – Behold, the Murrays

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic follows a Fazbear Entertainment technician named Arnold. He’s tasked with entering Murray’s Costume Manor and retrieving confidential Fazbear property. Upon entering, he learns that Edwin Murray’s most dangerous creation – codenamed M2 – is loose and hunting him down.

Arnold has to explore the sprawling facility in an effort to access Edwin Murray’s office and download the schematics for M2. Along the way learning the tragic tale of Edwin’s wife Fiona, as well as their son David. And how those events are tied into the creation of M2 and its murderous capacity. Seeing as how this is the earliest Five Nights game chronologically, it also sets the stage for quite a few things to come.

Pirate Party

It’s a much more straightforward and grounded story than is the standard for this franchise. It’s relatively easy to follow. But also easy to predict. Most people can probably figure out the “secret” of the Mimic even if they haven’t read the short story the game is based on. And I imagine the reveal that Edwin Murray – who didn’t exist in these games until this one – created pretty much everything in the series is going to be pretty divisive. 

Gameplay – Security Patched

Secret of the Mimic has a pretty similar gameplay loop to the previous game in the series: Security Breach. Exploring a large location to find upgrades that allow you to explore more areas. However, Secret of the Mimic does it much better.

Murray’s Costume Manor is a lot smaller than the Mega Pizzaplex, which means everything runs a lot smoother. It’s very hard to get lost, and new shortcuts are created frequently. This also means the secrets are a lot easier to find. Furthermore, there are only 3 endings. Though it’s a little annoying that one ending unlocks a “Continue” option, while another unlocks New Game Plus. But the real star of the show is The Mimic.

Apex Predator

Secret of the Mimic has perhaps the greatest premise of a Five Nights at Freddy‘s game since the early games. Locking players in a costume/animatronic-making facility with a killer robot that can be hiding in any of the innumerable suits, costumes, and robots strewn about every square inch of the place.

See it before it sees you

It creates this immediate sense of dread, and a deep pit of paranoia. You’ll find yourself acting cautious in every room, just in case The Mimic happens to be waiting for you. Which is only amplified when it inevitably spots you and you see just how fast it is. Though you can find plenty of auditory distractions to lure The Mimic away from where you need to go. As well as plenty of lockers to hide in.

The different themed sections are also mostly well done. Even if they are shorter than you’d expect. The White Tiger section is particularly noteworthy. I haven’t been that scared by a Five Nights at Freddy‘s game in years. Same goes for the secret area under the Retail Showroom, but to a slightly lesser extent.

Must Collect Memorabilia 

It’s a Five Nights at Freddy’s game. So you know there are secrets tied directly into arbitrary collectibles. Secret of the Mimic has four main collectibles: Gift box items, commercial reels, emails, and audio logs. Though you don’t technically “collect” the audio logs. 

This one’s New Game Plus exclusive

The commercials don’t have much significance beyond being well-made, and the audio logs are mostly for world-building and an annoying trophy, as one of the logs is the only missable collectible in the whole game. The emails are mostly for world-building as well, but can also hide codes to locked doors. 

The gift box items are the real stars, though. As each one you find will be added to the text-based MOON.exe game accessed through the terminals in the facility. You need a good amount of them in order to beat MOON.exe, which takes you one step closer to getting the Secret Ending. 

Graphics & Sound – Performance Anxiety

Steel Wool Studios have found out how to make Five Nights at Freddy’s games that are both scary and fun. Though they still struggle on making them fully functional. Secret of the Mimic doesn’t have nearly the same amount of glitches and bugs as Security Breach. However, they’re still there. Like how I ran toward a set of stairs only for the game to cut to black, and cut back to me stuck inside a different staircase.

You’re probably wondering how I got here

There were also a good amount of visual and auditory issues. Textures popping in or changing mere feet away from you. Certain motions not having any sound. Dramatic moments fading to black or having little impact. There are indie games made by one person that have more polish than these games. 

Also, they really need to abandon the clean and plastic looking animatronic designs. Characters like Jackie and Nurse Dolly aren’t nearly as scary as much simpler designs like the White Tiger or the original Freddy. When trying to reach the uncanny valley of unsettling mascot looks, less is often more.