Remember how I said that the lore of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is often convoluted at best and downright confusing otherwise? Well, that’s because learning the backstory and motivations of certain characters doesn’t always come from easily digestible in-game storytelling or through the book/graphic novel tie-ins. Sometimes, the information can be gathered from mini-games within the “FNaF” main games, often presented in simplistic 8-bit formats that require a whole lot of theorizing. “Midnight Motorist” is one of those moments.
The mini-game was presented in “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator,” and follows pretty standard arcade game rules. The player controls a pink car and must drive around and reach the finish line while avoiding purple cars. Speed increases the longer a player goes without hitting a car, and collisions result in slower speed. This is the game aspect of the “lore-contained mini-game” classification, but the real story is what happens on the peripheries.
There’s a gap at the bottom of the screen, and driving through it takes you to a new area. The music changes, the story changes, and you’ll eventually end up at a bar called “JR.’s.” The game reveals that the player is in control of a yellow stick figure, who is greeted by a green man in the building who says, “Come on, you know you can’t be here. Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.” Having been kicked out, you return to your car and drive off. Depending on which route you take, you wind up either visiting what has been interpreted as a grave, or your house, where it’s implied that you’re a bad dad to your kids.
Eventually, you’ll leave the house and notice in the back that there is a shattered window and two pairs of footprints, one pair resembling rabbits. “Ran off to that place again. He will be sorry when he gets back,” you say. The minigame ends there and returns to the “Pizzeria Simulator” screen.
