The gameplay this time around is a bit more interesting, while also not really falling victim to optimisation, due a high focus on camera use and dedicating most of your time and attention to a singular, boss-like entity. He can move both forwards and backwards around the whole map, into vents on a secondary map, and in many cases will hide himself in the darkness of a room. When a reset is needed or a phantom catches you by surprise, the game can go from smooth sailing to panicked searching for Springtrap in the span of seconds. Having to adapt to the current situation instead of always relying on one largely unfailing strategy can be fun. There's also many cool details like him following the voices of children and staring you down through the same window meant to be used by guests of the attraction.
It is not without its faults though. First of all, the game has a bit too many RNG factors that can push into the territory of simply being frustrating and unfair. Springtrap can just not listen to your audio sometimes and can pick up ridiculous movement speed out of nowhere, and in other extremes will keep going in and out of the same sealed vent which is pretty immersion breaking and lame. The phantoms are also not as well designed as they could be, creating obnoxious trial and error due to barely being explained by the game (I still don't know if I'm too late for clicking off of Chica or she gets dealt with a different way) and having the very stupid feature of being able to activate through camera static. You can lose nights to something you can't see, and unless you actively change your playstyle a bit to account for it, this will catch you out eventually. It's also somewhat unclear where Springtrap can be moved to/from, seemingly never actually leaving the door at your office and having some especially wonky lures around cams 2-6.
Similarly, while the dirty atmosphere and run-down look/feel of the building and its equipment do appeal to me, the execution needed work. I don't mind having to look a bit closer to find him but all the obstructions combined with also having to be ready for phantom appearances simultaneously is just too much sometimes. While he has some nice camera renders, he also looks somewhat out of place in many of them. Lighting definitely could've used some more work, and it's not the only aspect of the game that feels rushed. The phantoms, while cool in concept, are pretty lazy reskins of existing models that don't do enough to leave an impact. The increase in character animation, while also cool, can look a bit too silly at times too. The jumpscares, while they're not all quite as bad as people claim (nor is it majorly important), still could've used some more energy.
Point is, this game is full of good ideas that are held back by wonky implementations. However, there are definitely some aspects of Fnaf 3 that I cannot fault, and that make me look upon it positively overall. The story present in this game, short and simple as it may be, provides a very impactful addition and resolution to the lore that was previously established. The springlock scene mixed with all the context from the phone calls, the happiest day minigame and the presentation of both endings is great. I love that the true ending is simply titled as 'the end' instead of 'good ending' or anything else that's positive. It's a small detail that stays true to the tragedy of the series. They also pump out even more hits for the soundtrack. The only critiques I can give to Fnaf 3's story are that the first 4 nights kinda just have the same minigame which was a little disappointing, and that it's a bit too hard to access the true ending without outside info. Otherwise I love it, even if I can't quite extend that adoration to the game it's attached to. It's solid overall.
