Submechanophobia (Tales from the Pizzaplex, #4)

Five Nights at Freddy's: Tales from the Pizzaplex #4

by Scott Cawthon, Kelly Parra, Andrea Waggener

Five Nights at Freddy's fans won't want to miss this collection of three chilling stories that will haunt even the bravest player... Have you ever experienced a gut feeling that told you something was wrong? . . . Caden senses the underwater animatronics in Freddy’s Fantasy Water Park have a mind of their own. Robbie knows deep down that the minds of the members of the Fazbear Fan Club have been taken over by something. And Abe can’t shake the feeling that the animatronic assistants in his Fazplex Tower apartment are hiding things from him. But in the world of Five Nights at Freddy's, when something feels wrong, it’s often too late to do anything about it . . . In this fourth volume, Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon spins three sinister novella-length tales from uncharted corners of his series' canon. Readers This collection of terrifying tales is enough to rattle even the most hardened Five Nights at Freddy's fans.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Thriller, Horror Thriller, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Video Games

256 pages, Paperback

Published December 27, 2022

About the author

Scott Cawthon is an American independent video game developer, animator, and writer, best known for his creation of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

Reviews

[V. M. Brewster · Rating 4 out of 5]

• "Truth is stranger than fiction." •

🧜‍♀️🪲🏚

Ich erspare euch die (mal wieder sehr) blutigen Details: Der vierte Band hatte eine gute Portion Plottwists, Cliffhanger und allgemein fast alles, das ich mir von einem guten FNaF-Buch erwarte.

[Melody Soundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Thrilling Collection That Starts With A Good Story Before Crumbling Miserably.

I was really hopeful for this collection but that hope faded as soon as I got to Animatronic Apocalypse and Bobbiedots Part 1. Then again this is a fnaf book so I shouldn't be suprised. Submechanophobia was such a good story but the other entries completely destroyed the collection. Generally disappointed as the stories are either anti climactic or show horror for the sake of some horror. You can generally tell that the writers have loss all sense as well as run out of ideas.

Okay onto this very honest review. There's lots of criticisms I have of this collection and the fnaf books as a whole but there's one thing in particular that stood out to me.

The random unexplained horror. This collection was hella weird especially with the inclusion of Animatronic Apocalypse and Bobbiedots. Horror is a genre where you have to find the right balance between scary and ridiculous and both of these stories fail that fine line. Especially the strange events surrounding Animatronic Apocalypse that go completely unexplained it's a happish ending but random and a head scratcher. I found myself half asleep and confused reading it instead of scared. Bobbiedots seemed promising but it was also too unrealistic, Fazbear has done a lot of weird stuff but it's not believable someone would be able to rough sleep there or that wether homeless or in a Forbidden apartment Abe doesn't get noticed. I wanted to be scared but I was just confused half of the time.

Secondly the breaking up of Bobbiedots. Animatronic Apocalypse was a severely poor story and I would have rather had Bobbiedots Part 2 in the same book as it also seems like a messy and reckless pr strategy to have two parts of a short story split across two different books. At least B-7 had an ending that isn't ambiguous and feels separate from it's second part. Bobbiedots Part 1 is all set up and barley any payoff. By the end of it I found myself underwhelmed and feeling like I'd be gaslighted out of a good story. It doesn't feel like a horror story at all rather a Abe in Black Mirror story. I don't why the fnaf writers thinking splitting a story into two parts helps the collection it only slightly works in the epilogues.

Finally the ambiguity. A good horror story scares and then gives the audience satisfying mysteries but Animatronic Apocalypse and Bobbiedots feel like someone watched Black Mirror half asleep. If Rye Toast a popular fnaf YouTuber hates Animatronic Apocalypse you! know you've done wrong. We do not know what's going one and don't get a satisfying answers to all the creepy behaviour. It was weird for the sake of weird. Partly excused cos its a Part 1 but Bobbiedots uses accidents and pretends its scary without giving any answers. It's also not built up enough how long the apartment has been of limits for. Submechanophobia is truly the only satisfying story.

Right onto the two positives for this collection.

First the story of Submechanophobia. I'm not kidding when I say that Submechanophobia is everything a good fnaf short story should be. It was perfect and had the classic core of the fnaf games. Submechanophobia felt like the story of FNAF 1 but set in an aquarium. It shouldn't work but it does perfectly. The twist is set up well, the build up is perfectly foreshadows and all the mystery and horror pays off in the end. Robbie is also an actual relatable character that has a backstory that makes sense and makes you route for him. The animatronics are left up to your own interpretation but hinted at enough without it feeling random or pointless. If you want to pick up this collection I'd specifically recommend it for Submechanophobia and Submechanophobia alone.

Secondly the horror and violence. As stated Tales Of The Pizza Plex is a big step up in terms of horror and gore. Its good to see how genuinely threatening the fnaf universe can be and not have any of the violence sanitised especially in the epilogues. The Epilogues are a lot better than Fazbear Frights and build a picture of how threatening the antagonist. The Mimic is hardly their but it's clearly a clever commentary on ai and how dangerous it can become. I love how dangerous the Mimic and the setting of the abandoned Pizza Plex in the Epilogue is as well. Not just the epilogues though I felt generally scared for Robbie and felt it when someone was out to get him in the story. The horror in this collection really gets to you sometimes as well as some of the violence.

Overall a very mixed bag collection that has it's highs and has it's lows. Some stories might thrill you, some might bore you. Also not for that faintest of heart or an Little Freddy fans out there. Thirteen Plus, is my own personal recommendation. Fnaf is a very bizarre world to explore.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

My rating for each individual story goes as followed.

Submechanophobia: 5 Stars (Fnaf 1 but in a Aquarium which was cool)

Animatronic Apocalypse: 2 Stars (A Pointless Random Bit Of Horror With No Explanations)

Bobbiedots Part 1: 3 Stars (Emotional Anti Homeless Themes But All Set Up for Part 2)

Epilogue 4: 4 Stars (Really spooky epilogue ruined by all the characters who just have teen angsty crushes on each other)

[Karlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the cover art and the stories were so good! Really enjoyed the first one especially and the cliffhanger for story three was tense.

[An0nek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka przyjemna i szybka jak zawsze. Pierwsza historyjka tytułową była ciekawa i wciągająca. Druga za to napewno była WYJĄTKOWA ale w końcu do fnaf więc jest fajne 😧. No i trzecia to było CUDO ilość ciekawostek o pizza plex, różnych nawiązań to wszystko było po prostu WSPANIALE.
No i oczywiście epilog to nasz mimic ukochany 🥰

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 stars.

Submechanophonia
This story was the second best story in the book overall, however, it had the most intriguing descriptions and visuals of all of the stories.
For a good while, I was thinking that this was going to be like one of the previous stories, where a nice character had something fatal happen to them just because they were trying to improve their life. But I was nicely surprised when that didn't happen. It had some very cool mystery elements, and could have been fleshed out into a bigger murder mystery, if given the chance. The missing kid, the secret sabotage. This was a story too big for just a novella.

Animatronic Apocalypse
This was just bizarre. I felt really bad for the main character of this short story, because it really was just a very nonsensical situation. Nothing is ever really explained, you don't really know what's going on, and then the twist at the end barely makes sense. I did initially say that story one was the weakest, but the more I'm thinking about this one, the more annoyed I'm getting with it.

The Bobbiedots
What happens when you give Alexa too much sentience?
The best story overall and the first with a proper cliffhanger. I'm invested in this short, and I want to learn more. Also, whoever currently runs Fazbear Entertainment in this universe, seeing as both Henry and William are supposed to have 'died' at this point, must be living some sort of life of luxury if they've made a whole dang apartment tower just dedicated Fazbear higher-ups.

The Epilogue
Are these the missing persons in the newspaper during the bad ending of Security Breach?
Why are there so many dead bodies? Are they the bodies of the construction workers?
Is the animatronic killing people Burntrap? How is he alive already if he wakes up in the tube during the true ending of Security Breach?

Just make a concise and clear timeline, my god.

[Auris Better · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly after reading so many pages of fives nights at freddys books I came to one conclusion.....

The books get worse with each one.

First story: Not to bad just a littke boring. It was also more like a murder mystery and not a story involves fnaf.

Second story: What im really confused what just happened, like actuelly what the fuck.

Third story: The third story is an interesting case. Its the first time that theres a two parter in this series there wasnt even one in the fazbear frights. Was it bad? No. Was it good? No. I am intrigued tho how the story will end.

These books become more and more bad shit insane and I have the feeling Scott is spinning a wheel to decide his ideas.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would you enjoy reading it again:
No. There was no ultimate story: it was just a bunch of random supposed-to-be scary stories where there was no real impact or story; it wasn't scary and I was hoping the stories would be related somehow: there was no gratifying conclusion to any of them; most of them all ended on a cliff-hanger, where if the story continued then the story could have been really something great but it never got to that level. There was no humor and barely any detailed descriptions that could engage my imagination- 1

SUMMARY: *SPOILERS*
-Story One: Submechanophobia: A man working for a FNAF aquarium is scared of animatronics but feels he is overcoming this fear. He starts to see the underwater animatronics move as he goes in the water to fix mechanical issues. He watches an animatronic kill his boss and he remains scared.
-Story Two: Animatronic Apocalypse: Elementary kids are apart of a FNAF club that is preparing for the 'animatronic apocalypse.' Slowly all of his classmates and even parent (police) become paranoid that they have to prepare for the apocalypse meanwhile the main character is left there being concerned about everyone but not being able to do anything about it.
-Story Three: Bobbiedots Part 1: A homeless man working for a FNAF company becomes a squatter in a broken down FNAF apartment room, where there are old animatronics and new animatronics that are supposed to help with daily life - but the animatronics are messing with his life and almost killing him: turning the hot tub to a boil, etc. And the story ends on that cliffhanger as it is a part one.
-Story Four: Epilogue 4: Kids are looking through a FNAF building where they get killed.

Did you enjoy the plot:
It was bad but I kept reading through it and it was good enough to keep me reading. I always thought something more impactful and interesting was going to happen but it never did: all of these felt like great setups for stories but they were never fully seen to fruition - 2

Did you enjoy the writing style:
Not really. It felt like someone had written this story in a rush and was writing down quick things that went to mind rather than fully thinking it through because of how some of the characters thought and such. It's a children's book so that should be fine but this book mostly felt like a huge waste of time since there was nothing impactful to say and the writing style didn't engage in anything funny, imaginative nor impactful of a lesson; it wasn't really fun to read-2

Good ending?
Very predictable and boring. The only reason this isn't a single star is because the author tried to have cliffhanger and interesting endings; but the endings left me wanting more and it could have been so much better if the stories were fleshed out. The third story seemed promising but then it was a part one- 2

Format: audiobook (2x while lifting and driving)
Average rating: 1.75 stars. Round up: 2 stars.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one for FNAF Fans. I think in comparison to the previous book, it's on equal level. But overall, this was enjoyable. All wonderfully creepy and disturbing in the best way. I'm always shocked when I find that these books are placed in the Young Adult section of the book department. Mainly for the fact that this is something that makes me squirm.

Lots of mentions of blood, gore, and death. So be on the look out for that. If that's something that makes you uncomfortable, stay away from the this book.

First Story: Underwater adventure that has the main character hold a fear of going underwater. What could go wrong? I think what I like about this is that the animatronics are aware of who's who when it comes to the workers. I don't think the main character was ever in danger, but they (animatronics) seemed to think since the MC was a new worker, he could help solve the murders/disappearances. Also, I laughed when it was found out that it was the manager who caused the deaths/disappearances. Given the track record for this franchise, that's so on the nose.

Second Story: This was probably my favorite out of the three. This was terrifying! It's one of those stories that, for part of it, I couldn't really tell who was in charge during this entire part. Which resulted in the 'new girl' disappearing and the principal being revealed (sort of) as an animatronic. It really makes me wonder if this is a sort of situation from the (I think) second book on the overall series. Having a human slowly replacing their meaty parts with robotics ones. Either way, shivers down my spine. Seeing kids being part of a cult under the guise of a game and using fear to make them follow makes me so uncomfortable. There's also no happy ending with this story.

Third Story: This was left on a cliffhanger and probably my least favorite of the three. This is a situation that seems very realistic. Minus the murderous robots living in the ceiling of an off limits apartment. Being in a situation where life keeps beating you down but you keep pushing forward out of stubbornness and will to live. While the plot is interesting, I'm not rushing to the story to get the next installment.

Ending Part: I'll state again, IF YOU DON'T LIKE BLOOD/GORE don't read this part. Mentions of previous death and current death. This was creepy in a claustrophobic and being hunted down way. I'm starting to wonder if the teens are going to make it out or if any of them are going to survive.

[Maxine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite volume of the series so far! I found the stories engaging and the characters written fairly well - a nice change of pace from how bored and annoyed I was through the last two volumes.

This is also the first volume where none of the protagonists die, which I also think is a nice change of pace, given the nature of these books. It's good to shake up the status quo every once in awhile.

- "Submechanophobia" gets a 5 star rating from me. I'm intrigued by the idea of a Freddy Fazbear's waterpark, and I loved all the different water-themed animatronics, (I would love to see more of them in future franchise installments!) and I liked the characterization of Caden and his coworkers. The plot of this story felt very nostalgic, as it gets back to FNAF basics with the premise of missing kid/s and animatronics seemingly moving with a life of their own.

- "Animatronic Apocalypse" gets a 4 star rating from me. This story presents a mysterious situation and doesn't ever explain what actually happened, with vague details and limited information about every plot point, so it won't work for every reader. But it worked for me -- I had a good time with this one! Robbie is a young but intelligent protag, and while he doesn't know what's happening around him, he knows how to recognize danger and how to handle it, something that I really appreciated given how naive and even truly stupid so many of these protags are. I'm also intrigued by the 'Animatronic Apocalypse' board game, and I think someone should make it in real life.

- "Bobbiedots Part 1" also gets a 5 star rating from me. I wasn't sure how a two-parter would work in these books, but I think the writer/s really pulled it off; this one sets up an interesting premise, and I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens in part 2. I also liked how much time is actually spent in the Pizzaplex itself in this story, and how much we learn about the building's structure and the reasons behind the animatronics' strange behaviors.

The epilogue was fine. I didn't hang onto every word or anything, but I wasn't bored with it either, and it does what it's supposed to do. This epilogue is also the first time the audience is introduced to the name "the Mimic," so that's exciting.

[openlycomplex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Submechanophobia is pretty decent! I like the aesthetic of that fear, so I was down for the general idea. Caden working a job that specifically has to do with his incredibly niche fear isn’t very believable, but fine. The twist of the manager being the one trying to kill Caden rather than it being paranormal activity is actually decently executed! The manager lying in wait in the aquarium and not getting attacked by the animatronics which are implied to be possessed is a little silly, but the story overall is cohesive enough that I’m willing to overlook the parts that don’t make complete sense.

Animatronic Apocalypse is different, but not exactly in a good way. My main issue with this story is how everything is left unexplained. There aren’t even enough crumbs to theorize off of. Everybody has been brainwashed by Mr. Renner, but there is no feasible explanation as to how that happened. This story just had some weird things happen, then set everything back to normal without actually looking into why those weird things occurred. It makes the story feel very unfulfilling.

Bobbiedots, Part 1 is alright so far, I guess. I’m not completely following with how exactly the Bobbiedots’ technology works, and the idea of the Pizzaplex having a tower that people live in is a bit far-fetched. Abe constantly going through near-death experiences in the apartment and still choosing to return to it does seem like a severe lapse in logic. We’ll see how this one ends, but my expectations are low.

I’m getting really irritated with how much the continuous story about the teenagers trapped with the Mimic focuses on their crushes. It really doesn’t feel like the time for these boys and girls to be like “wait, I think I like this person” considering that their friends are being gruesomely murdered in front of their eyes. It’s as if the author doesn’t know any way to make us invested in these characters’ fates other than giving them romantic dynamics. There is a human-killing animatronic on the loose with you, and you’re more concerned with how pretty the girl you’re around is? It’s so strange!

[Leila Ulloa-Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, "Submechanophobia (Tales from the Pizzaplex, #4)", by Scott Cawthon, it introduces a setting of a water park called, "Freddy's Fantasy Water Park," where there are displays of underwater themed animatronics. The story introduces a college aged young man who works at this water park named Caden. Caden is known to be a technician and oddly enough, even though Caden fixes the underwater animatronics for work, underwater machines are one of his greatest fears. Later on in the story, he is forced to face his fear by doing his job of going under water and fixing these machines. During this moment he finds children's bones which causes him to suspect his boss, Mr. Martin. Though, later on he finds out the underwater animatronics are alive and are the reason for these undiscovered deaths.

Reading this story by Scott Cawthon and having wondered what the theme could be about, I believe the theme discussed in this story is to not be afraid to confront your fears, for you might have to face them in the future. I believe this is the theme because in the story, Caden was forced to face his fears while uncovering the truth that not only are the machines terrifying to him but they are also alive and murdering children. This has caused him to experience beyond his phobia without being warned.

To me, it seems obvious that this story is a horror and psychological thriller. I really enjoyed the way the book introduced a character and told their background with great detail. The book focuses on the character and his development towards his phobia of underwater machines. It tells us how he was able to develop this weird phobia and what he has done since he gained this odd phobia. So far, I cannot wait to read the rest of the Five Night's at Freddy's collection.

[Rae Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tech is one of those unavoidable things that surrounds us and dictates our entire lives. But...are we in control, or is there more out there in the minds of these AIs than we want to think?

A young man attempts to get over his fear of underwater animatronics and discovers a mystery that could lead to his demise. An afterschool gaming club gets a lot more serious and a lot weirder when a new club president with glassy eyes and bizarrely high charisma stats gets elected out of the blue. A promotion and a new apartment could be a life-changer, but impatience could lead to serious consequences when an IT tech moves into a state-of-the-art apartment that hasn't quite had all the bugs worked out.

This is the second of this cluster of books that has been a swing and one hit and two kinda misses for me. The first story was a home run, to keep with the baseball metaphors, absolutely carrying the fear of tech underwater and the fear that can come paired with deep water and creatures lurking beneath the surface. Damn, I don't have submechanphobia, but I can understand why people might develop this fear after stories like this one. The second story was...odd. Look, everything in FNAF is odd, okay, but this was a level of odd that actually left me confused instead of excitedly curious. Bit of a flat tire, that one. The third story is only the first part of two, and I'm going to hold my full rating until I get a chance to read Part 2 here when the fifth book is released.

All in all, this series is so much stronger than the first attempt at FNAF short stories and I'm pretty happy with it as a whole so far.

[Rowan of Waterdeep · Rating 3 out of 5]

This actually felt appropriate for a middle-grade audience, which is shocking considering the 2nd and 3rd installment (excluding the epilogue/continued short story at the end, which is still pretty gory). Aside from that, I don't actually have much to say about this one (again, aside from the epilogue, which I only enjoyed the last 2 pages of from a story standpoint). The last short story was probably the best one, which also goes for the rest of these books, but I'd say they were all pretty average.

For "Submechanophobia," the twist villain near the end was pretty unnecessary. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, but to include that when the story was already on the verge of wrapping up felt very much like a last minute addition and was jarring to read.

For "Animatronic Apocalypse," again, the twist at the end felt unnecessary. Not necessarily the twist villain--I didn't have any problems with it in this story, nor did I have any problems with the rest of the story, but to end it with one last twist once again felt like an incredibly forced last minute addition.

I liked "Bobbiedots, Part 1." It was pretty interesting and I wouldn't mind reading the second part, but I don't see myself buying the 5th book just to read its continuation (I still enjoyed it the best out of the other two stories).

Overall, this was okay. This is the last FNAF book I own, so now I don't have anymore to read, which is more than okay!

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Submechanophobia is the fourth book in this eight book series. (Woot halfway through the series now!)

Submechanophobia is the first story in this collection. I liked this one a lot. It reminded me of a combination of Fetch and Felix the Shark. Like a couple of the other stories, this one didn't take place in the Pizzaplex, but I'm Freddy's Fantasy Water Park. I like the stories that play out like this one honestly.

Animatronic Apocalypse is the second story in this collection. This story is interesting. It reminds me a bit of the Eerie Indiana episode "Zombies in PJs" in some ways. While not as dark as the other stories, it's definitely interesting enough to keep the pages turning.

Bobbiedots, Part 1 is the third story in this collection. I'm not a big fan of cliffhanger endings, but considering this was part one I assume there's a part 2 close by lol. Like the other two in this book, this one wasn't much in the scares or gore department, but it's an interesting read and I really can't wait to read the other part of it.

The bonus chapter for this book is getting darker and darker. I don't foresee any good ending for this one honestly. There's plenty of psychological fear to go with the gore and the reality the main characters find themselves in though.

Book 4 wasn't near as dark as the three before it. The stories were great in their own ways though and I look forward to book 5. I give this book 5 of 5 Paws.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

submechaniphobia: i really enjoyed this story and the cliffhanger at the end. i thought the whole concept of a “freddys water park” was so funny and actually interesting. as someone who is already scared of swimming, the way they described the animatronics underwater made me not want to step foot in a pool for another 50 years. the cover art is cute i enjoyed this story a lot!

animatronic apocalypse: this was so strange??? like don’t get me wrong i enjoyed it but it’s so weird. this seems to be a trend with these stories. they’re all so weird but strangely enough i’m enjoyed them all. i wish they explained the beetles thing a little more bc why was his dad eating them too? it felt like they just left out an explanation for that and it bothered me. still a really good story though

bobbiedots #1: this was actually a really good story. i enjoyed the whole concept of the story and the fact that it’s the first two part story in this series?? (besides the mimic one ofc). i’m really excited to read the next part of the story as this first one has me really hooked already

extra story: joel got what he deserved!!! poor wade though he didn’t deserve to die as a result of joel’s selfishness. also adrian liking kelly and not lucia 😭😭 this was a really good addition to the story and i’m so excited to read the next part

[Yohans Dark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno... Està difícil reseñar este libro. De nuevo no tiene la fuerza que tienen sus antecesores y tira más hacia historias sin sentido o con finales abruptos, demasiado paranoico incluso para un niño de 12 años.

La primera historia es muy normalita. Un relato corto, sin mucha acción y con cabos sin atar. Es uno de los pocos que terminan bien por completo y eso creó en mi un pequeño shock o tic en mi cerebro (los acontecimientos no suelen acabar nada bien en estos libros)

El segundo relato se puede omitir, no quiero ni opinar sobre ello. Tremenda porquería.

La tercera se llama Bobbiedots, part 1 (si... Es la primera parte nada más) y remonta bastante al libro. Asi que este es el mejor de los tres relatos. Me tiene en ascuas y ya quiero saber como acaba. Por ahora su intriga ha mejorado mucho y puedo vislumbrar A LO LEJOS una pequeña esperanza para el resto de los Pizzaflex.
El protagonista de Bobbiedots, por ahora, me gusta y tiene un desarrollo muy bueno. Aun no hay gore a la vista pero si que se narran unas escenas bastante turbias. Lo ha conseguido, este último me ha enganchado (aunque no quita que me haya decepcionado el resto del libro)

Nota: 5/10

[J.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Submechanophobia

Caden has a great job at Freddy's Fantasy Water Park. But the underwater animatronics seem to have sinister plans of their own.

I really enjoyed this one. The fact that I am very freaked out by being in big areas of water with things in it (whether they are alive or mechanically made to seem alive) made this one all the more creepy for me. Also it has an unexpected ending that I didn't see coming.

Animatronic Apocalypse

The Fazbear Fan Club was always a fun escape from reality for Robbie. That is until the other members and even the school principal begin taking their role playing game too far.

Animatronic Apocalypse added a fun and freaky twist to role playing games. The story overall felt a bit rushed and unfinished though. I also didn't really like the ending all that much.


Bobbiedots

Abe has always wanted to live in Fazplex tower. So he doesn't let a new apartment being marked as off limits stop him. Whats the worst that could be wrong with the apartment?

Definitely a creepy and interesting start. Can't wait to see where part 2 goes.

[laina · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first story was just very slow and underwhelming, honestly i feel like it missed the mark. there’s so much you can do with scary dark water and broken down animatronics , and they barley even scratched the surface . just very underwhelming, i was truly hoping for more due to the cool cover of that sexy broken mermaid lady!! come on bro.. the writing in this book was overall meant for younger kids i think, which is fine ! i just personally prefer writing that appeals to everyone . there is a way to write something kid appropriate while still appealing to a wider audience, but again , just a preference i have!

the second story picked up a bit , i liked how detailed it was and the strange element to it, and the last story was my most favorite! it was paced so well and gets you to really care about the characters, and not to mention it’s super accurate to the details in game . i believe the last story really saved this book for me, and i for sure want to finish that last story , i just hope i don’t have to sit through more underwhelming stories first . also why is there so many typos in this book and overall series ?,, does nobody check anything ???

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Submechanophobia -- This is a nice story.

Animatronic Apocalypse -- This one is noted to me only because it is a like a Goosebumps novella. It contains a lot of "creative" elements which mimic the zaniness of those books. Just to give one example, we read that dirt supposedly helps purge animatronic toxins, and, consequently, a group of children decide to bury themselves in the ground. The twist at the end is also cool, the total lack of clarity around what happened is intriquing; it is a fun story.

The Bobbiedots, Part 1 -- This is the best story in the bunch. I liked the characterization of the Bobbiedots and the fear that is brought about by the Gen. 1s. I feel the protagonist is sympathetic. A lot of it is pretty cute. Like in many stories in the Freddy's universe, the idea of perception and illusion take an enormous role in this story and the sequel. In this case, suspicious around the Bobbiedots, the building and the destruction of trust, etc., are major focuses.

[Max Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first story, "Submechanophobia" delves into an amusement park employee who has to work with underwater animatronics, which he is afraid of. I thought this story was very interesting because he found out that a child died in the tank, and the owner covered it up. The second story, "Animatronic Apocolypse," is a little hard to explain, but I didn't find it all that interesting, because the title was a little misleading. The third story, "Bobbiedots, part 1," tells the story of a technician, who is living in the building of the office he works in, he soon gets a promotion and moves to the "Faz-plex," a huge tower with apartments for everyone that works there. Well, almost everyone. The only apartment Abe can go to is off limits, and he can't move in. So, naturally, Abe moves in, after distracting the receptionist and putting his name in the apartment.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like superbmechanophobia.

Submechanophobia - A mystery story featuring a fnaf water park...and Felix the Shark wasn't in it?? Anyway, this was a good one. Maybe mysteries are a good template for these stories. It felt very game-y.

Animatronic Apocalypse - This was kooky and fun. Loved the weird vibes, and the concept was intriguing. The progression was so spicy, too. Should've been the title of this collection.

Bobbiedots, Part 1 - Holy moly, a part 1?? Ambitious. I loved this one. Fave of the collection. The main character was enjoyable to follow, and the Bobbiedots are quirky and fun. The suspicions, the unseen moments, the accidents, the dialogue. Makes me excited for part 2.

Animatronic mermaids, people eating dirt, and flirty holograms? What's not to love? Best in the series so far.

[Summer Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story was really good, and even got me scared nearing the end of the story, and it had a good ending (9/10). The second story was just.. idk, weird? Like it had a good plot, but the execution of it wasn’t really good, and it got weird halfway through the end, and the ending wasn’t really that good (5/10). The last story was amazing! It starts off with a good story plot, and the way the character develops is also really good! Throughout this whole story, I was thinking of every possibility, and the way that the story is basically cut in half, making you buy another book is low key genius (10/10).

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Submechanophobia: Kind of a weird story but the twist is little clever but really it was kind of boring but still cool imagery with the underwater animatronics.
Animatronic Apocalypse: This one was pretty fun with a pretty unique premise as it basically is about a LARP session gone to far as the events become real. The twist is kind of weak but overall not a bad story.
Boddiedots Part 1: Kind of weird they started a multiple part story like this at the end of the story. But it is an ok story nothing to special.

[Mamit Mamit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Submechaniphobia (the first story) was pretty good in my opinion the main character actually had a personality instead of just being your regular Joe Shmoe. And in the second story you actually get to understand and get to know the characters. Sure the plot was a little weird but atleast the characters wer good. And the last book they gave the bobbiedots a personality and really set up the second part and made me actually excited to read it

[haley ⊹ · Rating 2 out of 5]

here we are again

submechanophobia: a WATER PARK?! since WHEEEEN? I want to go to there..... otherwise this one was kind of typical and boring

animatronic apocalypse: this one bored me, too. the only thing that got me excited was the glamrock chica namedrop lol that's my baby

bobbiedots pt. 1: this one I genuinely enjoyed. I'm curious to see how it ends. I also went wild over the roxy namedrop and the sun/moon lore 😭😭

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I started the first story of this issue of short stories feeling like sure it was interesting if not super scary or original and then just like with the last few Scott has to go and make super memorable and honestly creatively terrifying subsequent stories that make the streak of these pizzaplex novels being fantastic just to keep continuing. I’ll really loved how the third story itself took pace in the actual games pizzaplex as well what a great touch.

[Callie LaBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Plotline: 3/5
World-Building: 3/5
Writing: 2.75/5

Themes: 3/5
Romance: N/A
Spice Factor: 0
Enjoyment Factor: 3/5

Audiobook: 4/5
Review: I think I said this in my last review, but these books are getting increasingly gory and gross. I enjoyed one story; the others were forgettable, or there was never any resolution/ explanation, which is a whole thing in the FNAF universe, but still, the stories just seemed to end.

[Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume a lot! It was very different from the others. We got a murder mystery, what felt like a black & white era episode of the Twilight Zone, and the first half of our first 2-parter!

We also got some background on the origins of Sun & Moon, which I was very excited about.

The only downside to this volume was the epilogue, which continues to play out like a shallow teen slasher movie.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy these books, even though I can never really pay attention in the epilogues. This lineup of stories was pretty interesting, though Submechanophobia and Bobbiebots were definitely far better than Animatronic Apocalypse in my opinion. I felt like that one just had too many unresolved questions within it.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

first story? Brilliant! loved it!
Second story? FNAF D&D where people get possessed kinda (i was bored from the start of this one and ended up skip reading then giving up)

Third story? Honestly couldnt be arsed to read it

final chapter? mostly a load of waffle until you get to the last 2-3 pages