Remember how I said that the lore of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is often confusing at best and downright confusing? Well, because learning some characters’ backstories and motivations doesn’t always come through easily digestible in-game storytelling or book/graphic novel tie-ins. Sometimes, information can be gleaned from mini-games within the main “FNaF” games, often presented in a simplistic 8-bit format that requires a lot of theorizing. “Midnight Driver” is one of those moments.
The mini-game was introduced in “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator” and follows the rules of a fairly standard arcade game. 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 decrease speed. This is the game aspect of the “lore-contained mini-game” classification, but the real story is what happens on the periphery.
There is 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 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 a building who says, “Come on, you know you can’t stay here. Don’t make it harder than this.” After getting kicked out, you get back in your car and drive. Depending on which way you go, you will either be interpreted as a grave or visit your home, where it is implied that you are a bad father to your children.
Eventually, you’ll leave the house and notice behind a broken window and two pairs of footprints, like a pair of rabbits. “Ran to that place again. He’ll be sorry when he comes back,” you say. The minigame ends there and returns to the “Pizzeria Simulator” screen.
