TEALERLAND Review
My first ever FNAF fan game review is on a game called TEALERLAND because it’s the most recent FNAF fan game I’ve played. Also, yes, it is spelled in all caps like that on the game page. If the name “Tealer” sounds familiar to you, it’s because TEALERLAND acts as a sort of reboot or reimagining for the Five Nights at Tealers series, which was made by the same creator of TEALERLAND. The creator of this game, known as NeeTroo, said in a Reddit response that once they learned 3D modeling, they chose to delete the original series because they were unhappy with it. Upon its release in 2021, this game was seen as one of the best FNAF fan games and is highly rated on Game Jolt to this day. The game is definitely one of my favorite fan games, and I can honestly say it's one of the best too.
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TEALERLAND’s story is somewhat mysterious. The character you play as in TEALERLAND is David Artel, a man attempting to track down his brother, Teal Artel, who has been missing ever since the two brothers created and eventually abandoned their amusement park, Tealerland. At the start of the game, you receive a call from your brother telling you to look for him at the now abandoned Tealerland. Upon reaching the park, you enter an underground facility and quickly learn that the old animatronics are active and wanting to kill you. You’re then forced to survive five hours (this game's version of nights), with each hour becoming more difficult than the last.
After the completion of each hour, Teal talks about how the animatronics could be modified which reveals that he is the one controlling them. After the fifth hour, Teal tells you that he has combined all the animatronics together. You are then put into the game’s finale, where you have to destroy the animatronic amalgamation while defending yourself. At the very end of the game, after the game's final hour, you reach the surface and confront Teal before taking his life. David then leaves his mask and ax on the ground as the police approach before finally disappearing. Throughout the game, there are a few lore pages hidden around that go into more detail about the story, but I’ll let you look into that yourself if you’re interested. Overall, I found the story to be quite fun and interesting, but a little hard to follow without reading a few lore pages. I really do like that David turns the tables on Teal at the end and it’s always nice to see games set up potential sequels or prequels, especially FNAF fan games with decent lore.
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TEALERLAND’s presentation is definitely of high quality. First impressions are everything, as people say, and upon opening up the game, you're greeted with a brown-tinted, rainy background, setting up the vintage style and tone of the game. In the corner of the main menu is a simplistic, yet sleek and vintage-looking title that says Tealerland. This, along with the menu's great music, creates a very good first impression for me. They have fully fleshed-out animations for almost everything as well. TEALERLAND’s art style is definitely unique because it uses 2D backgrounds with 3D models, and somehow it works. The animatronic designs definitely give off a vintage and uncanny feeling that matches the game’s atmosphere quite well. However, I personally think that some of the animatronics could benefit from a bit more detail because some of them don’t look like they’ve aged at all when they’re supposed to be vintage and withered.
One small gripe I have with the backgrounds is that they have a weird blur effect around the sides of the screen and can even lack detail at times, but it kind of gives the game its own identity, I suppose. One thing I really like about the game is its awesome sound design. The ambient sounds are great, and add more to the creepy atmosphere. The sounds have to be on point because you're forced to listen to audio cues a lot in this game. Some of the animatronics have voice lines, and sometimes you’ll hear them echoing down the hall, which is a nice little touch. All of what I have described about the presentation makes for a very nice immersive experience.
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TEALERLAND’s gameplay is quite enjoyable. It can be challenging at times while still being fun. At the start of the game, you do a very short walkthrough section that doesn’t add much to the game other than some story. I personally love it when a game does this, because it allows you to get more familiar with your environment. At the end of the walkthrough section, you play a minigame where you have to descend a ladder without getting jumped by Tealer, which is one of the animatronics. After that, the game gives you an office tutorial.
From its easy-to-learn mechanics to the unique perk system, the Office's gameplay is super enjoyable and doesn’t get stale. The office gameplay goes by hours instead of nights, with each hour introducing new game mechanics. The office is split into three rooms. The room you’ll be in most of the time is the office. In there, you control something called the T-Lure, which is used to lure certain animatronics into containment. Once you contain them, you check them off a checklist you have and then check off leave to end the hour. The next room over is the hallway, which is required to pass into the control room and stare at certain animatronics. The final room is the control room, which has a medical kit and a control panel used to stop the T-Lure from getting viruses. The T-Lure only gets a virus if it’s within proximity of certain animatronics. If the T-Lure gets a virus, you’re screwed because it’s an instant kill. Speaking of which, the reason the med kit exists is because not every jump scare will instantly kill you but damage you instead, allowing you to have more chances. I find this to be a nice change of pace from other FNAF fan games.
Anyway, after the first couple hours, the game will introduce a generator that has to be refilled in order to lure any animatronics. If the generator runs out, you must use T-Lure to refill it. For the final hour, the gameplay is changed up and plays out like a boss battle. You have to lure the amalgamation of animatronics into rooms with generators in them and blow up each generator in order to damage it while also defending yourself against it. After that, you complete the story mode of the game and unlock the extras menu. You also unlock custom game hours that add two more animatronics on top of the five you go up against. The game is pretty clear with the animatronics mechanics, and there are a lot, so I’ll let you figure them out.
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In conclusion, I find TEALERLAND to be an amazing FNAF fan game with a mysterious story, fun gameplay, and amazing presentation. The game gives off a classic FNAF fan game feel with classic sit-and-survive style gameplay while also feeling new and unique. TEALERLAND is without a doubt one of the most fun FNAF fan games I have ever played and will continue to be one of my favorite FNAF fan games. With that being said, I rate TEALERLAND a reasonable 9/10.
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