(This is an update to the following article: https://gamejolt.com/p/subjective-list-fnaf-world-fan-game-recommendations-my-personal-ssyj59zj)

There is something weird about reviewing the same exact game three times in a row. Why am I doing this again? It's because a patch has just been released (1.1.0) that should, in theory, solve most problems I brought up in my previous review.

This feels really bittersweet, in a way. I've never seen a game go on such a roller coaster.

The patch fixes most issues. The game is actually enjoyable to play now. I can't believe I'm saying this, but... this is going in Highly recommended. Congrats.

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The journey

Let me, first off, express my utter surprise in finding myself willingly placing something that I myself demoted into a higher category. This feels nice. It feels nice to do this and to mean it. Let me mirror my previous review, point to point:

• the maps got fixed. The ones that just felt like a linear path now spring with a bit more life. They feel a little more alive, varied. They look nicer. I like them now

• the battles are fine now. More on that when I'll tackle the difficulty

• the models look good. The lighting has been fixed. They look really nice now. I actually felt a little excited when I saw them in action

• the story has still one or two typos, but again, who cares about that?

• self-inserts are still there, but it's negligible, because check this next point out

• Very Hard mode is now possible. It feels good. You can beat it. You can choose between having the starters level 5 + Freddy knows Unscrew (the route I chose), or Headstart: Strength + three bytes (Gnat, Mini-Pod, Mini-Reaper). This changes things. The only challenge becomes the first Auto-Chipper guarding the key. I managed to beat it with a bit of trouble. It felt... good. It felt really good. And I got through Area 1. It feels... rewarding. I can't describe it exactly. It just made me happy to be honest, like when you see your favorite sports team win. Custom Mode is also by extension possible thanks to Freddy's Unscrew. The Modes are beatable now. And it's fun to beat them

What happened? How did we end up here? How is it that just a few tweaks made the game go from being not recommended to highly recommended? It's not like the game changed, right? But it did. It did change a lot. Because the balance in a game is everything.

Take Mario, for instance. If the jump wasn't so perfectly calibrated, but was a little floatier, or a little heavier, or more stilted, more precise... it wouldn't be Mario. Mario is what it is also because of how he jumps. Tweaking the jump to perfection changes the whole game. Sure, the game's technically mostly the same, but the main gameplay loop changed drastically from this one simple modification.

You know, it feels oddly nice. I started reviewing games as a means of being able to tell and discuss with people what I thought about them, since GameJolt is one of the only places where people can talk about FNaF World freely without being considered... anti-social, to put it lightly.

I never expected to be able to talk to so many wonderful devs and users, or to see devs following me. Getting to chat with you has been and will still be one of the most wonderful aspects of this community.

To see that somehow the main dev actually listened to what I said and implemented it feels... unexpected. It feels nice, but never would I have thought of that when I logged into this site the first time.

And to see the Easter Egg implemented on the Very Hard mode buff selection screen felt nice. It made me chuckle a bit, you'll understand what I mean if you play.

All of this is bittersweet, because my wrapper and my VM can't handle the game well. A lot of times a move simply didn't register and that cost me the fight. It's a little laggy. It's understandable, it's a big game. But it's nice. It has been really nice. I still can progress a little bit but I won't be able to go further than I did last time. And that really is bittersweet, isn't it? To have contributed to a game you cannot play in its entirety?

Thank you. Thanks for listening, both @BALLONYOU and you, the reader. I hope we can continue to chat as we did and that I'll get to review, propose and keep going in this amazing community. I really can't wait to see what is in store next.