The Serenade

The Serenade is a Five Nights at Freddy’s fan-game created by Caelywobbles, acting as a reboot of one of his oldest games, X: Eclipse.

The basic concept stays the same, however the gameplay has been completely reworked from scratch and the lore has been rewritten. The game was released on 13/5/2020 for PC, and was later ported to mobile devices.

Steam Desc.
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Gameplay
Just like the original Five Nights at Freddy’s series, The Serenade consists of five main nights that the player must complete, from the First Night to the Last Night. There is also an unlockable Custom Night, but this is not canon to the main gameplay. Nights last from 12am to 6am, and a grandfather clock can be heard distantly with each passing in-game hour. They are able to use their mouse cursor to look around the room they’re in, as well as click to interact with objects where possible. The player is situated within an aged wooden house, dark and abandoned, and each night the room they are currently in changes to another room in the house, with new mechanics and different animatronics hunting the player. The only mechanic that carries over from night to night is the player’s candle, which acts as a flashlight-type mechanic to help the player see; where their cursor moves, the candle’s light follows. However, the candle has a fuel meter at the top right of the screen, and as it drains the light will get dimmer. Once it runs out, the player must relight it with “R”, although this will take a few seconds. Blowing out the candle using “F” will recharge the fuel meter, and can also protect the player from animatronics; but without the candle, they are left in pitch black darkness, unable to see anything.

Each night, the player will also receive a short note which they can read at any time by pressing SPACE. Written on tattered yellow paper, it cryptically hints at what the player needs to do in order to properly defend themselves.

Animatronics
In total, there are five active animatronics, alongside two exclusive to the Last Night - totalling up to seven main game animatronics.

SPOILERS

The First Night
For the First Night, the player is situated in the living room, sat on an armchair in front of the old television. There is a button on the television for turning it on and off, and onscreen is a static-filled camera depicting a dark room with the Puppet’s gift box inside of it. There is also a door to the player’s left which they can run back and forth between, and to their right is a small table with some Fazbear merchandise on it, and a painting on the wall.

Alongside Stringless Puppet, characters active on this night are Eclipsed Bonnie and Eclipsed Chica. Watching the Puppet’s gift box on the TV is very important, as she’ll slowly crawl out of her box while the player isn’t watching her. This counts both as averting your view from the TV, and turning it off. Watching her will make her regress back into her box.

Bonnie will approach the player from the hallway outside the left door; there are two sides that he can approach from. Holding your candle on opposite sides of the hallway can lure him there to slow him down, but once he’s up in your face, you must blow out your candle and sit in your armchair, listening out for when he leaves. Meanwhile, Chica will enter from a door behind the player, not visible to them. Listening out for sound cues like floorboards will tell the player her location depending on how distant she is; once a door is heard opening, they must switch off the TV to avoid making sound, then wait for the door to creak shut again.

Note
"Use the candle to trick the bunny back and forth in the hallway. Blow it out when he’s close."

"If the chicken opens the door, turn off the screen so she can’t hear."

"Don’t take your eyes off the puppet for too long.’’"

"Good luck. - J"

The Second Night
For the Second Night, the player is located in the study, with a desk right in front of them, a window behind it that looks out on a stormy night and a large tree, and two doors located on either side of them, which they can run back and forth between. On top of the desk is a typewriter in front of the player, as well as a desk fan and some crumpled pieces of paper. There are also shelves beside the doors with miscellaneous Freddy’s-related items on them.

Alongside Stringless Puppet, characters active on this night are Eclipsed Freddy and Eclipsed Foxy. The Puppet herself will lower down a plushie from one of her strings behind the window every so often; these plushies can be one of the main four characters, and to avoid the Puppet smashing through the glass, the player must quickly type that character’s name on the typewriter so she leaves.

Freddy will constantly wander between each of the two doors, and you can tell where he’s approaching by listening to the sounds he makes (e.g. footsteps). He will then continuously attempt to try and aggressively bust open the door; the player must run to the door and hold CTRL to hold it shut against him until the banging stops. If he does manage to bust the door open, the player can blow out their candle and wait to hear him leave. Meanwhile, Foxy will occasionally peek through the floorboards or stick one of his hooks between them. If the player runs to the corresponding door to where he is, he’ll pull them under and kill them; you must check the floor and hold your candle on him until he retreats.

Note
"Hold the door shut to keep the bear out if he knocks. If he gets in, blow the candle and wait."

"The fox will try to trip you from the floorboards. Use your candle to make him retreat."

"If you see one of the puppet’s toys, put its name on the typewriter."

"Good luck. - J"

The Third Night
For the Third Night, the player hides in the kitchen, sitting on a stool opposite the kitchen counter. The kitchen is noticeably bigger than other rooms, with an open space behind the counter, two doors to either side of the player and a window behind that looks out upon the backyard. They are also able to flick down to view a cabinet below them, and on the table in front of them is an empty plate and a small Chica plush.

Alongside Stringless Puppet, characters active on this night are Eclipsed Chica and Eclipsed Foxy. The Puppet will start in a shed on the far end of the backyard and slowly crawl her way towards the player; watching her progress will slow her down. Once she’s right behind the glass, the player will hear her distorted music box play. You must blow out your candle until you hear the music box fade.

At the start of the night, Chica will enter through a door on the opposite side of the kitchen and continue roaming around all night, and the player must track the appearance of their Chica plush to tell what mood she’s in. If the plush’s eyes disappear, you have to avoid shining the candle directly in Chica’s face wherever she is and find Chica’s cupcake, which will be hiding either somewhere in the room or in the cabinet below the player. Holding your candle on it will cause it to retreat. Meanwhile, Foxy will move between the left and right doors, and you can tell where he’s moving as he walks past in the window. Once he charges in, the player must hold the candle on his face until he moves to another random place, and continuously repeat this process until he leaves.

Note
"Leave the chicken be - unless the plush changes eyes. If so, find her cupcake before it’s too late."

"The fox patrols outside. If he enters, keep your light on him, no matter where he moves."

"The puppet approaches the window. Once she’s close, blow the candle."

"Good luck. - J’’’"

The Fourth Night
For the Fourth Night, the player takes refuge in the bedroom, which seems to be the room of a little girl. The room is decorated with a variety of 80s toys and posters themed for girls, some Fazbear-branded, and the player is sat on the bed in the corner. There is a chest of drawers directly ahead of them with a mirror and door beside it, a closet to the right, and a window at the back of the room that isn’t visible. The player has the ability to run back and forth between the door, as well as hide under the bed by flicking downwards.

Alongside Stringless Puppet, characters active on this night are Eclipsed Freddy and Eclipsed Bonnie. By holding CTRL whilst on the bed, the player can sleep to recharge their sleep meter; a new mechanic exclusive to this night. As the sleep meter decreases, the player will start experiencing hallucinations of the Puppet in their room (examples can be found in Trivia), before she eventually kills them if the meter reaches zero.

Freddy roams the house and can attack from the door and window. The player can check the door to see if Freddy is approaching; he’ll usually walk up and down the stairs and past in the landing. However, if he turns and begins walking towards you, you must hide under the bed. He will then poke his head under and search for the player, who must turn the other way repeatedly until he gives up and leaves. If his reflection is spotted peeking through the window in the mirror, you must blow out the candle instead. Meanwhile, Bonnie will hide in the closet; there is a pink toy car on the floor which the player can push into the closet to test if he’s there. If it drives back out, you’re safe; if rustling is heard and the car doesn’t return, the player must hide under the bed and - instead of turning away - hold the candle on Bonnie’s face to scare him as he searches.

Note
"If the bear spots you in the hall, hide and turn away if he looks under. If he’s at the window, blow out the light."

"Use the toy to test if the bunny’s in the closet. If he is, hide and use the candle to make him retreat."

"Make sure to get some rest, or the puppet might start playing games with you."

"Good luck. - J"

The Last Night
The Last Night takes place in the house’s basement. The player is sat in a dark, musty and claustrophobic office with a desk in front of the player, two doors to either side, some shelves behind them (can be viewed by flicking downwards) and a vent on the wall ahead of them. The room itself is lined with portraits on the walls and full of boxes, and on the desk is a cracked monitor, an old fan and a Fredbear plush. By clicking on the monitor, the player can view the battered camera system. Lined along the bottom are 6 basement cam buttons, and the player can also click an icon in the top right to view the ventilation radar. Two of the cameras are right outside your doors.

Alongside Stringless Puppet, characters active on this night are the Bitten and Crooked Man. On the shelf behind the player, there are four music boxes; the purple one in the middle (Schubert’s Serenade) must be played throughout the night in order to progress the time, and the other three are labelled by numbers. If the Puppet’s music box is heard distantly, the player must find her on the cams and see what number is displayed, then play the corresponding music box to avoid death; however, only one music box can be played at a time.

Crooked Man is the main antagonist on this night, and can enter from any of the entrances. He will make his way through the basement towards one of your doors, and the player must make usage of the audio lure to lure him away from your office, which can be triggered by pressing “Play Audio” on any of the cams. However, if intense static is suddenly heard, that means he’s charging to your office; you must listen out for what side he’s coming from, and shine your candle directly in his face when he peeks through. Furthermore, he’ll sometimes enter the ventilation and crawl towards the office vent; the player must use vent seals - activated through the radar - to stop him in his tracks. The audio and vent seals both require 6-second recharges after usage.

Meanwhile, the Bitten acts as a distraction from Happy Man; he can appear slumped over anywhere in your office, or on any of the cameras. If he appears in the office, the player must blow out the candle until childish giggling is heard; if he appears in the cams, the player must simply switch camera to avoid death. If he jumpscares the player, he won’t kill them, but instead temporarily stun them.

Note
"Get out before he finds you too."

"- J"

Custom Night
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Shadow Nights
The Shadow Nights are hidden nights accessed via completing certain requirements within the nights themselves. They are essential in obtaining Happiest Day at the end of the game.

Shadow Nights require you to complete certain objectives in order to win, with the exception of STAGE_01. After completing, you will be rewarded with one of the cake slices required for Happiest Day, and sent back to the beginning of the night you were previously doing.

The Redeemers
The Redeemers are mysterious, shadowy entities who hunt you on the Shadow Nights instead of the Eclipsed. There are five of them, combined with the main game animatronics to total to twelve animatronics.

BALLOONS
The first Shadow Night. Can be accessed on the First Night by double-clicking a BB drawing on the wall in the Puppet’s camera.

To beat this night, the player must beat the game on the arcade machine in front of them, titled “BB’s Air Adventure”. You play as Balloon Boy in a tiny plane, and can move up, down, left and right using WASD, as well as shoot by holding down SPACE. Different-coloured Ballboys with varying amounts of health will appear as enemies, and coloured balloons will spawn as power-ups (red for double-shot, green for triple-shot and purple for ultra-shot). There are three total “waves” of enemies which increase in difficulty, and the player can track their progress via a progress bar on the top of the screen.

However, the player can also flick downwards to pause the game and view the arcade room behind them. Redeemer BB will creep up on the player from behind, and his location can be determined by the distorted greetings and laughs he makes. Using the flashlight with CTRL will scare him off. However, as the waves progress, more Redeemer BBs will begin to gather around the room; and if you’re caught by a BB or die in the arcade game, it will result in a jumpscare. At the end of the third wave comes a boss battle against the giant Browboy, who will periodically fire poison balloons at the player or spawn minions. Once Browboy has been beaten, the player can collect the cake slice remaining in his wake and beat the night.

KIDS_COVE
The second Shadow Night. Can be accessed on the Second Night by double-clicking Mangle’s mask on the shelf beside the right door.

For this night, the player is located in a cramped maintenance room, surrounded by open vents on all four sides of them as well as one above them. By flicking their mouse to the sides of their screen, they can view each vent and hold CTRL to shine their flashlight down it. To beat the night, the player is required to screw each vent cover back onto the vents, by holding down on each of the four screws on the cover one-by-one to slowly fix it back in.

However, Redeemer Mangle will attempt to attack the player from each of the five vent openings, and while fixing on the vent covers will give her less places to attack, she will assemble herself as the night progresses and therefore become more aggressive. By listening out for her clambering to tell where she is, or by using their flashlight (although this has a chance to anger her), you can press Z to shock her. Shocking her in a vent she’s not in will simply lure her there, and each shock requires a 15-second recharge. Once the player has fixed back on all the vent covers, they can collect the cake slice that appears in a random vent and beat the night.

PARTY_TIME
The third Shadow Night. Can be accessed on the Third Night by clicking on the shadow cupcake that will randomly spawn once instead of Eclipsed Chica’s cupcake.

In this night, the player is located in a party room in the FNaF2 pizzeria, with a door directly ahead of them, a vent down to their left and two tables. They can shine their flashlight by holding CTRL and press S to open a small panel displaying a map of the pizzeria. To beat the night, you must reboot all of the pizzeria’s cameras one-by-one by holding down on the map buttons and reaching 100%.

However, Redeemer Toy Chica stalks around the pizzeria, and will try to get into the party room through either the door or the vent. Underneath the map on the player’s panel are two extra buttons - one which toggles the main door, and another which closes the vent door. If Toy Chica is seen at either entrance, the player must use their panel to lock her out, although each door can only be closed for a maximum of 10 seconds each. Also, shadow cupcakes will continuously spawn hidden around the room; you must use your flashlight to look around the room for them and scare them away. Once all cams have been rebooted, the player can collect the cake slice that Toy Chica appears offering them and beat the night.

STAGE_01
The fourth and final Shadow Night. Can be accessed on the Fourth Night by entering the code “395248” into the padlock on the chest of drawers.

This night is different, as instead of completing a set objective, the player is required to reach 6AM just like the maingame nights. They are situated in a relatively small security office inside Fredbear’s Family Diner, with a window and desk ahead of them, two doors - one to the window’s right, one to the player’s right - and a non-visible vent to the left. By flicking downwards, the player can pull up their camera tablet; however, the cameras aren’t state of the art and don’t automatically update if an animatronic moves, requiring you to do it manually with the “Re-Render” button. By pressing “S”, you can equip a springlock mask, but the four springlocks each have a chance of loosening suddenly while wearing it. If this happens, you must hold down to crank it until it is stable again, and not move whilst doing so to avoid death.

Redeemer Fredbear and Redeemer Spring Bonnie will both make an appearance here. They’ll both begin on the Stage, and take similar paths around the building; however, Bonnie is able to enter the vents. Watching both on the cams will slow them down, but they’ll become more aggressive as the night goes on. If Bonnie appears peeking through the window, the player must hide under their springlock mask until he leaves; this is exactly the same for Fredbear, except he’ll walk straight to the door, giving you less time to react. Fredbear can also enter from the right door, requiring you to hold your flashlight on him - using CTRL - until he retreats. Meanwhile, if Bonnie is seen in the vent cam, the player must click “Enable Heating” to drive him out; keeping the heating on for too long though will cause the cameras to overheat and crash, meaning a 30-second reboot.

Once the player reaches 6AM, they’ll be rewarded with their final cake slice, beating the night.

Bad Ending
If the player completes none or only a few of the Shadow Nights and does not collect the cake slices, they will then receive the game’s Bad Ending. Upon completing the Last Night, the 6AM animation will mysteriously not play. Instead, the player will be met with a black, static-filled screen for a few seconds, before an image of up to five crying children will appear. The number will decrease depending on how many Shadow Nights have been completed, but the fifth will always stay. Then, the image flips to that of a 2D Crooked Man, staring at the player from the darkness.

Crooked Man then speaks through text: "Hello, Maryann." "I’m Mr Afton. But I’m sure you remember very well who I am." "It’s interesting, seeing you again after all these years. You look just the same." "But who am I kidding? You hate me, after all. I took everything from you." "I made your husband get invested in that wretched business of his." "I stole away your daughter and crushed Henry’s dreams into little, tiny pieces." "The only thing I suppose I didn’t take… was your life. Hahahaha…" "...I know what you think. You think I am a sick, twisted, deranged man." "I had a family once too. I had a life. And dreams. And a business." "I also had a best friend. That best friend ditched me in the dirt, left me to rot, sauntered off with his business and his family." "I was jealous. That’s what made me do those things. I was jealous your husband had a loving family, and all his hopes and dreams had come true - unlike my own." "That’s why I did the things I did. Do I regret them? ...Yes, sometimes." "But none of it matters to me anymore. I don’t care whether those kids get to have their happiest day or not. And neither do I care for you, or poor Charlie." "Your husband took away everything I had. So now, I’ll make sure I take away what’s left of his lifeless family. Starting with you." "You’re not getting your happiest day, Maryann. I’m going to keep you down here forever. No matter how many times they burn me." "Because I always come back." "And" "I" "always" "will."

Following this last line, Crooked Man proceeds to jumpscare the player, crashing their game. Upon restarting, they will unlock a purple star on the game’s title screen.

Happiest Day
If the player completes all of the Shadow Nights and therefore collects all the cake slices, they will unlock their Happiest Day. Upon completing the Last Night, the player’s screen will be filled with static, and then cut to a dark, abandoned office - seemingly within the FNaF1 pizzeria. The building seems very decayed, and the player is able to roam around, clicking on doors to move between rooms. They are required to keep walking until they reach the restrooms, where they can enter the safe room through an open door. Parts of the FNaF1 animatronics can be seen scattered on the floor.

Upon entering the safe room, the screen cuts to them standing in front of Crooked Man, who is inside a withered Spring Bonnie suit and laughing hysterically. Suddenly, the springlocks trigger, and the player then witnesses a gruesome death as blood leaks out of the suit and Crooked Man is impaled and crushed to death inside the suit. He then slumps over on the floor, and Springtrap is born. The screen cuts to black.

It then cuts back inside of an 8-bit minigame… remarkably similar to Happiest Day in FNaF3, the only difference being you play as Shadow Bonnie. As you glitch towards the table at the end of the room, the player will see the animatronics’ masks falling to the ground, with the completed cake on the table. Sprites of the Redeemers can be seen, watching in the background. Only the Puppet remains, who turns to the player and speaks through voice and text: "Thank you, Mommy. You helped free my friends. You helped put Joseph back together." "I’m sorry for hurting you. The others didn’t recognize you. Neither did I." "But I can’t come to heaven with you just yet." "There is still much left to do. The bad man is still out there." "...You can go now. I’ll say hi to Daddy for you." "I love you." Following this line, Shadow Bonnie looks down in sorrow, and then her head falls to the ground, a purple balloon floating away where she stood. The Puppet then fades away.

As the credits roll afterwards, Shadow Bonnie can be seen curled up, crying in the darkness. Upon returning to the title screen, the player is awarded with a golden star.

Extras Menu
The extras menu is automatically unlocked after completing the game’s Bad Ending. However, some features are only viewable after completing Happiest Day as well.

Animatronics
Here, the player can view all the game’s animatronics. They can also zoom in on their body and pan the image with their cursor. After completing Happiest Day, the Redeemers will also be unlocked.

Huge thanks to Mystic Thy Boye for the artwork!

Jumpscares
Here, the player can view all of the animatronics’ jumpscares. They have the option to change the jumpscare speed, as well as toggle the night the jumpscare is from.

Behind the Scenes
On this page, the player can view images from the game’s development, as well as notes on scrapped content and the making of Eclipsed Freddy’s model. The notes are as follows:


 * The game was originally intended to be free-roam, with the player completing different objectives each night with the core candle mechanic staying the same. However, I eventually changed my mind and decided to opt for semi-free roam.
 * Once I’d made the switch to semi-free roam, the original night plan was much different. The Bedroom would’ve been on the Third Night, while the Study and Kitchen were completely absent - instead replaced by a Hallway on the Second, and a Library on the Fourth. There were also originally meant to be two animatronics per night, but I cranked this up to three.
 * In terms of characters, they actually mostly stayed the same throughout development. However, I did consider bringing back an enemy concept from the original X: Eclipse sequel, called “Pangaea” - a molten amalgamation of the Toys. I scrapped this after rewriting the game’s lore, as it wouldn’t have fit in well.
 * I also originally planned an “Eclipsed BB” character exclusive to the Custom Night, as a nod to the original game’s Suicide BB. This went unused as Redeemer BB already existed.
 * Finally, the game’s working title during development was “Jeremy’s Lament”, as Jeremy Fitzgerald played an important role in X: Eclipse. However, Jeremy was eventually written out of this game’s lore entirely, so I changed the title to what it is currently.

Night Selection
Here, the player has the option to replay all five nights from the game and customize their difficulty from “Easy”, “Normal” and “Hardcore”. Once Happiest Day has been completed, the Shadow Nights are also unlockable for replayability.

Diary Entries
Throughout the game, there are hidden ‘’’diary entries’’’ found usually within the Shadow Nights - with the exception of one. These diary entries can be accessed and read from the Extras menu, and give further insight into the game’s lore.

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Trivia
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