• Comment: Zero reliable sources mean it's probably not notable. Couldn't find sources either when I searched. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ () 17:50, 2 October 2024 (UTC)


Mascot horror is a derivative of the horror fiction genre and is popular among indie game developers. It gained movement in the mid-2010s with the arrival of the Five Nights at Freddy's series. Comparative patterns to mascot horror are already known from the slasher movies of the 1980s, and the creepypasta-based video games of the early 2010s; both of these spun around a recognizable character to advertise their horror-based properties.[1] The distinct characteristics of the subgenre are toy-like villains, an abundance of jumpscares, and appealing to children, them being the primary audience.[2]

Characteristics

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Mascot horror generally consists of these characteristics:

  • A marketable character, who is most of the time the antagonist and face of the game.
  • A child friendly area to explore (a toy factory for example.)
  • Hidden lore, many times in the form of clues, cryptic puzzles, and environmental storytelling.
  • Jumpscares that always play as soon as the player dies, mostly accompanied by a loud distorted scream
  • A featureless protagonist, as many of these games are in first-person perspective.
  • Frequent references to childhood, such as making the protagonist having grown up with the said in-universe media.
  • In some games, it is implied that the antagonist is a human turned into the evil mascot.
  • A gimmic used to solve puzzles and/or fight enemies.

Mascot horror games also become popular through being played by youtubers. Five Nights at Freddy's, for example, achieved some of its popularity through Let's Play videos by famous youtubers such as Markiplier, JackSepticEye and Game theory.

History

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The beginning of mascot horror can be retraced to the early 2010s. At this time, the Slenderman mythos became popular, and susequentaly so did the game based on the mythos, Slender: the Eight Pages and it's sequel, Slender: the Arrival.

on august 8th, Five Nights at Freddy's released. As a horror game, Five Nights at Freddy's steered clear of classic horror elements like blood, gore, and psychological horror in order to appeal to a younger audience. It gained attention through Let's plays, most notably those by famous youtuber Markiplier.[3] In nine years, Markiplier's original Five Nights at Freddy's Let's Play video has received over 111 million views.

The Five Nights at Freddy's series released another 9 games. All of them considered the parents of mascot horror and "Surveillance horror"[2]

After Fnaf, many games released copying the style of a "toy-ish, child friendly monster". Notable examples are Tattletail, Bendy and the Ink Machine, and Hello Neighbor.

After the release of popular mascot horror game "Garten of Banban", people on the internet stated that the mascot horror "formula" was overdone and oversaturated, as many of the current tropes became "cliché" and unoriginal.[4]

In 2024, indie developer and youtuber "Uniquegeese" released a game titled Indigo Park. It became massively succesfull, with people stating it was "a redemption for mascot horror."[5]

Examples [1]

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Name Release

date

Developer, publisher Genre
123 Slaughter Me Street September 28, 2015 Nate Sanders, John Kolbek Survival horror
Amanda the Adventurer April 8, 2022 jpgamedesign, DreadXP Found footage,

Puzzle game

Andy's Apple Farm August 19, 2021 m36games Eldritch horror
Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning March 31, 2018 mystman12, Basically, games! Puzzle game
Bendy and the Ink Machine February 10, 2017 Joey Drew Studios Survival horror
Choo Choo Charles December 9, 2022 Two Star Games Adventure
Duck Season September 14, 2017 Stress Level Zero Action game
Five Nights at Freddy's August 8, 2014 Scott Cawthon Point and click
Garten of BanBan January 6, 2023 Euphoric Brothers Survival horror
Hello Neighbor December 8, 2017 TinyBuild Stealth
My Friendly Neighbourhood July 18, 2023 John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski,

DreadXP

Survival horror
Poppy Playtime October 12, 2021 Mob Entertainment Puzzle
Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion October 24, 2014 Lag Studios Walking

simulator

Tattletail December 28, 2016 Little Flag Software Survival horror

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mascot Horror". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  2. ^ a b "Mascot Horror". Know Your Meme. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  3. ^ "Mascot horror - Glitchwave.com".
  4. ^ "mascot horror". NamuWiki. 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  5. ^ Ciardella, Alexandrea (2024-06-23). "Indigo Park: The New Mascot Horror In Indie Video Games –". thezillennialzine.com. Retrieved 2024-10-01.