What happens when you mix Mirror’s Edge with the movie The Running Man and throw in killer animatronics? You get Finding Frankie: A surprisingly decent, if short, mascot “horror” game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, but has some little issues that prevent it from being anything more than just an OK entry into the ever-growing Mascot-Horror genre.
The basic premise is that you are a contestant on a gameshow set within Frankie’s Parkour Palace with promises of a $5 Million cash prize, I assume tax-free, if you make it to the end. The problem? The show’s titular mascot, Frankie, is killing everyone and you have to try to survive. Very basic story and won’t set the gaming world on fire with deep intellectual dialogue, but it does its job in giving you reason to play the game and reach the end, which is very quick as the game isn’t that long. In fact, calling it a ‘horror’ game seems wrong as it’s surprisingly not that scary, to me at least. Most of the scares in the game are easily telegraphed and you can quickly prepare yourself mentally, so the fear of the unknown is not here. I know I jumped at one moment but that was pretty much it. Even scares from the titular Frankie himself are relegated to certain moments, like chase scenes and if you step “out of bounds” (i.e onto parts you’re not supposed to which are clearly marked), so calling this a ‘horror game’ seems like a stretch. There is one “scare” though that got a major laugh out of me, just for how it sets up the scare, only for it to literally go “not yet” and the scare doesn’t happen. Still, if you’re expecting another FNaF scare-your-pants-off-style game, then you’ll probably be disappointed. I will give the game credit for not being a typical mascot horror game and for actually trying to be something different to stand out from the crowded sea of mascot-horror. The idea of a parkour place/gameshow is pretty unique and I do think the setting the game is set in feels believable enough to feel like it could exist in our world, minus the killer robots. The whole location the game is set in has this sorta demented Chuck-E-Cheese vibe to it mixed with the old McDonald’s Playplace. In fact, to be honest, I like how the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and has its tongue firmly in its cheek throughout. There’s this air of “We know this is a silly concept, so we’re not going to be too serious” that permeates the game and I can't help but fall in love with it. Even the animatronics in the game have unique designs, with Frankie having this sorta 1930’s rubber cartoon look to him that does help him stand out. I even got a bit of a chuckle at his demented facial design. I’ll also add that the player model is nicely designed, though it took me an embarrassingly long while, admittedly, to realize the player is wearing a jumpsuit and not an oversized shirt over a pair of leggings.
Speaking of parkour, that leads me to the gameplay and this is where I’m just a bit mixed in my thoughts. Unlike games like Dying Light and Mirror’s Edge which feature an in-depth parkour system, the one here is very basic and almost old-school in a way: You leap over ledges, “wall-jump” (basically bouncing against trampolines on the wall), and slide under obstacles with one button and that’s it. I’m of two minds on this. Firstly, I’m perfectly fine with the simplistic gameplay as this is an Indie game, so I was not expecting an in-depth mechanic. As someone who enjoyed Mirror’s Edge but did find the controls to be, at times, a bit frustrating, it was a breath of fresh air just being able to press one button and rock and roll all night, even though the grappling mechanic took a bit of timing to get right as, sometimes, it didn’t work and I ended up having to re-do a part of the run. However, on the other hand, the parkour itself is very basic, meaning you won’t be doing the more insane moves you see most who do parkour are able to pull off. This does show through a bit when you have to race around in areas hitting circuit boxes in time in order to progress, though these are easy to get through, save for one early area but that was a fault on my part, not the game. Still, I don’t mind the simplistic gameplay and being able to pull off successful maneuvers in one-go was nothing short of cathartic. Heck, I love how you can grind the rails that are in certain areas like a blue streak, though I always wondered if that is plausible in real-life. Unrealistic stuff aside, while the parkouring feels a bit weak at times, it really wasn’t enough to break or ruin the game for me.
However, half-way through the game, a level pops up that would’ve been OK and a nice change of pace, if it wasn’t for one tiny issue. So, the level in question sees you traversing a dark area to activate six items in order to open a door, all the while being chased by another animatronic. In order to find said items, you have this device with a built-in radar that detects where they are, as well as a flashlight that acts more like a flashbulb then anything. On paper, this is an OK level and has an interesting premise but, here though, there is one major issue, on consoles at least, and that is you can’t turn the gamma up at all, making the level a bit of a chore to get through. On PCs, you can easily adjust the brightness levels to where you can see where you need to go, so I’m not sure why the console port lacks the option. Nearly every game I play on both PCs and consoles has it and I understand consoles not having some options PC games have, but seeing the basic brightness option missing is downright perplexing. Again, if you’re playing this on PC, this level will be easy to get through, but on consoles it may take a few or so dozen tries.
I’ll be frank: Mascot-Horror games are, to be fair, a dime-a-dozen and I really don’t see many gamers outside of fans of this genre playing and enjoying this title. Personally, I did enjoy this game and I do think it’s one of more unique Mascot-Horror games on the market, even with its faults. I’d say if you got some time to kill and want something good to play over the weekend, then check this out. It’s relatively short, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome and, hey, sometimes a short game is more fun than a game that takes months to beat.
