Hello Neighbor PS4 Review

Hello Neighbor  
Developer: Dynamic Pixels
Publisher: tinyBuild Games
Reviewed On: PlayStation 4
Available On: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android

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Quiet, suburban neighborhood. Puzzles with a retro flair. Creepy neighbor. Potential crime committed by said creepy neighbor. These are just a few of the elements that make up the foundation of independent developer Dynamic Pixel’s stealth horror game, Hello Neighbor. Players are put into the shoes of an unnamed boy, who witnesses something suspect through his neighbor’s window and, through a series of puzzles, must find a way to break into the house, then into the basement, without being caught. Part stealth, part oh crap run-for-your-life, Hello Neighbor is unsettling and even heart-pounding in all the right moments. The longer you play, though, the more it becomes apparent this interesting concept is severely muddled by awkward gameplay that works against the player in all the wrong moments.

Hello Neighbor is broken into three major acts- the first of them being trying to sneak into the Neighbor’s small house to access the basement, where all his dark secrets are supposedly being kept. In the second, the Neighbor’s house and its yard have expanded into a fortress and players must traverse the interior and exterior in order to find their way out; and in the third act, the house has transformed into something of Wonderland proportions, with a rollercoaster wrapped around the now-massive, and massively-contorted house.

Successfully completing each act is dependent on a series of puzzles, and this is where Hello Neighbor simultaneously shows its faults and its triumphs. The entire house is, in itself, one large puzzle. Locked doors need to be opened. Pulling certain paintings off the wall reveal new pathways. Twisting nozzles on pipes set other events in motion which lead to players acquiring shovels, important keys, and flashlights. It’s a never-ending fun house, whose unique design demands a little bit of exploration and a thoughtful approach and keen eye from the player.

One of the biggest issues with this, though, is overtime the house becomes increasingly frustrating to navigate due to an unpredictable AI Neighbor, controls that don’t always cooperate when you need them most, and because some of the puzzles feel, quite simply, illogical. Advancing through an Act by accident can be just as, if not more common than doing it because you possess actual puzzle-solving skills. “How was anyone supposed to figure that out?” became a frequently-mumbled question during my play through, after falling into rooms or picking up items I didn’t mean to grab. Due to the sensitive controls, I also found it difficult to stay balanced on smaller objects like boxes and ladders.  The ladder propped up against the house in the picture below, for example, may or may not be the bane of my existence.

The Neighbor adapts to your gameplay, becoming smarter each time you break into his home. Say you come in through the front door and are captured, the next time you try to enter there will be cameras and an alarm in the entryway. Similarly with the windows- if you break in through a window and are captured, there may be boards across them the next time, forcing you to find another way in.

The design of the house is one of the most appealing aspects (and one of my personal favorites) of Hello Neighbor. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the layout of the house in each act, it’s easy to fall into a rhythm and adjust your plan of attack for entering and maneuvering through its hallways and rooms. Even when you are captured by the Neighbor, starting over for another go is almost addicting the first few times, because of the strong desire to try new routes and new methods of stealth.

Since you’re bound to be captured at least a few times, one of the great things about Hello Neighbor is the game will re-start you with the same items in your inventory, and any progress that was made inside the house (say you unlocked a door, or a grate), won’t be lost. That being said, attempting to break in again can become frustrating, as the Neighbor’s patterns are wholly unpredictable. Though my progress through each stage of the three Acts was often met with a mix of accomplishment and sheer relief, I found the payoff at the end didn’t quite match the struggle necessary to achieve it.

For the most part, the Neighbor wanders around his home aimlessly, until you do something that catches his attention and causes him to chase after you. In some instances, though, even when my stealth was at its best or when I hid in the taller cabinets littered around the house, the Neighbor rushed in to find me. Other times, I’d be right behind him and he wouldn’t even turn around. It’s that level of inconsistency, coupled with the frustrating gameplay, that should make some players approach Hello Neighbor with a bit of hesitance.

There is something to be said, though, for my desire of wanting to keep playing. After being caught by the Neighbor several times, often back-to-back due to his unpredictability, I’d set my dualshock down, frustrated, and give the game a break until the following day. I’d return to Hello Neighbor on day three, just as determined as I was on day one. But even in spite of the awkward gameplay and accidentally progressing through the Act on luck, the replay value for Hello Neighbor was unexpectedly strong.

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Final Thoughts:

Hello Neighbor is a decent game that, unfortunately, just feels at odds with itself. It’s the sort of game where many of its negative qualities can also be spun into positive ones, except for the wonky gameplay which mostly works against the player. Its colorful, retro-style aesthetics add a hint of whimsy to the otherwise dreary narrative at its core, and you may surprise yourself returning to the game more often than expected.

*review code for Hello Neighbor provided by the publisher*