Hello Neighbor In The Test: The Mad Neighbor Or The Neighbor Madness?

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 15:18

You may have played different alpha versions and builds like I did, but if not, the player was always in the body of a full-grown man who sneaked into his neighbor's house for some unknown reason. Depending on how you choose, you can create clutter there or try to solve various puzzles such as 'find the golden key' to get through doors.

The clue: the neighbor didn't like it that much, but instead of calling the police, he started to ambush you, install cameras, and set up bear traps. From that moment on I knew: This man with a mustache must be crazy. And my guess was confirmed.

Download Hello Neighbor Developer: Dynamic Pixels Price: € 27.99

A child goes astray

Now the time of the alphas is over and Hello Neighbor from Dynamic Pixels and tinyBuild went into the launch version for Xbox One and PC on December 8th. First of all: Hello Neighbor developed into indie hype because it promised an extraordinary AI with the crazy neighbor that should memorize every step you take and react to it. An enemy who learns from you! And it is also completely insane. Who on this planet wouldn't want to play such a game? I was excited; months ago when Hello Neighbor appeared on Kickstarter. Finally an original story, peppered with weirdness and an absurd stalking fetish. Nice.

Do you like bad games? Here please:

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Unfortunately, the dream bubble burst when I launched the full version of Hello Neighbor a few nights ago on Steam. Although the beginning was promising, because suddenly I was playing a short-legged boy who was watching a certain gentleman lock something that was shouting into a closet. Of course my curiosity was piqued and even if I wanted to call out to the villain, “No, don't go, boy, this guy with a mustache will wait for you and let you run into bear traps! “, I was glad that Hello Neighbor actually had a story. Somehow.

So I had to find out which corpses my mad neighbor hides in his basement; and there was only one way I could do it: I had to break in.

The madness takes its course

Now I don't want to spoil the story, just this much: In the game, you sneak through three acts, each of which also contains increasingly difficult but creative puzzles with multiple solutions. So far so good: if it weren't for the old gentleman who chases you through his house as if you were vermin. As in the Alpha versions, it seems to remember where you prefer to break in and provides such areas with cameras, bear traps and even nail various windows.

Despite his senior age, the neighbor is nimble like a leopard and bounces through his own windows when he catches you with his eagle eyes. That means he'll get your hands on you, and often. You don't lose anything; not even various items that you have collected: but it is annoying anyway. And strange. Especially when he starts locking you up in his basement. Or, when you start dreaming of strange labyrinths full of misplaced furniture that your neighbor is chasing you through. Or if you suddenly miss your shoes and you see wounds on your knees.

What? Exactly. The third act finally unfolds completely into a surreal nightmare, after which you will have to worry for hours about what actually happened. Don't get me wrong: I like the absurd mindfuck story; and I like the creative puzzles and the creepy-confusing worlds Hello Neighbor takes you to. The game is not bad. But unfortunately also far from being really good.

Why is it not good?

First of all, it is not at all what the fans and backers of the former Kickstarter project had hoped for. As already mentioned above, the neighbor reacts to you and remembers your approach; but beyond that he's stupid like toasted bread. If you break into the house about five times through the kitchen window, it will only be waiting for you there, so that you can explore all the other rooms in peace. Too bad.

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In addition, the story is too abstruse and unfinished to arouse your interest over a longer period of time. In many games that go a more creative way, there is a fine line between “good mindfuck story” and “huh?”. Hello Neighbor is more inclined to the latter. The roughest point of criticism, however, is the controls: in addition to bugs and lags in the game (I remember you: unfinished), your playable character controls itself like an elephant in a china shop: it bangs against door frames, misses boxes that it wants to jump on and never does that, what you want. A gentle tap on the direction buttons is enough to make one sentence to the side; and that is endlessly frustrating. Because in Hello Neighbor, dexterity is the be-all and end-all, but you just can't be clever. FRUSTRATION.

Conclusion: And the moral of the story?

Children, avoid your neighbors. Especially when they have an ominous mustache. The stealth horror game Hello Neighbor is not very creepy and complicates the stealth mechanics due to the coarse-grained controls: If you get caught by the nasty neighbor, this is mostly due to the clumsiness of the character and not because of you.

In addition, Hello Neighbor is an all in all unfinished game that chases you through a confusing story and rouses an annoying neighbor, whose AI can be seen far too quickly. The puzzles in the game, on the other hand, are good and creative, but that alone doesn't do what Hello Neighbor could have been.

You will like it if you like tricky and creative puzzles, make up confusing stories and you like to be hunted by a strange man.

You won't like it if you get angry quickly (unless you like anger), you like to end up knowing what happened, and you hate fighting the controls.