Hello Neighbor

Hello Neighbor is a horror-quest game developed by Dynamic Pixels. It was initially released in 2017, and you can now download Hello Neighbor on Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay: Not Polished Enough

The gameplay implies that you control a character who intends to sneak into his mysterious neighbor's house and reveal the secrets he is keeping in his basement. As a player, you will be required to solve puzzles to keep reaching new rooms of the neighbor’s house, and you will also have to avoid the neighbor himself. According to the players, the alpha versions were much better: the core feature of the game is that the enemy is controlled by a self-educating AI, which remembers the player’s moves and adapts to his playstyle. However, in the release build, this feature seems not to work all the time. Another drawback of the release build is that the game now lacks a variety of completing puzzles. In alpha builds, there were many ways to pass through a certain puzzle without even completing it, while the release version is pretty straight in these terms.

Graphics: Unity Looking

The graphics are not the strongest part of the game either. It utilizes a cartoony style, which lowers the expectations on details of the image, but the world of Hello Neighbor seems to be rather empty. The interiors are fine, but the outside lacks traffic, people, and objects to reach a higher immersion level. The sound design is pretty fine: the music properly underlines the mood of the game. Despite the designers’ efforts to make the interiors and the neighbor himself creepy, this game has nothing to do with being a horror.

Controls: Easy to Play

The controls are great in Hello Neighbor. It is easy to move your character or rotate the camera. The object interactions are also pretty intuitive: you can pick up or drop tools and store keys in your inventory. The buttons for all main features are available as an overlay on mobile, which does not block out the view.

Conclusion

Despite the mentioned drawbacks, Hello Neighbor is still a fun game to play. We say it is not good enough compared to some other PC projects, but it perfectly suits the mobile market. It has rather low system requirements, and on the mobile screen, you will pay less attention to the visual imperfection of the game. In case the specified disadvantages are not critical for you, the game will be worth its price.