We suppose everyone at one time or another has thought about mysterious things happening in a neighbor’s house.

The entertaining video game Hello Neighbor takes these imaginary visions and turns them into a hilarious exploration, searching for hidden secrets tucked away in the neighbor’s basement.

What is that creepy neighbor up to?

Hello Neighbor’s concept is that of a progressively more challenging stealth game. The player aims to get into the neighbor’s creepy looking home, uncover what horrible acts they may have committed, and get back out of the house without getting caught. The challenging part of Hello Neighbor is that the neighbor is controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), which studies your tendencies and changes to thwart your efforts at seemingly every turn.

A common complaint about Hello Neighbor is that the AI is almost too sly.

Games, based on horror and suspense, are fun. But, it usually takes more effort for the villain to win. Players are always anxious about getting caught by the neighbor. It can be frustrating when even their best hiding places and elusive moves no longer seem to work.

While the idea for Hello Neighbor is entertaining, the difficulty of navigating through the house unsuspected makes it less appealing.

Basic graphics that work well

Most of the negative feedback about Hello Neighbor involved game control and technical issues. The graphics were basic, but the colorful assortment of props makes playing the game visually enjoyable.

At some level, the audio leans towards the monotonous side and would benefit from some variety. The clarity of the neighbor’s facial expressions makes it nearly impossible to predict how he is planning to respond to your latest moves. This makes developing a plan of action somewhat challenging. The shadows would seem to provide a place to hide, but frequently the player is nabbed despite being seemingly undetectable.

These graphic shortcomings and sporadic glitches in the animation earn Hello Neighbor only 2 out of 5 stars for graphics and audio.

A unique approach with AI

Hello Neighbor is played against advanced artificial intelligence. The AI developed in Hello Neighbor calculates each decision to present more difficult challenges. If the player assumes that sneaking in a window is the best way to get into the house without getting caught, eventually, the game will make that a precarious choice.

After a series of escape attempts, your neighbor will seemingly know every possible way out of his house and cut you off.

You can regroup and try again by escaping the house before the neighbor catches you, but this becomes more difficult as well. After a series of escape attempts, your neighbor will seemingly know every possible way out of his house and cut you off.

Hello Neighbor progresses through three acts and an ultimate finale’. Players begin as a child who hears a mysterious scream coming from a neighbor’s house. Immediately, it appears like the creepy-looking neighbor is up to something nefarious. The second act locks the player in the neighbor’s basement, where he must escape. As the third act unfolds, the protagonist is now all grown up. As an adult, the humorous adventures continue, but now in a house that appears even more mysterious. The finale unfolds as something of a nightmare where the reality of why the main character finds the neighbor’s house so strange is revealed.

The game is fun but will challenge a player’s sense of repetitive boredom. The too-often predictable moves of the antagonist make it less challenging

An entertaining and adventuresome experience

Sneaking into your neighbor’s basement is a comical thought by itself. However, trying to discover all the hidden atrocities your neighbor has committed there, makes for an entertaining and adventuresome experience.

Hello Neighbor could benefit from better graphics and more engaging audio accompaniment, but the whole premise it’s based on makes it worth the time. However, free-play is not available for Hello Neighbor, so it reduces the appeal of the game based on the cost of play down to 3 out of 5 stars for replay value.

TL/DR

While Hello Neighbor presents plentiful suspense trying to sneak around inside a neighbor’s home searching for unmentionable atrocities, getting caught repeatedly can become tedious.