Hello Neighbor
Cover art depicting antagonist Theodore Peterson
Developer(s)
  • Dynamic Pixels (Eerie Guest Studios from 2020)
Publisher(s)tinyBuild
EngineUnreal Engine 4[1]
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, Xbox One
  • 8 December 2017
  • Switch, PS4, iOS, Android
  • 26 July 2018[2]
Genre(s)Stealth, survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Hello Neighbor is a survival horror stealth game developed by Dynamic Pixels and published by tinyBuild. Initially released as public alphas from 2016 to 2017, it received a full release for Windows and Xbox One on December 8, 2017, and later for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android on July 26, 2018.

In the game, players play as a citizen, who just moved into the neighborhood, and try to break into their neighbor's house. Their goal is to successfully sneak into the basement of the neighbor's house to uncover a dark secret while avoiding being caught by him.[3] The game's artificial intelligence (AI) modifies the neighbor's behavior based on the player's past actions, such as setting traps along paths the player followed in a previous attempt.[4][5][6]

While the initial alpha versions of Hello Neighbor were received positively, the final product was met with largely negative reviews. The gameplay, control scheme and technical performance have been heavily criticized, though the story, the story elements and the art style were praised. The game spawned a franchise, beginning with a prequel, Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek, released in December 2018. Two multiplayer spin-offs, Secret Neighbor and Hello Engineer, were released in October 2019 and October 2021, respectively. A standalone sequel, Hello Neighbor 2, was released on December 6, 2022.[7]

Gameplay

In Hello Neighbor, the player finds themselves moving into an old house across the street from a mysterious neighbor who is behaving abnormally and seems to be keeping a secret in his basement. The player's task is to find the details of the neighbor's house and solve a series of puzzles to gather the items needed to unlock and access his basement. As the player explores the neighbor's house, they must not be spotted by the mysterious neighbor, or they will be chased down, and if the player is not quick enough to hide or escape, then they will be captured. The player can stun the neighbor by throwing objects at him for an easier escape. If the player is caught (or suffers a serious injury on the main point), they will be sent back to their own house and will have to break in again. Upon starting again, the player must be more careful, as the neighbor will deduce movements from the last attempt and set up traps.[8] However, the player can use the game settings to turn on "friendly" neighbor mode, preventing the neighbor from setting these traps and causing him to be less aggressive in his pursuits. However, he is still to be avoided at all costs.[9]

The game is divided into four parts: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, and Act Finale. The game is played in a first-person perspective, and the player must aim a reticle at certain objects to interact with them or to throw or use a currently held item (for example, throwing a ball at a window or aiming a crowbar at nails to remove them). Up to four items can be kept in an inventory space. Items of the same kind cannot be stacked together in one slot.[10]

Plot

The Peterson's house as it appears in Act 1.

Act 1

A boy named Nicky Roth is chasing a ball down the street when he hears screams coming from his neighbor's house, which belongs to Theodore Peterson. Nicky goes to investigate and witnesses Mr. Peterson locking someone in his basement. Nicky sneaks into the house, finds the key to the basement, and enters. He finds that Mr. Peterson has converted his basement into a makeshift maze-like underground dungeon, but finds no sign of any prisoner. Mr. Peterson then chases Nicky and locks him in the dungeon, thus beginning Act 2.

Act 2

Nicky manages to escape his cell and reach the surface, only to find that Mr. Peterson has erected a massive fence around his property to prevent escape. Nicky is forced to solve several puzzles to find a way to escape Mr. Peterson's property. Once he crosses the fence, he flees back to his home, and Mr. Peterson does not give chase.

During Acts 1 and 2, if Nicky is caught by Mr. Peterson before he can finish his objectives, he will have vivid nightmares about Mr. Peterson's past. These nightmares gradually reveal Mr. Peterson's backstory, implying that he was once a happy family man. However, after his wife and daughter were killed in two separate accidents, he became a recluse and, in his grief, locked his son in the basement to prevent him from getting hurt. Mr. Peterson's backstory is further explained in the book Hello Neighbor: Missing Pieces and the prequel game Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek.

Act 3

Years later, an adult Nicky is evicted from his apartment and decides to return to his old family home. His childhood town finally succumbed to its cruel fate. He finds the house in disrepair while Mr. Peterson's home is also nothing but a pile of ruins. While inspecting the ruins, Nicky is haunted by a dark shadow-like creature ("The Thing"), and he returns to his home where he finds an old picture of himself as a child. After answering the phone, Nicky sees the shadow monster again. Believing he's hallucinating, he falls asleep as an act of self-therapy. He is awoken by a child's scream and discovers Mr. Peterson's house is back, and more surreal than before, due to his trauma. Nicky navigates the house and has surreal experiences, such as learning to double jump by shrinking down and trying to turn on a light that is far out of reach. Eventually, he enters the basement, now older and more surreal, with exaggerated architecture, while being chased by The Thing.

Act Finale

When Nicky gets out of the basement, he kills himself trying to knock down a giant Mr. Peterson to get inside a house on his back. After doing so, he must protect a younger version of himself from an enormous dark shadowy figure called "The Thing". Each time The Thing attacks and Nicky protects his younger self, Nicky grows larger until he can fight The Thing. After The Thing is defeated, Nicky sees Mr. Peterson in a small two-room house. When he spots Nicky he runs in desperation towards the window as if to ask for help, but then shrugs his shoulders and turns away with sadness. In the other room is a much smaller Thing. Mr. Peterson has boarded the door up on his side and placed a chair against it, signifying that Mr. Peterson never overcame his fears. The Thing is seen standing right by the door on the other side. Behind him is another door with an exit sign above it.

Nightmare

It is implied throughout the events of the game that most of Act 3 and the Finale is a nightmare occurring in Nicky's head and that his escape from the house signifies him finally coming to terms with his kidnapping as a child at the hands of Mr. Peterson. However, Nikita Kolesnikov (the game's designer) confirmed that nothing in the game is a dream.

Development

Russian studio Dynamic Pixels started development of Hello Neighbor in 2014. The game was released as an alpha build on Dynamic Pixels' website in 2015. It was later approved for sale as an early access game by the Steam Greenlight program and a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund further development. The studio later signed a deal with tinyBuild to fund and publish the project.[11] The Pre-Alpha version of the game was released on September 29, 2016.[12][13][14] The Alpha 1 version of Hello Neighbor was released on October 26, 2016.[15][16][17] Alpha 2 was released on November 22, 2016. Alpha 3 was released on December 22, 2016. Alpha 4 was released on May 4, 2017.

The game went into the beta phase on July 25, 2017.[18][19] For Halloween 2017, a promotional mod was released including multiple elements from the indie game Bendy and the Ink Machine. The mod includes a black and yellow tint, ink, music from the game and multiple appearances of Bendy.[20] The game was originally set for a full release on August 29, 2017,[21] but was delayed until December 8, 2017.[22][23]

The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on December 8, 2017. A timed Microsoft exclusive, Hello Neighbor was later ported to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and mobile devices.[24] The mobile versions of the game are only supported on a limited number of devices and come with a free trial that allows players to play through Act 1, with the option to unlock the remaining two Acts and the Finale with an in-game purchase.[25]

In 2019, development was started for a standalone sequel, Hello Neighbor 2, (previously called Hello Guest, codename Late Night Shift). Teasers in a sibling game, Secret Neighbor, had started the speculation about a new game.

Franchise

Games

In July 2020, tinyBuild acquired the development team from Dynamic Pixels to establish a new studio by the name of Eerie Guest Studios and invested US$15 million into the Hello Neighbor series.[26]

Hello Bendy

Hello Bendy was a Halloween mode released on 27th October 2017, with several elements of Bendy and the Ink Machine. This game mode includes a yellow-and-black background, music of the game and a multitude of Bendy appearances.

Hello Guest

Hello Guest is a spin-off of Hello Neighbor made by tinyBuild. The game takes place in the mysterious Golden Apple Amusement Park, and the game revolves around playing both Quentin and Beatrix solving puzzles and outsmarting the guest, a learning AI similar to the neighbor from the first game, all while attempting to restart the roller coaster. This game was dropped onto mobile devices, swiftly deleted, and has not been acknowledged by tinyBuild as part of the franchise, despite their continued use of the Guest character introduced in this game.

Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek

A prequel to Hello Neighbor, titled Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek, was announced during PAX West in August 2018, and released on December 7, 2018, on the same platforms as the original game, including non-Microsoft systems.[27] Set several years before the events of the original game, Hide & Seek deals with the events in Mr. Peterson's life that caused him to become a recluse.[28] The gameplay is similar to that of Hello Neighbor, but instead of Nicky, the player controls Mr. Peterson's daughter Mya as she plays hide-and-seek with her brother, Aaron (who takes the place of the neighbor), in various fictitious scenarios. The story is told through cutscenes in-between levels, which reveal that the children's mother dies in a car crash sometime during the events of the game. In his grief, Aaron later pushes Mya off the roof of the house, resulting in her accidental death.

Secret Neighbor

Secret Neighbor, a multiplayer spin-off of Hello Neighbor, was announced on June 10, 2018, and released on October 24, 2019, for Xbox and PC.[29] Set between the first two acts of Hello Neighbor, it follows Nicky's friends (dubbed the "Rescue Squad") as they try to rescue him from Mr. Peterson's house. The children are represented by different classes, each with their unique skillsets and abilities, and must collect keys required to unlock the door to the house's basement. However, one of the children is Mr. Peterson in disguise, and also has various class-based abilities at his disposal that can be used to confuse, trick, capture, or otherwise prevent the children from achieving their goal.

Hello Engineer

Hello Engineer, a multiplayer machinery-building construction game set in the Hello Neighbor universe, was announced on October 20, 2020. A gameplay reveal trailer was released four days later. In Hello Engineer, the Rescue Squad explore an open world based on the abandoned Golden Apple Amusement Park and must collect scrap to build various machines while avoiding Mr. Peterson's attempts to catch them. The game was released for the cloud gaming service Google Stadia on October 26, 2021.

Hello Neighbor Diaries

Hello Neighbor Diaries, a mobile spin-off to the first Hello Neighbor, was released in 11 regions on June 22, 2022, as a test launch. The game was released globally on December 6, 2023. It was originally released as Nicky's Diaries on the mobile port of the first game. Set in the book franchise, young Nicky Roth must piece together the mysteries from his childhood.

Hello Neighbor 2

A new Hello Neighbor game initially titled Hello Guest was later revealed to be the Pre-Alpha of Hello Neighbor 2 and on July 23, 2020, it was announced as the official sequel to the original game. On this same day, Alpha 1 was also released, with Alpha 1.5 releasing on October 26, 2020.[30] The sequel was announced to be available for Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X/S.[31] On December 10, 2021, it was announced that a closed Beta would be released on April 7, 2022, which would only be available to those who pre-ordered the game. On February 10, 2022, it was announced that Hello Neighbor 2 would also release on PlayStation 4 and 5. tinyBuild announced that the full game was expected to release on December 6, 2022, which it did.[7]

The game follows Quentin, a reporter who had arrived to Raven Brooks to write about the story of the disappearance of Aaron and Mya, however he would soon learn that Mr. Peterson has taken refuge in the closed museum, to which he must sneak inside the homes of the other residences of Raven Brooks in search for keys in order to enter it. As Quentin progresses, he would eventually learn about the deep secrets about the town and avoid a strange figure known as "The Guest".

Hello Neighbor VR: Search and Rescue

A VR title in the Hello Neighbor franchise titled Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue was announced on November 3, 2022. The game is made by Steel Wool Studios in collaboration with tinyBuild. The game was released on the PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2 , and PCVR Headsets via the Steam Storefront on May 25, 2023. The player once again plays as the Rescue Squad, who had digged a tunnel to sneak inside Mr. Peterson's house, switch between each of the children to solve puzzles and rescue Nicky inside the basement.

Animated series

An animated series based on Hello Neighbor titled was announced on 17 April 2020, with a pilot episode releasing on YouTube the same day.[32][33] The pilot was watched by more than 11 million viewers within the first week, which to tinyBuild's CEO Alex Nichiporchik, "demonstrated the strength of Hello Neighbor as a franchise".[34] A teaser was released on tinyBuild's Youtube channel on 1 December 2022, as well as the title for the show, Hello Neighbor: Welcome to Raven Brooks. The first episode of the series was released on 11 December 2022, produced by Man of Action, with the rest of the show's episodes being released before the end of 2023.

The series follows Trinity Bales, a new kid who just moved to Raven Brooks near Mr. Peterson's house across the street. She then meets with Nicky Roth and his team the Inventors Club (Maritza, Enzo and Ivan) as they plan to sneak inside his property to figure out what he is hiding. Along the way the kids soon discover a major conspiracy within the town relating to fatal incidents, gold coins and the presence of ravens.

Reception

Review aggregator website Metacritic reports "generally unfavorable reviews" for Hello Neighbor on all platforms.[35][36][37] Criticism was directed towards the gameplay, control scheme and technical performance, though it was praised for its story aspects and art style.

References

  1. ↑ Calandra, Nick (5 October 2016). "Hello, Neighbor – 10 Minutes of Unedited Pre-Alpha Gameplay Footage Released". OnlySP. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ↑ Sheehan, Gavin (10 May 2018). "Hello Neighbor Is Coming to Mobile Devices in July - Bleeding Cool". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Pereira, Chris (4 May 2017). "Hello Neighbor, The Game About Sneaking Into Your Neighbor's House, Debuts New Alpha Update". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  4. ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (29 September 2016). "A Horror Game Where The AI Learns From Your Every Move". Kotaku UK. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Chalk, Andy (23 November 2016). "Watch the guy next door get creepy in two new Hello Neighbor trailers". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Lemon, Marshall (1 October 2016). "Hello Neighbor is a horror game about breaking into someone's house". VG247.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 LeBlanc, Wesley (8 April 2022). "Hello Neighbor 2 Gets December Release Date". Game Informer. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Cosimano, Mike (1 February 2017). "Hello Neighbor is a horror game for cowards". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Arthur, Ty (11 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor Friendly Mode Changes". www.gameskinny.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Favis, Elise (11 October 2016). "Test Chamber – Trespassing Into A Stranger's Home In Hello Neighbor". Game Informer. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Munger, Karla (1 October 2017). "Hello Neighbor...Not Exactly Welcome Wagon". www.justadventure.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Frank, Allegra (29 September 2016). "Hello Neighbor is a voyeuristic indie home invasion simulator". Polygon. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Devorre, Jordan (15 October 2015). "Hello, Neighbor! is unexpectedly terrifying". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Flint, Sean (18 June 2015). "IndieGames.com Hello, Neighbour! Encourages Breaking and Entering". indiegames.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (6 October 2016). "Are you the villain in Hello, Neighbor? The AI thinks so and learns your tactics to hunt you down". Games Radar. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Helm, Jordan (29 September 2016). "tinyBuild Officially Announce Stealth Horror Title Hello Neighbor". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Chalk, Andy (9 May 2017). "The Humble tinyBuild Bundle includes Punch Club, Clustertruck, and a freebie for everyone". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Nichiporchik, Alex (25 July 2017). "Hello Neighbor Beta Out Now". tinybuildgames. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Hello Neighbor Beta Out Now; Receives New Trailer". DualShockers. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  20. ↑ "Hello Neighbor - Hello Bendy Halloween Event - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  21. ↑ Faller, Patrick (25 May 2017). "Hello Neighbor PC/Xbox One Release Date Announced; New Trailer Highlights The Creepy AI". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Nichiporchik, Alex (14 August 2017). "Hello Neighbor Beta 3 Launch Producers Update". Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  23. ↑ Chalk, Andy (15 August 2017). "Creepy stealth game Hello Neighbor is delayed to December". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  24. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (10 May 2018). "Hello Neighbor is Finally Releasing on Nintendo Switch, PS4, iOS, and Android this July". DualShockers. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  25. ↑ Knight, Shawn (27 July 2018). "Home invasion simulator 'Hello Neighbor' now available on mobile devices". TechSpot. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  26. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (16 July 2020). "TinyBuild acquires Hello Neighbor devs and will invest $15 million in franchise". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  27. ↑ Clark, Dean (4 December 2018). "Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek Set To Launch This Friday". GameTyrant. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  28. ↑ Lane, Rick (31 August 2018). "Hello Neighbor is getting a prequel". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  29. ↑ Miller, Chris (22 October 2019). "Hello, Neighbor's Newest Upcoming Entry Capitalizes On The One-Versus-Many gameplay stylized by Dead By Daylight, Evolve". HappyGamer. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  30. ↑ Spandl, Ariana (26 October 2020). "Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5: Spooky Scary Raven Brooks". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  31. ↑ Hello Neighbor 2 Announced for Xbox Series X, 2022 Release - IGN, 23 July 2020, archived from the original on 25 July 2020, retrieved 25 July 2020
  32. ↑ MaddOx (14 April 2020). "Hello Neighbor Gets an Animated Series". FULLSYNC. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "Pilot Episode Of Hello Neighbor Animated Series To Premiere Tomorrow". TheGamer. 16 April 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  34. ↑ Taylor, Haydn (22 April 2020). "Hello Neighbor test pilot racks up 11m views in a week". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  35. 1 2 "Hello Neighbor for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  36. 1 2 "Hello Neighbor for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  37. 1 2 "Hello Neighbor for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  38. ↑ Gwaltney, Javy (21 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor Miserable Stealth Action". Game Informer. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  39. ↑ Clark, Justin (21 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  40. ↑ Hafer, Leana (11 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  41. ↑ Mundy, Jon (11 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  42. ↑ Thursten, Chris (11 December 2017). "Hello Neighbor review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  43. ↑ Hafer, Leana (2 August 2018). "Hello Neighbor Review (PS4)". Push Square. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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