The modern development of the game industry strikes everyone's imagination. Today, it isn't easy to be surprised by photo-realism or the realistic physics of interaction with the world around you. ААА projects collect billions and look like Hollywood blockbusters. However, there are still projects with other unusual features, such as atmosphere, setting, and exciting stories. They do not aspire to highly technical lighting or a global open world. These projects want to take you to an alternative world or make you feel nostalgic.

Hello Neighbor for Windows is such a project. It is a vivid and interesting game with a unique and unforgettable charm. We will tell you more about this game.

What is this game?

Hello Neighbor is an adventure game about an annoying neighbor where the player has to sneak into the house, find out what the evil neighbor is hiding, and not encounter him. At the same time, the artificial intelligence of the neighbor remembers your actions and tries to resist them.

Hello Neighbor for Windows is a multiplatform computer game of the survival horror genre. Your goal is to sneak into your neighbor's house's basement to discover his secrets and mysteries. Artificial intelligence allows the neighbor to perform various actions, such as setting traps along paths that you've passed before, putting up new windows to replace the broken ones, and so on.

Storyline

Your game character is a carefree boy playing a ball. Suddenly he hears the heartbreaking screams of his neighbor while playing. Of course, the boy wonders what's going on there. That's how the storyline starts.

The storyline is primarily exciting and interesting. It lasts four acts, and the environment changes slightly in each act. The duration of the action depends on your deductive skills.

Gameplay

The starting video shows that the key to the desired room is stored on the second floor. But how should you get there? Probably you have to get inside the house unnoticeably. After all, no one knows what the neighbor can do! What if he keeps another child lock? This is the primary advantage of the game: the main goal is shown; just improvise and think about every step.

There is no tutorial in the game. It would help if you pressed all the standard buttons to learn how to interact with the game world from the beginning of the game. Not every option is intuitive, but you can check the control settings.

Game features

The character can run, jump, sneak, pick up, and throw objects. There is an inventory of four items. There are no size limitations: you can even carry garbage cans in your pockets. However, it is primarily designed for storing valuable things, such as wrenches, magnets, and other tools. It would be best if you moved quietly and inconspicuously to avoid the chase. In the house, it is possible to hide in a closet or break a window and escape quickly.

The lack of a parkour system is a minor drawback of the game. You cannot also hook on ledges and pull up then. This feature would greatly simplify the gameplay. You must build towers out of possible items to get to some places.

The goal of the game

The idea of Hello Neighbor for Windows is straightforward: the protagonist and his neighbor are in the house across the street. The neighbor hides something very mysterious and creepy in the basement of his house, and the main hero must solve this mystery.

The primary feature of the game that the developers focus on is the neighbor's artificial intelligence which adapts to your actions. If you often climb through a window, the neighbor will put a trap under it, and if you walk on the same route, a camera will appear on your way.

Your neighbor also hears well: if you throw objects or run through his house, he hears you and comes to find out what's happening. Stealth mechanics are used here: you can hide from your neighbor in a closet, distract him with noise, or just go around him crouching.

The game consists of three acts, telling about three moments in the life of the main character: two from his childhood and one from adulthood. The first acts are effortless and are a kind of warm-up before the third act when the neighbor's house grows to an incredible size, the puzzles become very complicated, and three mini-games appear (you can get valuable abilities for completing them).

Atmosphere

The appearance of the game catches your eye from the first seconds. It looks great! The appropriate color filter and the formation of objects and houses are chosen: they resemble old Disney cartoons. The only strange thing is the lack of people except you and your neighbors. There are the sounds of life in a typical metropolitan suburb, but other people are absent, bringing a slight panic. Every step or creak of an opening door can be heard, so it's better to play using headphones!

It is worth noting that the game is developed on the modern Unreal Engine 4, that's why the visuals and physics are incredible. The textures are also well-thought-out. The entire game has the appropriate style with minor graphical shortcomings.

The antagonist

The angry and nervous neighbor is the antagonist in this game. Maybe he's a maniac who kidnaps children. If the neighbor catches you, you can see a dream where his story is shown. All these frames add up to a level that allows you to uncover the temper of this suspicious man.

The neighbor is unique. Without your intervention, he performs his usual daily activities: he sleeps, watches TV, takes a bath, and plays sports. But no matter what the neighbor does at the moment, he is always vigilant. Sometimes you can feel that he sees absolutely everything through walls and objects.

You can hear a unique sound when the neighbor gets closer to you. When he notices you, he sighs loudly, which signifies it's time to run! Then the chase music turns on. The louder and more intense it is, the closer the mystery man gets to your character. During the chase, your neighbor may throw a can of glue or spit, making it difficult to escape from him, so be careful. It is worth noting that the neighbor is very hot-tempered: he is ready to sacrifice everything he has, even break his windows, to catch you.

The sound reaches its culmination when the neighbor is very close to you. The screen shakes and darkens. This shows how your playable character is afraid to be caught and adds horror elements to the game.

The neighbor is guarding his secret using all possible ways. If a character breaks a window and gets caught, the neighbor will poke a hole the next time. It is worth it to perform diversions because you may have to find another way if seen carefully. Variability is a pleasant advantage: you can always reach your goal in several ways, be sure of it! If you get caught, look around because you might miss something.

Disadvantages of the game

You have to solve puzzles to pass the game completely. In the third act, there are so many of them that the neighbor who is always following you is annoyed. Moreover, the puzzles are a huge obstacle: the game gives almost no hints.

For example, you have to move one of the paintings on the wall to get to a specific part of the house. But there are about a hundred paintings in the house, and the necessary one does not have unique features, although it is located near the desired path. It is impossible to guess what you should do.

It would be best to press the lever behind bars to solve another puzzle. To do this, you must get a shotgun (a time-consuming task) and shoot the lever. It's easy to guess that you'll need a gun here because there is a "no guns allowed" sign at the entrance to the lever room. However, the game says absolutely nothing about where to get it.

Like almost anywhere else in Hello Neighbor for Windows, you can solve this problem by trying all the possible ways, pressing all the available buttons, and collecting all the items on the level. It is hard to imagine how long it would take for a beginner to pass the game completely.