Hello Neighbor is a New Horror Game About Home Invasion
By Dalton Cooper 02 October 2016
Indie studio Dynamic Pixels announces a unique new stealth/horror game called Hello Neighbor, which tasks players with breaking into their neighbor’s house.
Films like Rear Window and Disturbia feature the heroes of the stories spying on their neighbors and discovering something sinister in the process. Apparently taking inspiration from those creepy movies and the recently released home invasion film Don’t Breathe, developer Dynamic Pixels has announced Hello Neighbor for PC. Hello Neighbor is a first-person horror/stealth game that tasks players with breaking into their neighbors home to discover exactly what he has locked away in his basement.
In this sense, players take on the role of a home invader, and so their neighbor understandably does what he can to defend himself. Gameplay will consist of trying to lure the neighbor away from certain areas by making noise, and generally trying to outsmart him. To accomplish this, players will be allowed to interact with most everything in the environment, and are encouraged to experiment with its sandbox-style gameplay in order to solve the mystery.
However, that may be easier said than done. Like the alien in Alien: Isolation, the neighbor in Hello Neighbor is intelligent. In fact, the developers claim that the neighbor’s AI learns from what the players do, which will make each subsequent attempt to successfully break into his house more challenging. For example, if players tend to enter the house by smashing the backyard window every time, then later playthroughs could see the titular neighbor placing a bear trap right below it.
If the neighbor does manage to spot the player during the break-in, all is not lost. Players can still attempt to escape by running away, but then the neighbor will be on high alert, making the task of getting into the basement that much more difficult. If Dynamic Pixels is able to deliver on its promises about the AI, then these moments could become especially intense, and help Hello Neighbor become one of the better horror games that we’ve seen in recent years.
From what we can tell by the trailer, Hello Neighbor looks promising. The premise is unique in video gaming, and its use of a cel-shaded art style over the gritty realism that most horror games shoot for is an intriguing choice. And while virtual reality support hasn’t been confirmed, its first-person view and focus on atmosphere seems like they would make Hello Neighbor a perfect fit for the blossoming virtual reality market.
Unfortunately, Hello Neighbor won’t release in time for the PlayStation VR launch later this month or even time for Halloween. On the contrary, the game is actually not due for release until next summer, so horror fans will have to wait quite awhile to get their hands on the finished product. Having said that, anyone interested in playing an early version of the game can visit its official website to sign up for the closed alpha, though no start date for the alpha has been announced at this time.
Hello Neighbor will be available in summer of 2017 for PC.
Source: Hello Neighbor
