Hello Neighbor is developed and offered by tiny Build and it was first released in 2018. This online mobile game can be installed free of charge from both Google Play and App Store. The game is featured with mystery, adventure and horror features. It is a single player game where gamers play as the protagonist against the AI program that has an advanced learning ability. The game control is not complicated and specifically designed for mobile devices. The game is divided into four acts and the plot and storytelling of the game gradually unfold and proceed as players move from one act to another. The general aim of the game is to secretively sneak into the neighbor’s house and unlock his mysterious basement door with the sign “exit” being inscribed on it; then players need to avoid being spotted on by the neighbor who would be chasing them down and very likely to catch the intruder. Therefore, once the player gets into the house, he or she needs to doge the detection and traps set by the neighbor; in case of being seen, players must run as fast as possible, or more realistically, players need to hide and shy away from the neighbor’s gaze. It should be noted that in a regular playing mode, the neighbor can run a bit faster than the player and he has very acute sense of detection when the player is walking without a flashlight or moving in the darkness. It is relatively easy for the neighbor to find out and chase down the player who once being caught, would be tossed out of the house, or be sent back into the basement where the game restarts again. However, players can set the game in the so-called “Friendly mode”, which means the neighbor can run a bit slower than he usually does, and the neighbor would be less alert in detecting or setting traps. The game is based on acts and the level of difficulty and horror is escalating from level to level. In act 1, there are eight rooms in the neighbor’s house and the tasks are relatively less than later acts; then in act 2 and 3, the size of the neighbor’s house is getting larger with more rooms and more complicated structures as well as more refined details. The final act is a battle with the neighbor. The gaming mechanism in Hello Neighbor shows the AI learning applied in games. The AI program can calculate the spots and locations where the player is more likely to walk by, therefore the neighbor would set up more traps, monitoring devices and blocks to prevent the player from moving freely in the house. Besides, apart from the main gaming, players also get to interact with many items in the game environment. For example, there are many items scattered around the neighbor’s house that can be crucial, useful or randomly pointless. 

Game Review

Hello Neighbor is a well-written game with very intriguing storytelling and features. The act-based game progress system is clear to follow and it naturally unfolds the in-game stories. The concept of AI learning and interaction is very special and it makes the single player game challenging and somehow interactive in its own way. However, the frequently reported game glitches and programming flaws greatly affect the positive gaming experience.