Break into your creepy neighbor's house in this new stealth horror game

News
By published

In Hello Neighbor, you play against "an advanced AI that learns from your every move."

If you need to borrow a cup of sugar, just deal with it because your neighbor laid a bear trap on the welcome mat and already dug a grave. The pie can wait. 

The mustachioed AI neighbor apparently "learns from your every move," which is an intriguing, but pretty vague claim. As the Steam page description puts it, "Really enjoying climbing through that backyard window? Expect a bear trap there. Sneaking through the front door? There'll be cameras there soon. Trying to escape? The Neighbor will find a shortcut and catch you."

Will we be dealing with an aggressive hunter AI, a la Alien: Isolation or something else entirely? If the gifs and trailer are any indication, it looks like we'll be able to use most physics objects to our advantage. Toss a tomato at the window, sneak in through the back, block off dangerous doors with chairs, and steal a few bear traps while you're at it. The same tricks just might not work twice.

While most of the real sleuthing will take place in the Neighbor's house, Dynamic Pixels is aiming for over 10 hours of play, including story-driven levels that take place somewhere beyond the neighborhood. 

Conceptually, I love the idea. A stealth game focused in a small sandbox environment with a single AI could make for some really tense, emergent horror. I just hope the systems are as great as they sound. 

Signups for a playable alpha are already open, and Dynamic Pixels plans on releasing new builds regularly. Plenty of time to practice stealing sugar.

James Davenport
James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.