1/5 ★ – Vole's review of Hello Neighbor.

Platform: Xbox Series X My experience: Oof 😖 Rating: 2/10 Hello Neighbour sounds so good on paper. A mysterious Neighbour has something hidden in his basement and you need to find out what’s going on and how to get in there. Sounds cool right? Instead, we get a broken mess of a game with nonsensical puzzles, a buggy physics engine and an AI Neighbour who leaps across the yard and can grab you through walls. It’s a real shame as there is some decent stuff here. First, the art direction is great. I love the almost colourful Tim Burton aesthetic, making everything feel quirky and creepy at the same time. The character design of the protagonist could be a lot better, but I’ll let that slide when it comes to all the games other issues. Secondly, the puzzles are actually quite interesting. The problem is how they have been executed. There is nothing that would push me to do some of the actions required. There’s no point just naming one action as the third act is full of ridiculous quests to complete. I do at least like how there appears to be multiple ways to finish the second act. Finally, the story. It’s portrayed horrendously in game, but on paper it could have been quite good. Honestly though, that’s all the good. It’s a game with no atmosphere, stupid puzzles and a broke enemy who actually just makes the experience worse. I could see this as a stupidly hard puzzle game without the Neighbour, not a good one, but better at least. I don’t recommend, this feels like it’s been made in a couple of weeks and shoved out the door.