SECRET NEIGHBOR Impressions + Gameplay Video

Secret Neighbor by developers Hologryph and Dynamic Pixels and publisher tinyBuild, is a follow up to a recent survival-horror fan favorite, Hello Neighbor, in which you, as the neighborhood kid, have to find out what is hidden in your creepy neighbor’s basement. While I have not personally played it, I know that Secret Neighbor is set at a midway point in that story and thus a new group of kids is out to figure out the secret themselves, as well as help their currently missing friend. Will you brave the neighbor’s house?

Secret Neighbor has an interesting premise for multiplayer. Rather than an asymmetrical horror game in the likes of Friday the 13^th and Dead by Daylight, Secret Neighbor is styled almost like the classic party game Werewolf/Mafia, where most players are normal characters, but one person is the bad guy/monster, in this case, the creepy neighbor. The goal of the disguised neighbor is to  pick off the kids and capture them one by one using traps and cameras, while the kids must navigate the house, if they can even trust each other, and find the keys to open the basement door, which usually involves using keycards to get through doors to rummage through drawers, closets and other places of hidden repute.

The game plays well enough, and the abilities seem cool and varied by class, and I definitely appreciated the Halloween theme going on right now, but there are definitely some quality of life issues that are hopefully addressed down the line. The game, for one, can be overwhelming at first, so a little tutorial for newer players to the series would definitely help with their effectiveness. At times, my fellow editors on Gaming Cypher, John and Dave, had problems with throwing some of the objects or picking up the wrong ones (It would be nice to be able to always carry the flashlight, but I guess that’s what the Bagger class is for!). I think the most important QOL change that needs to happen is group lobbies. I could not for the life of me invite either of my friends, which is a big problem when it comes to multiplayer games such as these. Imagine trying to play Left 4 Dead and not being able to invite your friends to a game – you would probably be more than a little upset after spending money for a fun time with friends! I do not think it would be a hard fix to do at all, and maybe I just missed the option somewhere, but I definitely could not find it either in game or through steam messenger, which was frustrating. I ended up forming a Gaming Cypher Lobby, and my co-players were able to find me that way.

Secret Neighbor is definitely a blast otherwise, as it is fun to race against the clock and the neighbor going from room to room seeking the keys to freedom. The game is gorgeous to look at in a fun cel-shaded cartoon style that is always interesting and easy on the eyes, and overall creates a bright, yet creepy atmosphere that plays well to the game’s themes.

Secret Neighbor definitely has a lot of fun in store for its players. With the right tweaks and a sizable player base, I would love to play around with it some more. I definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fan of the series, and for non-fans such as myself, it definitely makes me more interested in taking a look. Secret Neighbor will see a multiplatform on October 24^th, 2019, just in time for Halloween!

Check Out our Secret Neighbor Gameplay Trailer:

Secret Neighbor releases today for PC via Steam.

Matt O'Toole

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Your local neighborhood nutjob, gamer, and teacher! I'm an avid fan of many genres such as platformers, shooters, horror, etc. I am also an avid tabletop gamer - hugely into the worlds of Warhammer and all of their spinoffs. I'm a big believer in being objective - even if something is not my cup of tea, I want to talk about it on the objective level - is it well made, crafted with love, and with care for the fans? If so, that's a good game in my book for someone and well worth their hard earned dollarydoos!

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