When my fellow Gaming Cypher author, John Pruitt, and I first previewed Secret Neighbor, I had never had much interaction with the series outside of knowing it was one of the favorite games of a young family friend, who greatly enjoyed the first Hello Neighbor on his Nintendo Switch a few years ago during a car ride. I never would have imagined that my young companion was playing what amounted to a kid-friendly survival-horror game! The whole series is ripe with this almost Tim Burton-esque unsettling nature, yet it also wraps itself in a comedic jacket cut from the same cloth, and while it never takes itself too seriously, it tells an excellently crafted dramatic tale that the likes of Alfred Hitchcock would enjoy.
Taking place in the middle of the story arc that began in Hello Neighbor, you are one of many neighborhood kids out to discover the secrets of the aforementioned neighbor and rescue the hero of the story. What this boils down to is another great entry in the asymmetrical multiplayer horror genre, similar to games such as Friday the 13th, Dead by Daylight, and Predator: Hunting Grounds. Unlike those games, however, the player who is the Neighbor can take on disguises to try to fool the players into thinking his is a warm and friendly ally. You may not second guess running from the Predator or Jason Voorhees, but when your new best friend shows up seemingly in your hour of need before revealing himself to be a bloodshot, mustachioed villain, the game enters a new level of paranoia unseen in those games.
Gameplay revolves around completing objectives throughout the neighbor’s house in order to unlock the basement and free your friend. Fans of the genre familiar with the objectives of the aforementioned horror titles will feel right at home with that, and I felt that the game had more polish to it than something like Friday the 13th. Both games ooze atmosphere, but Secret Neighbor just feels a lot less janky to play around with. While the game does bombard you with a lot at first, a little practice and more game time will have you itching to play “just one more round” in another attempt to free your friend, or, perhaps, to sew fear and paranoia as the diabolical Mr. Peterson.
The game runs very smoothly on the Switch, playing both docked and handheld modes did not leave me wanting. While it does lack some of the graphical presentation that its more powerful kin on the PC has, I still greatly enjoy the setting, style, and atmosphere of the game. Finding a match was never an issue, and it was perhaps some of the quickest matchmaking I have ever seen on a console. I felt like I had pressed the button to find a match and not just half a second later, I was already loading in! It is a show of strength not only for Nintendo’s online (which has been known to be less than stable at times), but the popularity of the game and series as a whole among fans of a wide age range.
Secret Neighbor, by tinyBuild GAMES, is a fun multiplayer game born out of another fun game in its own right that not only creates better paranoia and fear than similar games in its field, but does it with a style and substance wholly unique and attractive. If you are a fan of the series, it is definitely a worthy use of your time, and if you are a newcomer like myself, I definitely recommend playing the first game before hopping in – it will only make the experience that much more connected and enjoyable.
You can check out the Secret Neighbor Nintendo Switch trailer here – https://youtu.be/zIq5cDtiXAo
Graphics – 8/10
Sound – 9/10
Gameplay – 8/10
Multiplayer Mayhem – 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Related: SECRET NEIGHBOR Now Out on Nintendo Switch
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Nintendo Switch Review
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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