Developed by Eerie Games and Tiny Build, and published by Tiny Build, Hello Neighbour 2 is a stealth-based puzzle game with a small element of horror. You play as a member of the press that was looking into the disappearance of local children and happen to drive past the house of Mr. Peterson as he is kidnapping a young boy. After taking photos for evidence and having your car window smashed in with a shovel, you hit the road but end up crashing into a barn right next door.

The barn is used as a tutorial area teaching players how to interact with the world and how to solve puzzles. After escaping from the barn you get knocked out by Mr. Peterson and your camera is stolen. You then wake up in your office with TV screens displaying images from the security cameras you have posted around town.

Hello Neighbour 2 has a total of 5 locations to break into and search for clues, and there are a few strange characters in town that warrant the player to investigate them further – they have some dark ties connecting them all together. The story has a nice twist that has me wanting to play again to see if there was anything small in detail I may have originally missed.

Hello Neighbour 2 isn’t really that hard, and the AI seems to have had a rework since the first Hello Neighbour, and it’s not for the better, which is a bit sad to see. If you break a window or throw an object to lure them away from an area, they don’t seem to care and will not check on things like object noises, but they will check if they hear you running and making noises by walking on glass or creaking floorboards.

The AI at this stage is in desperate need of a patch. Across all 5 locations, they broke at least twice, either getting clipped into an object or stuck doing an animation. Sure, it made solving puzzles easier knowing that the threat was stuck, but it took the enjoyment out of it, so the way I found to reset that was to allow yourself to get caught.

The puzzles were a big challenge throughout ranging from easy to complex, from finding coloured blocks to a safe combination, to finding trophies and placing them in the correct order. What I found frustrating, and at the same time, enjoyable, was how many puzzles you will stumble across. While working on solving one you will find another, and another, and so on.

One may help with a puzzle you were already working on, or it will reward you with an item that you will stare blankly at before it dawns on you that there is another puzzle you have not found yet. It was fun having the mental challenge while having to be stealthy and keep aware of where the threat is because if you are caught mid-puzzle, your key items will be reset and need to be gathered again.

The graphics for Hello Neighbour 2 have not changed since the first installment or the spin-off titles. The world still gives off a warped feeling with objects not being perfectly formed, and child-friendly shaders are used with a mix-and-match colour palette.

It was nice seeing that they didn’t change the core look of the title. I would strongly recommend playing with headphones as there are audio cues given off by the AI, either humming or muttering, and these will be a good early warning if they are getting close to where you are, giving you a chance to hide.

The gameplay has had a nice upgrade from the first game to include an inventory bag so you can stock up on more items and see what you have on hand. You will find items that are used frequently, so it’s always worth hanging onto, but if you do manage to lose something important like the crowbar or the scissors, don’t stress, each act has ones you can find again. The core stealth gameplay did take a hit as mentioned in how the AI acts now. You can no longer check keyholes, barricade doors, or pick up any objects in the world other than key items. It felt like many core features were dropped.

Hello Neighbour 2 offers a great puzzle threat experience with a dark story that will be expanded on with in-game events, and if you buy the Deluxe Edition, you will also have two extra missions set in a high school and the local library, making it the ideal purchase for fans of the franchise. I really enjoyed my time with the game and will be replaying it a lot. It is available now on PC, PS4 & 5, Xbox One, Series S & X, and it is also included on Gamepass and Xbox Cloud Gaming Service.

Written by: Shane Walsh