Stealth Horror Game Hello Neighbor’s Adaptive AI Will Make You Sick With Suspense

Spying on your neighbor isn’t something you do in real life (at least I hope not), which is why we have video games, I suppose! Joking aside, this stealth horror game from Tinybuild and Dynamic Pixels lets you do just that, except with a much more, uh … creepy tilt to your voyeurism, if voyeurism could possibly be made even more creepy.

The premise here is that you’re snooping on your neighbor because you’re suspicious of what he might be keeping in his basement. If you’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, then you get the idea. It’s kind of like that except instead of playing a wheelchair-bound James Stewart peeking through a pair of binoculars, you’re a fully ambulatory, nosy (and likely paranoid) neighbor.

The trailer above shows the myriad ways in which you can trick your neighbor into doing things that’ll allow you to sneak around his house unimpeded. Nearly everything looks like it can be interacted with, providing for some really interesting combos. You’d better learn to adapt quick and learn to use those combos too, because one of the biggest features of Hello Neighbor is its touted advanced AI. It’s said to be designed in such a way that it’ll adapt to your tendencies and your play style in order to make the game that much more difficult.

From the game’s Steam description:

You play against an advanced AI that learns from your every move. 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.

You’ll see a few of these in action in the trailer, which you should absolutely watch if only to take in the very striking, unique art style and animations. You’ll also see what they mean when they say the game focuses more on “suspenseful horror gameplay (not jump scares) that focuses on sneaking around your neighbor’s house.” I’m also interested in the sound design of the game, particularly the music. It’s silent, aside from your actions and footsteps, but depending on what happens, it seems to cut in and react to what’s going on. Note the sharp, dissonant chords that play as the Neighbor passes by the player’s hiding spot. It’s almost like in a horror movie jump scare.

I definitely found myself getting a little tense even just watching the trailer, but then again, I’m a complete and utter wimp. So, yeah, there you go. Your mileage may vary. You can sign up for the game’s alpha by submitting your name and e-mail address to this form. Hello Neighbor is slated for release next September.

(via Kotaku)

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