My Friendly Neighborhood Review
Are you scared of puppets?
Watch the review or…
Read it here!
Platform: PC
Reviewed on: PC
Developer: John & Evan Szymanski
Publisher: DeadXP
Release: July 18, 2023
Time Played: 8 hours
Genre: Puzzle, Survival Horror
ESRB: N/A
My Friendly Neighborhood is a survival horror full of puzzles and puppets, that’s right, puppets right from a childhood show that taught you how to count. When I first saw the game I thought it would be for a mature audience with the looks of a game suited for younger players, but I was wrong. If you want to watch some gameplay check out the playlist, there should be a link in the description below. But first stay a while and listen. I’ll lay out what to expect when playing the game.
Where it begins:
A show starring puppets aimed at teaching children different skills like the basics of letters and counting came out in the forties and was a huge hit everywhere, but sadly, it wasn’t meant to last. Years later it was shut down and forgotten. Fast forward to the early nineties, suddenly the old studio comes to life and starts to broadcast onto home televisions. Gordan the handyman is sent in to shut the studio down, but it’s not going to be a simple job of just hitting a switch…
Can the kids watch?:
Absolutely. I mean there can be some scary bits with puppets coming to life and attacking you, but they just kind of grab you and toss you to the ground. Taking them out is not graphic at all, the weapons are comical, and nobody dies, they just get knocked out. Definitely a game for a younger audience, I have yet to find a confirmed ESRB rating but I wouldn’t worry about the kids if they watched.
Gameplay:
Combat
Every step of the way through the game Gordan will have puppets blocking his path, ready to give him a violent hug and impede his progress. In order to get by he’ll find a few items to defend himself like a pipe wrench, or even a specialized firearm that shoots rolodex letters at his enemies. Now if you take out a puppet, then go through a loading screen and come back the puppet will be back up and ready to attack, unless you find and use some tape and wrap them up. Taped enemies will come back to life but be stuck squirming wherever you left them.
Puzzles
There were quite a few different puzzles keeping Gordan from moving forward. I wouldn’t say any were terribly hard, but they weren’t no brainers. Some were figured out via trial and error while others will have clues around the area you’ll have to sniff out. I really enjoyed the puzzles, I had to always keep a pen and paper nearby to write things down with some of the clues spanning quite a large area, but the whole process was a lot of fun.
The Puppets
The living puppets lurking around the studio can be quite endearing with their banter, constantly talking like they are on T.V. teaching kids about numbers or playing a game of I spy. But you can’t let their charm lull you into a false sense of security; most of them will show strong affection toward Gordan, and that can really hurt. There are a couple puppets roaming around that Gordan can help, giving some feel goods and achievements, so they’re not all bad.
The Map/s
The studio is broken up into a few different areas and can get quite large, very easy to get lost in and you don’t want to be back tracking with all the puppets around every corner. Thankfully there is a map for every area, the only problem is you have to find it first. After the map is found, it will start to color in as you explore. It was very helpful, an explored room would stay a red color if there was something you can pick up in there, if you managed to find everything in the room, the map turns it green.
Tokens
In a move reminiscent of older games, saving wasn’t automatic and always there to save me if I goofed and died. When Gordan runs out of health he gets put back wherever the last save was, could be a couple minutes ago, could be a couple of hours. Saving often was important but there were some caveats with the entire process, first, save points are only found in special rooms, and the only way to save is to use a token, items found lying around here and there. There is a finite number of tokens and in higher difficulties they can run out very fast leaving you vulnerable to a lot of rework. And they could be spent to fully heal Gordan, so there could be some tough choices while playing.
Inventory Control
Gordan comes equipped with a suitcase used to store everything he finds. There are no storage expansions so keeping everything organized was a must. If the storage started to get out of control there were boxes in every safe room you could put items you don’t want to carry, they are all connected so Gordan’s items are available in all safe rooms. Some items do stack but only so far before they start to take up another space. It was tough making room for puzzle pieces, health, key items, and ammo near the end. Thankfully the game does let you know when you’ve exhausted all the uses of something like a key with a small check mark letting you know it no longer has a need to be carried around.
Secrets
It was a straightforward game with one main overall goal, but hidden throughout every section are locked off areas or safes or any number of things that Gordan can look into for extra cheats or notes expanding on the world. Some of the secret areas really stick out and aren’t difficult to get into, but some can be extremely vague, requiring you to search every possible area and take note of what’s around.
After The End
When the game is beat you will be graded on how well you did and there will be quite a few unlocks available to play with. There are higher difficulties unlocked to try out as well as different cheats. Most of the cheats will be unlocked by finding VHS tapes hidden throughout the studio. Some can add more difficulty to a playthrough while some can make the game a lot easier. While others are there to give you a good laugh.
Outro:
My Friendly Neighborhood was very comparable to how old Resident Evil games played with the puzzles and items needed to save the game. It was entertaining and gave some fun things to work towards by beating the game multiple times. My first playthrough took about six and a half hours with subsequent playthroughs going much faster. I feel like this is a really good time to rate the game and figure out what shelf we should put it on.
The visuals were pretty good for an indie game. A couple wacky things here and there with enemies flying through walls but overall I’m giving it a four
The story wasn’t unique per se, a typical inanimate object coming to life and causing harm, but the way it all comes together was very good. The game doesn’t depend on jump scares and bloody graphics to entertain and just feels like wholesome fun, I’m going with another four.
Gameplay was slow due to the lack of speed Gordan had, and sometimes when I shot my guns they did not go where I was aiming or the puppets were completely unphased by my attacks, its getting a three.
Replayability was good for this game. With special unlocks only available if you can beat the game on a certain difficulty or with a certain grade I was compelled to beat it again. That’s a four
The only time I wasn’t enjoying myself was an extended period of time where I was lost because I didn’t see an obvious key on a wall, that’s on me, other than that I was looking forward to what was next all the way to the credits. It’s worthy of a five.
I was really surprised with My Friendly Neighborhood I didn’t expect it to get an overall score of four. Earning it a place up there on the top shelf. I would recommend this game it’s a refreshing game showing that not everything needs excessive blood or violence to be entertaining. I laughed, I screamed, I would totally do it again.