A Resident Evil Sesame Street fever dream.

My Friendly Neighbour is a first-person survival horror game, from developers Evan and John Szymanski.

With clear inspirations from classics, such as the Resident Evil series and Alien: Isolation. Players must navigate a decaying TV studio where puppets roam, friendly in appearance, but with murderous intent.

Unhinged Puppets

The game’s setup is undoubtably intriguing: you play as Gordon, a repairman sent to disconnect the signal from a broadcast tower from an abandoned children’s TV studio.

The eerie studio houses twisted puppets, lifeless yet animated. Standing still, they wave their arms and recite broken scripts, screaming about their favourite choice for lunch or learning the alphabet. It’s unsettling and absurd, but oddly captivating.

They make you want to hide and observe them.

You must explore through various areas of the abandoned studio, acquiring weapons throughout to combat against the haunted puppets.

The game does not point the player in any direction, allowing for exploration and scavenging for essential items. It may be easy for a player to become lost, while making their way around the different sections of the TV studio sets.

Combat and Survival

Combat in this survival horror feels restricted. If a puppet is lurking, expect a jarring encounter if spotted. While heading to your next objective, you will be chased, grabbed, and pushed to the ground.

 The player’s health comes in three states: Healthy, caution, and danger – making each hit feel significant.

Gordon comes across various weapons throughout his exploration. Such weapons include the wrench, an infinite use melee weapon for higher risk combat. Players also come across firearms like a pistol, or ‘The Novelist” shotgun. Each piece of weaponry packing a powerful anti-puppet punch.

However, the first-person game does not include a crosshair on screen, increasing the difficulty of aiming those precious bullets. This can make the firearms feel ineffective, often missing shots, especially with a lack of ammo supply.

Tape is another essential item. After defeating a puppet, you are able to tape them to the floor permanently, restricting them down. Whereas untaped puppets will reanimate and come back after you. If you happen to forget, or run out of tape, expect the puppet to be standing where you left them next time you come back to that area.

Supplies and Progression

Low on supplies? Progress halts. That sense of tension is amplified by the manual save system, reminiscent of Alien: Isolation. The player must locate tokens, which can be used for save stations, or health stations, further adding to the feeling of helplessness, choosing between healing-up, or saving your progress while you are safe.

Low supplies combined with the restrictive, classic save system can sometimes cross the line into frustration. Tedious backtracking may dull the momentum, especially if a single mistake forces long retreads. A deliberate choice, but one that risks alienating players who prefer a brisk pacing.

Even if you are close to your next objective, lack of supplies can risk your progress. If you have no ammo, or tokens for save or health stations, you are reticent to enter the next room. The anxieties of a puppet horde increase fears for Gordon’s life, and the players sometimes lengthy progress.

 Back we go…

Echoes of Survival Horror: Sound, Puzzles and Inventory

The sound design of the footsteps increases tension. When you are wading through the tight corridors with low ammo supplies, you hear Gordon’s boots on the floorboards, echoing around you. Every move feels detrimental.

The anticipation of turning a corner with Gordon’s thudding footsteps, while hearing the eccentric rantings of the depraved puppets, results in an increased risk of discovery.

The puzzles are reminiscent of those of Resident Evil’s. Oftentimes forcing the player to backtrack through large hordes of enemies, to gather items such as puppet masks which are dotted across the previously explored map. With a clear goal of ultimately getting out of dodge.

The player’s inventory is very similar to that of Resident Evil in its puzzle-like nature, allowing them to arrange their items for optimal storage space, and examine them closer for additional clues.

A Puppet Show Of Fear – And Frustration

My Friendly Neighbourhood often stumbles where it matters most: pacing and playability. 

The scarcity of essential resources isn’t just stressful- it can feel like added artificial difficulty, padding the runtime with backtracking and save-token anxiety.

My Friendly Neighbourhood may not always play nice, but it is undeniably memorable. It’s a haunted puppet show stitched with ambition, heart and just a little too much friction in its gameplay.