Hello Neighbor, a cartoonish stealth-horror game, did not amaze me when it was released in 2017, but it was profitable enough to warrant a prequel, a multiplayer offshoot, an animated series, and, of course, a sequel. Hello Neighbor 2 was announced for July 2020, and we got a glimpse at a brand new teaser today at the PC Gaming Show that puts up a new story of neighbors with significant border difficulties.
Hello Neighbor 2 expands on the original game’s concept—a child hears screams from the house next door, breaks in to investigate, and must then evade the angry neighbor and escape—to encompass the entire town of Raven Brooks, a small, quiet place that is experiencing a spate of murders and mysterious disappearances for unknown reasons. The whole town feels strange, so you, as a wise and concerned citizen, decide that the best thing to do is to begin investigating—that is, to start following people around and breaking into their homes to discover what they’re up to.
The inconsistent AI of the neighbour was one of our major gripes with Hello Neighbor. Hello Neighbor 2 will try to confront that weakness front on with a “self-learning AI” that, according to the Steam listing, would respond to interruptions and aggressively seek for methods to mimic and attack the player.
“Every character in Hello Neighbor 2 is driven by a neural network AI, learning from the players and doing everything they can to safeguard their gated community and its secrets,” TinyBuild explained.
That’s a huge promise, and I’m curious to see if the new game can deliver on it. Hello Neighbor 2 will be released later this year; for more information and to join up for the continuing alpha, visit helloneighbor2.com.
