My Friendly Neighborhood

i dislike the saving mechanics its annoying to have too spend MORE TIME PLAYING TO STOP PLAYING AND YOU LOSE A LOAD OF PROGRESS IF YOU DONT AND YOU CANT SAVE AND QUIT UNLESS YOU SPEND ONE OF THE GAMES RAREST RESOURCES if you play it in one sitting or can spend hours playing its fine but i have school, i need sleep AND I LOSE LIKE AN HOUR OF PROGRESS IF I HAVE A HARD OUT

My Friendly Neighborhood is a game that I like and want to talk about, because it’s strange in ways that really interest me. To start out, My Friendly Neighborhood is a parody survival horror game, but to be clear it isn’t scary. That is part of the parody, and the main meat of the game isn’t the gameplay but the contrast between the setup and the content. Mechanically the gameplay is fine and the game isn’t overlong or too difficult. I didn’t get stuck and then environments and puzzles within them vary quickly enough that nothing gets too stale. There’s nothing strictly [i]wrong[/i] with it, but it’s not very exciting or interesting on its own. Indeed most of the fun of the game is the context which, to be fair, isn’t unusual. So let’s talk about that context. The basic idea is that you are Gordon GruffRepairMan and you have to go repair a satellite dish that has started working mysteriously. In the process of doing this you get swept up into a night of trouble and terror. The obvious question then is: “If this game is clearly not scary, why is it framed like a survival horror game?”. The first answer is that it makes for fun parody and a unique tone and context, but I think there’s something more within this framing. Beyond this point is spoilers. [spoiler]Gordon, like many of us, has erected a shield of cynicism to protect himself from a cold world. My Friendly Neighborhood isn’t framed as a horror game because the monsters are scary, it’s a horror game because Gordon is frightened by the realization that the cruelty of the world and the shield of jaded resignation we hide behind are one and the same. It’s an excellent example of interplay between genre and narrative. It is a horror situation because the person experiencing it (Gordon) doesn’t like what the scene in front of him is telling him. That revulsion is reflected in gameplay by the use of tools typically associated with actual frightening danger. Similarly we are only able to see the best ending by breaking out of our shell and facing our fears of kindness and vulnerability in order to help others turn from monsters to allies and friends. Without the horror gameplay this would be much more difficult to depict and as such My Friendly Neighborhood stands as a unique example of gameplay as narrative subtext[/spoiler] As such, I would recommend My Friendly Neighborhood both as a humorous, unique game and also as an example of how the medium of games can be used to enhance a narrative. Take a trip to the neighborhood sometime, we could all use a lesson on being a little more friendly.

I have to preface saying I'm a big baby and any traditional survival horror games are too spooky for me. And but so I really liked this- I found every aspect solid through and through, and have been seriously recommending it to my irl friends since I started playing it. It's resident evil style non linear levels, but the zombies and mansion are replaced with muppets and sesame street. I guess, yeah, the game isn't overtly scary like RE or Signalis are, but the combat is tense enough that entering a room and hearing several different muppet voices makes me pucker. The writing for the crazy muppets is fun, and I found myself hanging out around a corner just to listen to what they had to say. The main story is a bit short, but as a busy person I'm always into that, although I know that's just me. And yet, of you find yourself wanting more, there is at least a couple extra hours in extra rooms and puzzles across the map to complete, as well as extra game modes (like an RE mercernaries-esque horde mode) after completion of the main story. I did find even myself, as a non-veteran of the genre, having kinda thriving more than surviving by the end of the game, but even then every encounter was still tense enough to keep me holding my breath until my felt adversary was properly incapacitated and duct taped. Note there is a hard mode you can play off the bat if you're seasoned, although I can't speak for it's balance. The game is good enough to have found a place in my head, and very likely some replays in the future, but I will say one of the things I couldn't stop thinking about is how just short of a perfect scoring game this is. The story is good, but a little scant. Environments and graphics are all well designed, but you can tell were rendered on a budget. There are only three weapons and two enemy types, but its pleasantly short so you're not feeling burned out on any of them by the end. Bottom line: great game, easy recommend. Fun, unique premise, familiar execution, pleasantly short with replay value.

not scary and boring story

This is a really interesting game. I has a lot of survival horror mechanics. Limited saves, map completion, obtuse puzzles, planned routes, limited items that make enemies stay dead, grid inventory, item chests, etc. But, unlock survival horror, this game isn't scary. Not that it tries to be and fails, it just isn't that type of game. It's really more about the transformative power of being kind. I'd say if you're a real survivor horror buff, you must play on a harder difficulty than normal. The game is very easy and throws a lot of resources at you. On my second playthrough, I was exclusively using the shotgun just to free up inventory space. At one point, I even had to discard health items. It's only about five hours for a first playthrough. I was able to get through it in three on my second. I think if you're into speed running or achievement hunting, this game will have a lot more to offer. There's multiple difficulties, NG+, secrets, cheats, a separate game mode, a few endings. It tries to beef up the package since the price tag is kinda high at $30. If you're just going to do one or two standard runs, the price of admission is steep. But it's such a unique game with a clear vision. I think it's just good to support these kinds of projects. So, there's that to consider too. I did have one persistent bug where I couldn't reload my shotgun without switching to another weapon first. Also, during the final fight of the game, I couldn't reload my shotgun or switch to any of my other weapons. Some of the melee combat comes off as janky. I mean, it's a really small team. I'm not going to harp on that stuff. If you've heard it described at Resident Evil meets Sesame Street, just remember it's Resident Evil in mechanics, not in tone.

I highly recommend this game! If you like Resident evil clones this game does it right. It has a great story which surprised me and had a good amount of challenge.

It is a great game for people who like puppets, and shooting games. I would love if Dreadxp makes a sequel or movie.