Last year, DreadXP released a little game called The Mortuary Assistant. Initially, I scoffed at it, and arguably at DreadXP in general. “A publisher that specializes purely in horror games? Well, I smell a lot of streaming clickbait!” the sarcastic side of me thought. The more reasonable side of me thought that their games looked fine, but I didn’t see anything special. And then came the actual game, a surprisingly clever and impressive horror game that got acclaim from both audiences and critics,and even scored a spot in our Game of the Year awards.And now this year, their latest hyped release seems to be My Friendly Neighborhood, from developers John and Evan Szymanski. I ignored it for a while, though, because I wasn’t convinced that lightning could strike twice. And now having playing it, I can say that kind of thinking, my friends, is why I am not a meteorologist.
My Friendly Neighborhood sees you playing as Gordon, a war veteran turned handyman tasked with shutting down a mysterious broadcast from MFN Studios, former home to the titular Sesame Street-style TV show for kids. But upon finding the elevator to the roof gummed up and resident sock puppet Ricky (voiced by notable puppet and YouTube gaming personalityArlo,in a clever bit of casting) telling him to not kill the broadcast, it’s clear that something is up here. And since it would be crazy for Gordon to just get in his van and drive away after meeting all of this, it’s time for him to investigate, only to discover along the way that the felt residents of The Friendly Neighborhood are acting…off, to say the least.
So yes, the dart flung at the board filled with various names of kid’s stuff to subvert for horror games landed on “puppets” this time around. Thankfully, though, the gameplay isn’t like those found in a lot of other notable “mascot horror” games, less about running away and jump scares and more about first-person Resident Evil throwbacks. After all, with Gordon being a combat veteran, it only makes sense that he would know how to fight back, even against a rather bizarre cast of enemies. Though this time around, his guns fire giant metal letters, courtesy of weapons with titles such as “The Rolodexer,” which turn cards with letters printed on them into ammo. Yes, really.
The alphabet arsenal in My Friendly Neighborhood pretty much perfectly sets the tone for everything right then and there, that being a twisted bit of comedic horror where you visit various areas in the studio like the stage and offices, stumble across each puppet denizen and see them being a chatterbox with twisted ramblings, and then hit them so hard that they ragdoll away in an almost literal sense. Each character is a nicely warped take on the Muppets, ranging from the core cast of the more humanoid characters to the giant cartoon blob and the Oscar the Grouch-style handyman. Bonus points for the numerous shoutouts to other Jim Henson properties that you can find along the way, always a nice touch.
But while My Friendly Neighborhood is all in favor of cranking up the absurdity for a bit of contrast and focusing on a more action-oriented survival horror experience, there’s a shockingly well-crafted story at the center of things. Without going into possible spoiler territory, the game, in both its main plot and collectibles, touches upon the themes of trauma, caring, changing times, kindness in a potentially darker world, and more, and does so well, without sacrificing anything. It’s the type of story that actually kept me thinking afterwards, about the likes of Sesame Street compared to the in-game show, and the whole “mascot horror” genre as a whole. It’s terrific stuff, really.
As for the core gameplay, it expertly replicates the feel of classic Resident Evil games…though unfortunately, like last year’sSignalis,it ended up taking a “warts and all” approach to certain areas. That means not only having designated save rooms, but limited saves as well, earned via Save Tokens that you can collect. Granted, the difficulty is perfectly fair enough (at least on Normal) that this never became a hindrance, but it was enough to make me question why the game even has Save Tokens. Then there’s limited inventory space, having players rely on a classic “suitcase” grid layout and tool chests to store items in. It’s more generous than expected, but it still means a lot of annoying backtracking. And if I’m backtracking in a game such as this, I want it to be because I’m exploring in order to find new areas to open and puzzles to solve, not because I need to hike back to the save room multiple times because I didn’t have enough enough room for four masks I needed all at once.
This is likely as good a time as any to point out that My Friendly Neighborhood dabbles a lot in classic Resident Evil puzzle design as well, such as finding specific keys to open doors in previous areas, placing emblems, arranging fuses in the right order, and more. This ends up contributing towards the largest strengths, as the emphasis on exploration and various bits of lore, scenery, Easter eggs and secrets to find (including unlockable cheats) has you exploring a well-crafted, impressive world, and getting to see more of it while also coming across certain items to give you an advantage. And since the enemy puppets respawn, you also have to properly plan out a route so as not to waste your resources, or figure out when to best use limited duct tape on enemies so that they don’t respawn. It’s basically a nice blend of strategy and a desire for more environmental storytelling.
As for any actual combat…well, there’s a bit of a hindrance to it. While blasting the Neighborhood residents away with letter-powered pistols, shotguns, grenades and more is cathartic, the lack of any aiming reticle, combined with the stun animation of the puppets compared to say, zombies, makes it hard to know just how much damage you’re dealing, if any. Sometimes you can down a neighbor with just two shots from the pistol, sometimes it seems to take six, even at a short distance. And considering this is survival horror, where you don’t want to waste resources, it’s a bit of a flaw, to say the least.
Even with that, though (along with a couple of annoying enemies), the general combat mixes with every other aspect of My Friendly Neighborhood well enough that it creates an incredibly enjoyable experience overall (especially as certain threats escalate and you have to find possible ways of dealing with them). It might be ironically low on pure horror, but My Friendly Neighborhood still has impressive tricks up its sleeve thanks to its setting, along with a lot of replay value in its various nooks and crannies, helped out thanks to multiple endings (complete with a “true” ending that requires a bit of legwork, naturally). It’s a neighborhood that you’ll love to spend time in, minus the puppets who want to literally love you to death, of course.
Closing Comments:
My Friendly Neighborhood is a pleasant surprise and a genuine delight, one highly recommended for fans of survival horror, mascot horror and possibly even those who aren’t horror fans. This lunatic take on Sesame Street has more to it beneath the surface, including a great story, imaginative characters, fun visuals and a lot of classic Resident Evil-style puzzle solving and combat (the latter being a little rocky, though). It’s a unique flavor of survival horror that makes for a clever, enjoyabale take on classic puppet friends, and one worth checking out.
My Friendly Neighborhood
