My Friendly Neighborhood (PC, Steam Deck) Review

Neighbors are Those Who are Close to Us

Wholesome children’s shows starring friendly puppets and innocent children used to be a huge part of television culture. Shows like Sesame Street, Barney, and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood taught lessons of sharing, traffic safety, and the like but all of these types of productions exhumed a warm level of kindness that’s rarely seen in children’s programming today as things continuously revolve around branding and merchandising. Yet, with a slight change in presentation, these programs can seep into eerie unrest. This off-kilter area of storytelling is precisely where My Friendly Neighborhood – a horror game developed by John and Evan Szymanski and published by DreadXP with retro bones and a lovingly crafted felt exterior – calls home. 

At the outset of this tale, something is amiss in the old MFN broadcasting studios on 123 Sunrise Street, a collection of buildings where the popular Saturday program “The Friendly Neighborhood” once proudly put on one of the most beloved shows of its time. Years after the company fell into ruin, something strange appears on the televisions of a gray post-war world – the puppets have returned and they’re laughing, a little too much. At the top of the main building, the tower is graced with the striking red glow of power, seemingly awakened from a deep slumber forced by sudden abandonment. Tasked to shut down the broadcast, Gordon, a local handyman, takes on the job but soon discovers that the puppets have a mind of their own and there’s something uncharacteristically wrong about them. “Television’s heartbeat has returned!” yells Ricky the Sock as Gordon reluctantly gathers his tools and sets out on a twisting adventure through a neglected production facility plagued with “friendly” neighbors.  

My Friendly Neighborhood may seem like another attempt to capitalize on the “mascot horror” trend spurned on by Five Nights at Freddy’s and Hello Neighbor however, the game has far more in common with Resident Evil and features a more cohesive game design than most of its contemporaries. The game feels similar to Resident Evil 7 mechanically, utilizing a first-person perspective that has one scrounging around for items (which are sorted using the iconic item system from Resident Evil 4) and solving various lock-and-key puzzles. Players snap to locations of interest, allowing for mouse exploration adventure game style; though this exploration feels a little snappier while playing with a controller. While the game’s world is a massive puzzle box where Gordon steadily gains access to other areas by shuffling key items around and taking in the environment’s details, much of the action has the recoil and energy one would expect from a far more violent shooter. 

There are guns in My Friendly Neighborhood and I’m glad this is the route the team took when it comes to dealing with the game’s plushy enemies. Each weapon uses metal type-facing letters like those used in press printing and the mechanical details of each instrument are visually interesting to behold while creating a thematically interesting way to protect oneself from foes. For example, the Stenographer spits out letters in alphabetical order as a different approach to a typical video game pistol. Even the act of reloading via a Rolodex keeps the proper letter up next! Each weapon is similar in design, utilizing the deliberate nature of writing and printing against these lost, once-beloved characters. Ironic considering much of their woes can be traced back to the pens and typewriters of their downtrodden screenwriters. This game is full of smart little details like this and I was genuinely surprised at the level of polish the experience achieves while also dialing back the surface horror and using minimal violence. 

Although, while the combat does have the snappy feel that makes FPS titles so engaging, there are a few details that could’ve made the game just a bit better in my opinion. For one, healing appears to only be doable from the inventory screen, meaning there’s no way to heal in tough situations. These are few instances sure, but a one-button heal like what’s used in RE7 and RE8 would have helped. To keep things more decision-driven one could temporarily have to lower the weapon to do so. Additionally, I’m not sold on the conveyance of the game’s wrench which has little to no impact when using it. Nearly every enemy can snap to the player and throttle them for damage. It’s like trying to fight Zangief with a paper clip though there is a findable cheat for a stronger wrench on a second run. Nitpicks aside, the game keeps things engaging through clever design choices.

My Friendly Neighborhood could genuinely be a young player’s introduction to the horror genre of video games. There are enough scares to be found to keep the game rooted in this genre but it is primarily a narrative-based puzzle game. Players can steadily uncover the timeline of what happened to MFN and how each character has been affected by those events. This resulted in several simple revelations that left me excited for every turn of the story. Furthermore, the game’s setting of a studio is perfect as I’ve always found there to be a level of uncanniness in these types of spaces. It also helps that the puppets are so perfectly animated and babble about all sorts of wacky things. 

The voices are exactly what one would expect from these sorts of characters; they’re cheery and silly in a way that screams 90s television. I adored all of their weird ramblings and the line about brushing one’s teeth with Worcestershire sauce always makes me laugh. Some characters pose more of a threat than others such as the barreling mass Goblette or the sheer size of Pearl the Bird but keeping my distance and shutting foes down with well-placed letters allowed me to never really be afraid of this cast of masterless puppetry. They’re often presented in dark corners though which can lead to a fright and I found myself watching them frequently, waiting for one to snap and curious to see what they might do or say next. Thankfully, any puppets that get in the way of traversing the studios can be bound in duct tape, permanently leaving them there to pontificate nonsense. 

One of my favorite interactions involved a room where Norman (the main pupped used in the game’s marketing and promotional material) was taped up out of view. As I pondered the bricks of the sewers, Norman talked about wondering if that handyman would ever come back and lamented about how lonely he was. He went on and on about missing Gordon so I went to check on him on the off-chance he had found some scissors or something. Norman snapped alert and delightfully exclaimed, “You’re here!” While it would’ve been far scarier had he gotten out, I had a laugh and went about my business of pulling apart the pieces of this massive sector. 

Each section is steadily unlocked by completing certain tasks and finding various keys. This leads Gordon to mix a solvent for a gummed-up elevator, replace a part on a pipe, and complete all sorts of item-connected puzzles while keeping track of his resources and shuffling things around his limited carrying capacity. Granted, there were a few puzzles that I just couldn’t be bothered to solve naturally. One moment in particular required me to look at various images in a hedge maze to correctly place character tokens on a map but a pupset dog patrolled the area. There is a way to pacify these dogs for good – and I recommend doing so before tackling certain tasks – but rather than risk frequent damage and a steady drain of ammo, I opted for an online guide. That said, a few of the more interesting puzzles really ask the player to think about their environment and I really appreciate those. One leads to a super cool weapon and there might be more secrets hidden throughout the neighborhood that players have yet to find.

As a fan of puzzle box game design, particularly the type found in old-school Resident Evil titles, I was right at home in My Friendly Neighborhood. Even the game’s audio captivated me in a similar way as the RE franchise; the save room music in MFN is one of the most soothing jazz compositions I’ve ever heard. Frankly, the entire soundtrack is incredible with big band moments and noir mystery tones. With stellar sound design keeping me grounded, puzzles keeping my brain at work, and shooting mechanics keeping my hands active I was completely enthralled with this strange but deeply fascinating game. 

Each of these characters features designs and dialogue that feel carefully considered and the way the story is presented is masterful. I loved reading each of the newspaper articles and going out of my way to help the more monstrous-looking puppets, eventually realizing that there was far more to them than their appearance would suggest. Doing so is highly recommended as the game’s true ending is so heartwarming and satisfying that it elevates the entire journey. 

My Friendly Neighborhood is a game with a fantastic last act that is genuinely terrifying and memorable. The whole concept of why the puppets are off-script is so interesting and sparks a wider conversation about our relationship with media. Even better, beating the game with certain ranks or in particular ways unlocks new ways to play and there are secret cheat tapes to find that add even more reasons to play the game again. The only real criticism I have about the game’s replay value is that one cannot return to a finished save or save over multiple files, meaning it’s tougher to go back to particular scenes. I was hoping to replay the final act to see if there were different things I could have tried but I’d have to play the entire game again to do so.

My Friendly Neighborhood may not have the blood and guts that many crave out of their horror experiences but it accomplishes so much without violence in a way that feels new and interesting. The world and story are fleshed out wonderfully and there’s an amazing message behind the game’s final moments. The gameplay is finely tuned, playing surprisingly well on the Steam Deck which is where I played the game the most. Wrapping up at night with a pair of headphones and huddling around the Steam Deck actually made for a more immersive experience for me that I haven’t felt with horror in a while. The battery drained a little fast for my liking but this is definitely one of the easiest titles to recommend to Steam Deck owners; it just works.   

As I reached the end of the game and the lights dimmed as a song was softly sung, I was left with a feeling of happiness that I didn’t expect to find in a scary game about nostalgic puppets. My Friendly Neighborhood gave me a horror experience that I won’t soon forget and I think anyone who gives it an honest try might also walk away with a similar feeling.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8.5/10

VISUALS - 9/10

SOUND - 10/10

CONTROLS - 8/10

REPLAY VALUE - 9.5/10

OVERALL - 9/10

Learn more about My Friendly Neighborhood on the official website. A digital copy of the game was provided for the purpose of review. Screenshots were captured using the native features of the Steam Deck.