Secret Neighbor Review (Uncle Tuna)
As someone who loves asymmetrical multiplayer games and the eerie charm of Hello Neighbor, Secret Neighbor should have been a hit. Unfortunately, it misses the mark in almost every important area.
First off, the gameplay loop gets old fast. While the idea of one player secretly being the Neighbor is cool on paper, it ends up being more annoying than fun due to poor balancing and limited map variety. Matches feel repetitive, and once the novelty wears off, there’s not much incentive to keep playing.
The controls are clunky and awkward, especially for a game that relies on quick movement and stealth. Add to that a combat system that feels floaty and imprecise, and you’ve got a recipe for frustration.
Then there’s the community. Since the game heavily relies on teamwork and voice chat, playing with randoms is often a nightmare. There's little to no in-game moderation, leading to frequent trolling, toxic behavior, or people just refusing to cooperate. Without a group of friends, the game is far more irritating than enjoyable.
Bugs and glitches are also a constant presence. Characters clipping through walls, items not working properly, and players disconnecting mid-game all contribute to an unstable experience. It's clear the game needed more polish before release.
Visually, it sticks to the cartoony style of the original game, but even that feels dated and underwhelming now. Audio design is basic at best and adds little to the atmosphere.
In the end, Secret Neighbor is a cool idea buried under bad design choices, lackluster execution, and a toxic player base. It could have been something special, but as it stands, it's more frustrating than fun.
Rating: 0/10
Edit:
I have played an additional 9 hours on this game and it still sucks