Has there ever been a better selling point than Sesame Street but instead of lessons on good behavior it’s a lesson on how not to get murdered? Brother duo John Szymanski and Evan Szymanski took that idea and created a horror game where the fluffiest, coziest puppet friends can be not so friendly after all. This vision of the Szymanski brothers was helped brought to fruition thanks to publisher Dread XP, titled My Friendly Neighborhood.
Players will step into the boots of Gordon, a repairman tasked with investigating the re-airing of a defunct children’s show. The show was a beacon of joy for countless children, but it was mysteriously canceled! What could there possibly be at the studio for Gordon to find? It should be a cake run, right? Little does he know that what awaits him is a dance with the devil, or in this case, a dance with cozy puppets.
Gordon will have to traverse the studio and use non-lethal makeshift weapons and duct tape to subdue the stuffed villains that wait within. The grid-based inventory and non-linear map will challenge players to be fully focused when playing the game. If that didn’t sound challenging enough, there is also a plethora of puzzles, and the ammo itself is based on the alphabet and needs to be managed very carefully.
There are plenty of diverse areas to enjoy like Cardboard Crayon Halls and “BTS” Ray’s Workshop, along with a colorful cast of characters to meet and run from!
My Friendly Neighborhood is out now on PC via Steam and itch.io. PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S versions will be revealed by Dread XP at a later date.
