My Friendly Neighborhood (PS5) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: If you ever thought Resident Evil needed more felt My Friendly Neighborhood will be right up your Sesame Street.

3.6

Can you tell me how to get...

John Szymanski and Evan Szymanski’s unsettling Saturday morning abomination, My Friendly Neighborhood, makes its way to consoles after two years to the day since it launched on Steam.

If you’re a fan of Resident Evil, The Banana Splits Movie, or thought it was only a matter of time before Big Bird snapped, then My Friendly Neighborhood will be right up your (Sesame) Street.

Players step into the grouchy shoes of Gordon, a repairman tasked with shutting down the antenna on top of the studio of a defunct kids’ show, after it starts broadcasting some slightly sinister children’s edutainment, right over the news.

Armed with a trusty wrench, you’re left to wonder why the puppets stalking the corridors of this otherwise deserted backlot have forgotten that you’re not supposed to push your friends over, or cuddle them without asking.

Throughout the brightly coloured streets and winding backstage areas, you’re beset by sentient Sesame Street rejects that will not shut up. They stalk you, they trap you, they sap your health if they get their hands on you. They’re an absolute pain in the arse.

But they’re also kind of sad and incredibly creepy, stuck in a loop, unaware that their show is off air, just looking for a child to entertain, or someone to love, who will never leave.

However, Gordon is not completely helpless. Throughout the world, there are numerous wacky weapons to help teach the felted menaces their ABCs with extreme prejudice. These include the Rolodexer that pings letters like a pistol, punctuation grenades that explode into a mash of dots, dashes, and exclamation marks, and the conclusion that blasts enemies with a stream of letters like a Gatling gun.

This being a survival horror game in the Resident Evil mould, down to the swinging doorways and toolbox with limited inventory space, though, resources are scarce, and the decision of whether to fight or run is made all the trickier by the fact that the puppets spring back to their feet every time you leave an area.

There is a simple solution to this problem, though: tying the murderous Muppets up with copious amounts of duct tape. It’s a fairly rare resource and one you’ll want to weigh up whether it’s worth permanently hog-tying them when most can be avoided.

The Resident Evil parallels also extend to the level and puzzle design, which mostly sees Gordon hunting for keys and completing basic item-based puzzles to unlock new areas lorded over by legally distinct overlords, including a very big bird and a very grouchy customer living in the studio’s sewers.

You’re even limited to when you can save, and in a nice twist, heal, with both healing and saving machines requiring the same tokens to function. Creating a subtle but nice risk vs reward mechanic of potentially trading short-term gains for permanent progress.

Final Thoughts

My Friendly Neighborhood is the kind of creepy I like; it takes the mundane and twists it just enough to feel threatening. It’s also the kind of game that wears its inspirations on its sleeve, a silly mix of Resident Evil and Sesame Street with a hint of Bioshock. Which, unfortunately, extends to a final act that doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its earlier chapters.

Regardless, there’s still a lot to love about this fuzzy fright fest, and if you’re a less violent Resident Evil variation, or simply something as silly as it is spooky, you can trust the Szymanski’s to tell you how to get to My Friendly Neighborhood.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

My Friendly Neighborhood (PS5) Review