On the 22nd November 2016, publisher TinyBuild annouced the second alpha version of the Hello Neighbor game to the early access supporters. The pre-alpha is available to download for free, and the Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 builds are available after purchasing the early access version of the game which gives you updated builds as well as the full, 1.0, game in the summer of 2017.
The Alpha 2 build brings a lot of changes to the table, and it features what is planned to be the final art style, edging away from realistic props and more towards surreal, yet believeable props and structures. The player now gets a bigger house for themselves, although it’s not needed and unfurnished…minus a bath and a table. The neighbors house is also a lot smaller than the previous builds, but this just acts as a tutorial house and doesn’t reflect the final game, and I think the tutorial house will possibly make its way into the final build, could this be a tease into different houses being introduced?
There’s now a better options menu upon booting, and following that, an option to watch the new intro sequence, or jump straight into the game. There’s also an option where you can peep through keyholes before opening a door, very handy as the audio still hasn’t been given a distance setting – what I mean by that is that if he opens a door on one side of the house, it’ll sound like it’s right outside your door. The guy can run faster now too which makes escaping his lanky arms harder, but there’s a room hidden away that contains fireworks! The video for that can be seen just below. You now also get notified when the neighbor is in the area as the screen becomes distorted, and a noise occurs. Finally, the physics of stacking and throwing props is much nicer now, and the basement features a short glimpse before whacking the website in your face.
The neighbor also has had an AI upgrade and now notices things that have been moved without his knowledge. For example, his field of vision now follows his head direction, so when he moves his head, so does his line of sight. He now notices when things have been moved or destroyed and will investigate the area. In the previous versions, you had to be totally behind a wall or in a cupboard to be hidden, but now you can actually hide behind props. The amount of traps has also been wonderfully reduced, while the previous builds popped traps up every time you were caught, now they aren’t placed as frequently, although it is mentioned that they’ve only done it because the house is smaller. He also now has more patterns to follow, you’ll find him excersing, drinking milk, and sleeping on the sofas.
The alpha has been warned to contain glitches and bugs, which is understandable. I’ve been playing it for video coverage on this here site, and I’ve come across two great bugs. One got the neighbor stuck in a wall, allowing me to really go around and appreciate the houses details. The other bug I stepped on a spanner and flew into the ceiling. and got stuck. It was great!
The game is still set for a 2017 Summer release, you can see the new story trailer below.
Source: TinyBuild Blog
