Version History

This article list the differences between the versions of Hello Neighbor, and its development cycle.

Prototype

The unplayable version of Hello Neighbor, containing the ending in which the Neighbor catches the player trying to enter his basement, burying them alive.

Pre-Alpha

This was the first publically available build. In it, the player was required to get a crowbar or a hammer, a key or a lockpick, and a four-digit code to unlock the basement, which was an empty room under the stairs.

The Neighbor's house was blue, and while pretty large on the outside, it only contained one floor, with the stairs to the next floor blocked by a pile of furniture. The player's own house has a bunch of empty inaccessible rooms, and one room with a bed and an empty hallway containing the front door. The house had two layouts, which affected the placement of items and the accessibility of rooms. One of the rooms had its doors barricaded by a fridge and a table, preventing the player or Neighbor entering normally, though they can smash the window to gain access. Additionally, the Neighbor would place furniture barricades that could be knocked over. The TVs and radios had the same sound, a fast talking Spanish announcer advertising a bank.

The Neighbor could be distracted by throwing items, which would lure him to that location, or by ringing the doorbell or breaking a window. During a chase, the Neighbor would throw bear traps to trap the player, and tomatoes which would tint the player's screen red for a few seconds and obscure their vision. The Neighbor was able to spot the player in their own house, though he couldn't catch them there without a glitch. He set up cameras, some of which could be set up on the floor.

The player could also lean in order to look around corners, and the controls were different. Pressing "F" would instantly grab an object, and pressing the left mouse button while holding the right mouse button would throw objects.

Alpha 1

This was the first Alpha build. In it, the player required the same items to reach the basement, though removing boards from the basement door was altered to instead require clicking the four nails instead of just clicking the board. They also did not need a four-digit code anymore. Upon opening the basement, a cutscene would play where the player starts to approach the door, and then the Neighbor appears from the left, closes the door and rushes the player. When their vision returns, the Neighbor can be seen burying the protagonist alive. This was also the first build to feature a tutorial and an intro cutscene. This cutscene consisted of the view switching between the player driving to their new house and the Neighbor grabbing a pair of binoculars, walking up the stairs and looking out of his window. There was no intro music, other than a tense organ track.

The Neighbor's house was multi-colored and looked less like a standard house. There was also a train track running around the house, and a tram car could be seen, though it could not be reached. There were two floors, as well as an unfinished third floor. The house also contained an elevator which the Neighbor could use. There is also a flooded room on the second floor, guarded by a robotic shark which would send the player out of the house if it caught them. They were required to freeze the water by turning off the furnace on the first floor. The TVs and Radios got their own sounds, the former getting a show featuring people talking in English, perhaps a detective show, and the latter getting some sort of sports event.

This build introduced the rifle and altered the cameras so they could only be set up on walls and ceilings. This was also the first build to allow the cameras to be picked up. The Neighbor no longer threw bear traps while chasing the player. He also gained the ability to knock down doors blocked with chairs. The Neighbor would no longer be able to chase the player inside their own house, though occasionally he would break in through the front window and then stop moving, giving the player free reign of his house.

The controls were altered slightly. Picking up items functioned the same, but the throwing control was changed to simply holding the right mouse button briefly, while blocking chairs with doors was changed from right clicking a door to left clicking a door. Leaning around corners was also removed from the game.

Alpha 2

This was the second Alpha build. In it, the hammer and key no longer appeared, and the padlock was replaced with a keycard reader. The basement was playable, but most of it was locked behind a partially open door which would end the game when approached. This was also the only version to feature debugging and the Unreal Engine console. The intro cutscene to this version involves the player driving to their new house while calming music plays. They enter the house, bring in their things and fall asleep. An ominous cutscene plays where the Neighbor knocks them out, and evicts them to the house across the street while nailing up boards, chugging milk and various other things. The player wakes up startled, on the sofa which is now across the street. The view zooms in on the Neighbor's house, where he is seen yelling "Quiet!" to something or someone which knocks him over, and then the player takes control of the protagonist.

The Neighbor's house was once again blue and looking like a standard house. However, it was much smaller, and only had 2 floors. The player could access the roof with a wrench. This build also introduced a "lost and found" box where items would spawn if they fell out of the map. The day and night cycle was removed, and it was perpetually day time in this build.

The ability to slow down the Neighbor was added, so the rifle became more than just a puzzle element. This build also altered the way hiding in cabinets worked, fixing it in the process. The aesthetics of many of the props in the Neighbor's house were updated to look more cartoony, and thus fit the Neighbor himself. The Neighbor was given new animations for walking and sprinting.

The player was given a proper model, and so their hands were then visible while holding objects. The pickup key was changed to "E" and required being held briefly before the objects would be picked up. The controls were also refined so that sprinting worked much better.

Alpha 3

This was the third Alpha build, and featured the first draft of the final version's house. Here the Neighbor's house is bigger than the player's house while the game is only night time and the basement is for unclear reasons omitted.

Alpha 4

The fifth version, it is somewhat identical to Alpha 3 but now has a day cycle and once again a basement, only this time is more difficult to access because the player must melt the ice block containing the keycard, unheat the crowbar, and at least gain the double-jump ability to navigate the basement.

E3 Beta

The 6th version of Hello Neighbor; still the same with the previous two alphas but with more content and sequences, such as the intro sequence of Alpha 2 where the player completes a checklist or goal.

Beta 1 & 2

Very much identical to the E3 Beta and Alpha 4, only an intro sequence similar to that in Alpha 2 has been added.

Beta 3

Released on August 14, 2017, heavily updated from the previous Betas since the engine upgrade to 4.16 of Unreal Engine 4 caused massive stability issues.

Trivia

• TinyBuild previously confirmed on Twitter that Hello Neighbor would be released on August 29, 2017 or Summer 2017 as said on Steam, before realizing it would be better to simply delay the game instead of releasing something buggy or cutting/splicing features.