My Friendly Neighborhood

About My Friendly Neighborhood

My Friendly Neighborhood was made by brothers John and Evan Szymanski and published by DreadXP. It came out on PC in July 2023 and on PlayStation 4 and 5 and Xbox One and Series X|S in July 2025, when it also joined Xbox Game Pass. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is due on October 22, 2026.

The Friendly Neighborhood was a much-loved children's puppet show until its studio ran out of money and closed. Years later, without warning, TV sets everywhere start showing it again, and in the new episodes the puppets are eating each other. The city sends Gordon, a tired handyman, to turn the antenna off. Inside, the studio's halls and sets are dark, and the cast is waiting.

It plays like a first-person homage to the old survival horror games. You find keys, solve puzzles and unlock shortcuts across a studio you learn to map. Ammunition is scarce and odd: letters of the alphabet, fired from weapons like the Rolodexer. Puppets you knock down will get up again unless you stop them with tape, and the grid inventory is always too small. After the story, a post-game Neighborhorde mode sends waves of puppets at you.

Its horror is the unease of friendly children's characters gone wrong, with plenty of jokes and no gore. The puppets keep up their cheery talk as they attack, which makes them funnier and stranger at once. It suits fans of classic survival horror looking for something different, and it is rated E10+ on PlayStation and Xbox.

How to play My Friendly Neighborhood

1. Explore the studio, checking the map often to see locked doors and unexplored rooms.
2. Pick up keys, tools and letters, and arrange them in your grid inventory.
3. Shoot puppets with letter ammunition, then tape down the ones that fall so they stay down.
4. Solve the puzzles that open new parts of the studio, using clues from notes and sets.
5. Save at save points and store extra items to free up space.

Tips

• Tape is precious: use it on puppets that block routes you will walk again.
• Puppets you knock down come back the next time you enter the room unless taped, so plan your routes.
• You do not have to fight every puppet; many can be walked around.
• Help the puppets with their small problems if you want to see other endings.
• Check the map for rooms marked as not cleared to find items you missed.

Questions