Neighbours back From Hell is a remake of the first two games in the series, released on PC in 2003 and 2004, respectively. It keeps the content of both seasons in the original games while rearranging the levels. Though the revised edition of the two previous versions remain largely the same, the rearranged levels may be worth making a return for those who have good feelings about the original game. Its arcade-style puzzle gameplay and simple controls still make for a fun experience, but this surprising comeback made me thinking whether I actually wanted to play it again.

You take on the role of Woody, a guy who has a neighbor called Mr. Rottweiler, who happens to be loud and often disturbs Woody's peace with his activities. On top of that, his dog loves killing Woody's garden by urinating on the trees. Rude. As revenge, Woody sneaks into Mr. Rottweiler’s house and irritates him to the extreme, sometimes in a very harmful manner. At the same time, Woody invites a TV crew to film the whole thing. As the game progresses, the Rottweiler family gets fed up with their countless nightmares and goes on a vacation. Surprisingly, you might just feel sorry for them, but Woody spoils their vacation, too. The game hasn’t changed from its original, so the puzzles are very similar. That’s the good news. At the same time, there are no new challenges to face, other than a few scenarios, which is the bad news. A change in pace or some additional spice, such as able to buy items for setting pranks, or a timed mission, or anything new would’ve been good additions. It’s been 17 years since the first game, so we wouldn’t mind seeing Woody got married and his wife has joined him helping with the pranks. This would also open the window for co-op too, though this suggestion would be more fitted for a sequel than to a remake.

Interacting with different objects in these stages will help you to find items for setting up traps. Then, you need to combine these items with different objects in specific locations where your neighbors will inadvertently fall into. While the concept and control are very simple, the execution is usually not that much. Your neighbor roams around in his house busy doing his activities. If you are caught in the same room, you will lose one of the three lives you gain per level.

Mr. Rottweiler follows a set routine in each level, indicated by thought-bubbles in the lower corner of the screen. This gives you the chance to set up pranks, as long as you keep track of your neighbour’s movements. You can see him moving from room to room, gazing through a binocular, watching a TV show, or going to the kitchen to grab a beer, which gives you time to strike. Interacting with different objects in Neighbours back from Hell’s stages helps you to find items for setting up traps. Then, you need to combine these items with other objects in specific locations, only to watch your neighbors inadvertently fall for your pranks. However, there is no real-time pressure, as he will go through the same actions until you eventually pull off all required pranks, reaching the end of the level. If you miss the opportunity to chop a few woods from his chair, we have to wait a few moments for him to start again and then a few more moments before that action is repeated. Each level tasks you with successfully seeing a handful of pranks performed. New levels are unlocked as you complete those you already have access to. Similarly, a new season is unlocked when all the levels in the current season are completed. These 25 levels take place across three different settings, Rottweiler's residence, a cruise ship, and, finally, the holiday. The levels in the holiday season are, in principle, the same, except for the fact that they take you to places like Hollywood, China or India. Each level has a certain amount of gold medals to collect, but they sadly don’t have any use other than unlocking trophies.

Visually, Neighbours back From Hell isn’t doing so well, either. The characters and scenarios fall somewhere between cartoons and Claymation, but character movements feel rusty and outdated compared to the animations to which current-gen gamers are used. Overall, the animations are also a bit sluggish, as the frame rate drops when the pranks play out. The games’ otherwise precise control scheme is a bit annoying, at least on PlayStation 4. Due to the lack of a cursor on the screen, you are forced to rely on direct interactions with different things to find items or discover prank locations. It is also a little disappointing that you can encounter precisely the same prank in different levels. Due to this, the gameplay quickly gets repetitive, especially in the first season, as you progress throughs the same places and set up the same traps – like placing eggs in a microwave oven when you play in Mr. Rottweiler’s house – over and over again.

If you’ve played the original Neighbours from Hell, there's a sense of nostalgia that reaches you from the first moment you load into one of the remake’s levels. I remember having a lot of laughs back in the day, but, somehow, Neighbours back From Hell failed to be humorous. At some point in the game, I honestly started to feel bad for Mr. Rottweiler's family. It could be that I’ve grown up or the game felt dated. Perhaps, in this case, a sequel focusing on new features and a new story would have been better than a simple remaster.
 

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed
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