Ludography
79/100
Players172 ratings
72/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

Neighbours from Hell cover

2003 · JoWooD Productions Software · Strategy · Adventure

Neighbours from Hell

Woody is an average man who has a happy life, until his neighbor Mr. Rottweiler, makes his life miserable. So Woody decides to take full revenge on Mr. Rottweiler, becoming the star of a new TV show where he performs tricks on his unsuspecting neighbour, setting traps in his house such as sawing the chair, banana peels/soap on the floor, smeared paintings and messing with home equipment. Create disarray, increase ratings, and win awards as you make a living hell out of the neighbour's life!

Released
20 June 2003
Platforms
GameCubeNintendo DSWindowsXbox
Genres
StrategyAdventure
Developers
JoWooD Productions Software
Publishers
EncoreJoWooD Productions Software
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
ActionStealthComedy

About

Neighbours from Hell is a puzzle strategy game developed and published by JoWooD Productions. It was originally released for Windows in 2003, with later releases for GameCube, Xbox, Android and iOS.

A remastered compilation of the first two games titled Neighbours Back from Hell was released on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android and iOS by HandyGames in October 2020. It features increased frame rate and HD visuals.

›Story

Woody is an average man who has a happy life, until his neighbor Mr. Rottweiler, makes his life miserable. Woody decides to take full revenge on Mr. Rottweiler.

In the game Neighbors from Hell, the player creeps around the neighbour’s house performing tricks upon the unsuspecting resident. The player is the star of a new TV show with the same name, with cameras that track every move as the player sets traps such as sawing the chair, banana peels/soap on the floor, smeared paintings and messing with home equipment. The game's objectives are to create disarray, increase ratings, and win awards. Obstacles in the game include the watchful neighbour himself, also - his guard dog, and a parrot called Chilli, both of whom will try to alert the Neighbour of Woody's presence.

Keywords

  • bink video

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In Neighbours from Hell, the player takes control of Woody, an average man who seeks revenge on his neighbour Mr. Rottweiler by performing tricks on him, all of which is secretly caught on camera for a reality TV show of the same name. In each level, the aim is to complete a set amount of pranks on Rottweiler, whilst keep out of sight of him; if Rottweiler spots and catches Woody, the level ends in failure and the player must restart it. The game itself sees players moving between various rooms in the house, such as the kitchen and hallway, via their doors, with levels grouped into "seasons"; as the player progresses to new seasons, the player gains access to more rooms with more challenging prank puzzles to complete.

In order to prank Rottweiler, the player must interact with objects, some of which Woody will sabotage, while others require him to find items that are appropriate for the object (i.e. using a saw to sabotage a chair). While moving around the house, players must observe the routine that Rottweiler undertakes between various objects in the level and the path he uses, in order to plan how to avoid being seen and when to set up a prank. His routine can be disrupted in different ways; two of these involve his pets, a parrot and a guard dog, which will make noise if Woody fails to sneak around them and cause Rottweiler to check on them. To hide out of sight, players can make use of a wardrobe, and later slip under a bed to avoid being seen by Rottweiler.

Story

Woody is an average man who has a happy life, until his neighbor Mr. Rottweiler makes his life miserable. Woody decides to take full revenge on Mr. Rottweiler and calls up a TV crew, which produces the self-titled reality show that shows the neighbor's relations from worst sight.

Reception

The PC version received "average" reviews, while the GameCube and Xbox versions received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

Legacy

On 4 March 2005, JoWooD released the game for the GameCube and Xbox exclusively in European territories. These versions of the game are not straight ports of the original and feature a selection of levels from the original game and its sequel.

The original Microsoft Windows version was digitally re-released on GOG.com with its sequel by JoWood on June 9, 2009. It was released on Steam by Nordic Games on November 7, 2013 after successfully getting Greenlit by the community.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows20 June 2003Worldwide
GameCube4 March 2005Worldwide
Xbox4 March 2005Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
Neighbours from Hell CompilationNeighbours back From Hell
Ported as
Neighbours from Hell: Season 1Neighbours from Hell

Games like this

Collections5 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.