Hello Neighbor 2: 5 Best Tips for Beginners

Raven Brooks has a secret that yearns to be unveiled, and it wants you, the weary journalist, to crack your knuckles and delve deep into its ever-evolving nexus of mysteries. How do you go about doing that? Well, playing through the first Hello Neighbor chapter helps. Go figure. But what else do you need to know about it, and what tools are you likely to need to solve the case and put an end to Peterson's endless reign of terror? Here's everything you need to onboard to be able to crack Hello Neighbor 2.

5. Don't Waste Time Exploring

On paper, Raven Brooks comes across as this vibrant town with countless unlocked doors and enveloped mysteries ripe for the taking. On the contrary, it's actually somewhat barren and a little pointless. In fact, Hello Neighbor 2's open-world features are slightly redundant, as they are, in all honesty, never really explored to the point of making you need to go beyond what's right in front of you. Bottom line here is this: don't go wasting time exploring Raven Brooks; everything you need will pretty much always be directly in front of you.

As you begin your investigation around Raven Brooks, you'll start with the task of finding a way into Peterson's basement, which is located in the house directly opposite your station. Note here that all of your objectives will be based within the grounds of the Petersons residence, and therefore you will not need to do any additional exploring. This same rule of thumb applies for the whole campaign, so if you ever feel the urge to trek to the other end of town — don't, because you won't find anything that connects to the case at hand.

4. Keep the AI Guessing

Screenshot by Gaming.net

Hello Neighbor 2 boasts a pretty solid AI, and one that just so happens to adapt to your play style. If you happen to get caught mid-investigation, then your enemy will know exactly where to loiter on your next trial. So, to avoid capture in nearly every run, you're going to want to mix up your strategies and try something new with each turn. Failing to keep it fresh will result in the AI replicating your moves and trapping you without even batting an eyelid, so always think ahead if you can.

It goes like this: you enter the back door on the first try, and somehow get caught tiptoeing up the stairs. To prevent the AI from stopping you on the stairs on your second attempt, aim to enter through an upstairs window via the roof. If you're able to throw an assortment of routes at your stalker, they'll no doubt struggle to stick to one area in particular. Bottom line is this: don't be boring — make it spontaneous and unpredictable.

3. Play With Headphones

It goes without saying that headphones aren't necessarily a requirement for a game like Hello Neighbor 2, but they are strongly advised, especially if you're looking to gain an advantage over that relentless AI that's always on your heels. It's either headphones, or a higher volume; enabling either of these will most definitely assist you when you're listening out for potential footsteps or disgruntled loiterers.

As you delve deeper and deeper into enemy territory, you'll no doubt come across your fair share of eagle-eyed roamers, many of whom like to patter about in the same rooms and biomes. It's your job, then, to avoid detection by moving between areas and hiding in cupboards and other secret spots until the AI passes through. The best way to gain an edge here is to plug in some headphones and enable the surround sound feature. Knowing where your pursuer will, of course, result in less captures, and in turn far less irritating play-throughs to replay.

2. Never Hoard Your Key Items

Screenshot by Gaming.net

When it comes to progressing in Hello Neighbor 2, you'll have to add certain key items to help unlock the wide variety of puzzles the game holds dear. Take, for example, Peterson's basement door, which needs four color-coded keys to open. The bad news here is that, if you're caught during your investigation in the home, and haven't managed to slot any of those keys into their respective padlocks, then you will lose everything in your inventory.

In any puzzle situation that involves multiple pieces (keys, for example), you should always aim to insert each piece into the main area (a padlock, in this case) as you acquire them. As tempting as it may be to keep a hold of all the items until assembled in full, it is better to chip away at the puzzles in stages, if only to eliminate the possibility of having to redo everything from scratch. The point here is this: don't bathe in your own overconfidence if you know what's good for you.

1. Never Leave a Scent

As clever as Hello Neighbor 2's AI claims to be, the fact of the matter is, in spite of its ability to adapt to your style, it doesn't change the fact that it's also incredibly slow and incapable of outrunning you in the heat of a chase. Your best bet, then, is to always escape the house whenever detected, as opposed to hunkering down in the nearest closet while the pursuer is still hot on your trail.

Like in the first game, the line of sight doesn't mean a whole lot once you've officially crossed the threshold and left the grounds of the home you're exploring. Regardless of how close you are to the actual enemy, they will never chase you after you've left the property, so be sure to keep this in mind as you make way for the nearest exit. The fact is, it's a lot easier to outrun your opponent than to hide from them in plain sight.

So, what's your take? Do you have any Hello Neighbor 2 tips? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.