Hello Neighbor — Controls to learn before you start

Act 1 has two main sections: the house above ground and the basement below. In the house, your goal is to gather items and find ways past locked doors. In the basement, the neighbor starts patrolling, so move deliberately and use the environment to keep distance.

1. Enter the neighbor's house Stack boxes against the shelf on the left side of the porch, climb onto the roof, break a window, and drop inside.
2. Find the flower painting Remove it from the wall to reveal a hidden passage, then collect the car key and use it on the yellow lock.
3. Get the electromagnet Open the car trunk with the car key, then use the electromagnet to retrieve the lockpick from outside a small back window.
4. Reach the red key Use the lockpick on the hallway room to get the wrench, open the backyard ladder, climb through the roof hole, and take the red key to open the basement.
5. Work through the basement Turn off the breaker box, collect the flashlight from a middle room, break through the brick wall using a brick, turn on the generator, and pull the lever by the barred door.
6. End Act 1 Let the neighbor catch you at the end of the final hallway to trigger the act's conclusion.

You wake up in the basement a few months later. The early part of Act 2 is relatively calm — a cardboard cutout opens your door, giving you a window to move. Once upstairs, the main challenge is a set of three valves. A valve parallel to its pipe means water is flowing; perpendicular means it is blocked. Keep that rule in mind whenever a valve puzzle stops you.

1. Leave the basement Look through the door lock by holding E, wait for the cutout to open it, then find the vent and climb the ladder out.
2. Work the valves Go inside the house and locate all three valves; use the parallel-equals-flow rule to set each one correctly.
3. Complete the act Clearing Act 2 earns you the 'Complete Act 2' badge and opens Act 3.

Act 3 is set inside a surreal, dreamlike version of the house that Nicky half-remembers from childhood. The rooms are exaggerated and jumbled, which is intentional. Your job is to conquer three Fear Rooms, each of which rewards you with a new ability. You need all three abilities to reach and survive the finale.

1. Conquer the grocery store Fear Room This room represents being left in the back of a supermarket as a child; clearing it rewards you with crouch invisibility.
2. Conquer the school Fear Room This room is based on being bullied before moving to Raven Brooks; clearing it lets you push the neighbor once per break-in attempt.
3. Conquer the closet Fear Room This dark room represents being alone; clearing it rewards you with double jump.
4. Reach the basement Use the crowbar and keycard to access the basement, then apply your new abilities: use invisibility to hide from the shadowy entity, double jump to clear the fence.
5. Finish the finale Push the neighbor away at the exit door, slam it shut, and run the final hallway to enter the ending room.