Hello Engineer

Hello Engineer, also known as Hello Engineer: Scrap Machines Constructor, is an action-packed sandbox construction simulation game set in a contemporary world infused with horror and thriller elements from the Hello Neighbor series. Players engage in city building and vehicle creation using scrap materials, navigating an open-world environment through first- and third-person perspectives, incorporating RPG elements and survival mechanics as they construct and pilot custom machines to explore and overcome challenges.

Hello Engineer: Review

Introduction

In the shadowy corridors of video game history, few franchises have captured the eerie allure of suburban paranoia quite like the Hello Neighbor series, where childhood curiosity twists into nightmarish pursuit. Hello Engineer, released in 2021 as a bold pivot in this universe, transplants that creeping dread from stealthy home invasions to a derelict amusement park, challenging players to wield scrap metal and ingenuity as weapons against an omnipresent foe. As the first title in the series to launch exclusively on Google Stadia before broadening to consoles and PC in 2023, it represents tinyBuild’s ambitious experiment in blending construction simulation with multiplayer survival horror. Yet, for all its inventive spark, Hello Engineer ultimately falters under technical inconsistencies and unpolished execution, emerging as a promising but flawed diversion for fans of the franchise rather than a genre-defining masterpiece. This review delves deeply into its mechanics, narrative, and cultural footprint, arguing that while it innovates on creativity in crisis, it reinforces the series’ reputation for concepts that outpace their delivery.

Development History & Context

Hello Engineer was born from the creative cauldron of tinyBuild Riga, a Latvian studio spun off from the American indie publisher tinyBuild LLC, known for quirky hits like Hello Neighbor (2017) and Party Hard (2015). Led by figures such as Art Director Andis Reinbergs and Lead Game Designer Igor Arterchuk, the team of over 80 developers—including 3D artists like Vyacheslav Ledenev and Unity specialists like Yevhenii Vitiuk—drew inspiration from the Hello Neighbor universe’s lore of Raven Brooks, a quaint town harboring dark secrets. The game’s vision, articulated in early trailers, was to evolve the series beyond solo stealth into cooperative construction, emphasizing player agency in a multiplayer format for up to four players. This shift aimed to humanize the kids protagonist from previous entries, transforming them from evasive intruders into proactive inventors scavenging the abandoned Golden Apple Amusement Park.

Development occurred amid the 2020-2021 pandemic, a period when remote collaboration tools became essential, but tinyBuild Riga’s use of Unity engine and Wwise audio middleware allowed for rapid prototyping of complex machinery simulations. Technological constraints were notable: built initially for Stadia’s cloud-streaming model, the game prioritized low-latency multiplayer over high-fidelity graphics, resulting in a stylized, cartoonish aesthetic suited to browser-based play. Stadia’s shuttering in 2022 forced a pivot, delaying full releases to PC (Steam), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series, and Nintendo Switch until August 17, 2023. This extended timeline exposed the game to iterative patches, but also highlighted resource limitations—tinyBuild, a smaller outfit compared to AAA giants, juggled multiple Hello Neighbor spin-offs like Secret Neighbor (2019) and the impending Hello Neighbor 2 (2022).

The broader gaming landscape of 2021 was dominated by survival-crafting juggernauts like Valheim and Minecraft, which popularized open-ended building in multiplayer settings, alongside horror revivals in Phasmophobia. Hello Engineer entered this arena as a niche hybrid, attempting to merge the construction sim of Besiege with Hello Neighbor‘s thriller elements. However, Stadia’s niche audience (peaking at around 700,000 monthly users) limited initial exposure, and the series’ polarizing reputation—praised for atmosphere but criticized for AI jank in the original—set a cautious stage. Commercially, it launched at $14.99, dropping to $3.74 on Steam, reflecting modest ambitions in an era where free-to-play battle royales overshadowed paid indies. Ultimately, the game’s history underscores tinyBuild’s risk-taking ethos, betting on franchise loyalty to buoy an experimental title amid streaming uncertainties.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At its core, Hello Engineer weaves a thriller narrative rooted in the Hello Neighbor canon, where innocence collides with insidious surveillance. The plot follows a quartet of kids from Raven Brooks’ Inventors Club—voiced by talents like Louise Hilton as Trinity, Alexander Dorokhin as Maritza, and Lindsay Sheppard as Ivan—who venture into the derelict Golden Apple Amusement Park to scavenge scrap for the State Inventors Contest. What begins as a youthful quest for glory spirals into entrapment: under “unclear circumstances,” the group finds themselves locked in, stalked by the enigmatic Neighbor (Mr. Peterson) and his army of evil robots. The story unfolds across story mode levels, where players must construct escape vehicles while evading patrols, culminating in boss battles that peel back layers of the park’s haunted history.

Character development is sparse but evocative, emphasizing archetypal kid dynamics over deep backstories. Trinity emerges as the plucky leader, her voice lines brimming with determination (“We can’t let him win—we build our way out!”); Maritza adds sarcastic edge, quipping about “Neighbor’s junkyard pets” during tense scavenges; Ivan provides comic relief with wide-eyed wonder at contraptions; and a fourth unnamed member rounds out the crew for co-op synergy. Dialogue is functional, delivered in English with subtitles in multiple languages (Russian, Japanese, etc.), but lacks the emotional punch of predecessors like Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek. Interactions are mostly environmental cues or multiplayer banter, such as coordinating builds (“Add the jet engine here—go, go!”), reinforcing themes of collaboration amid isolation.

Thematically, Hello Engineer deepens the series’ exploration of paranoia and creativity as resistance. The amusement park setting—a rusted mausoleum of faded joys—mirrors childhood’s loss of innocence, with ferris wheels looming like skeletal guardians and carousels hiding bot ambushes. The Neighbor embodies authoritarian control, his watchful eye evoking surveillance state fears, amplified by post-2020 anxieties. Trapped scavenging symbolizes resource scarcity in a collapsing world, while building machines from “scrap” celebrates ingenuity as rebellion—any contraption that works is valid, subverting prescriptive puzzles. Horror elements infuse thriller tension: subtle audio stings during pursuits, and narrative hints at the Neighbor’s experiments (tying to Secret Neighbor‘s multiplayer betrayals). Yet, the story’s vagueness—plot holes like the entrapment’s cause—dilutes impact, prioritizing gameplay loops over cohesive lore. In extreme detail, one boss encounter reveals backstory via environmental storytelling: a derelict robot factory where the Neighbor “hunts them down,” underscoring themes of technological overreach. Overall, the narrative serves as a thematic scaffold for mechanics, delivering Hello Neighbor‘s signature unease but lacking the psychological depth to elevate it beyond franchise filler.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Hello Engineer‘s core loop revolves around a sandbox construction paradigm fused with survival challenges, demanding players scavenge resources, blueprint bizarre vehicles, and deploy them against threats in the Golden Apple Amusement Park. In first- or third-person perspectives, solo or co-op (1-4 players), you gather parts like frames, gears, engines, wheels, weapons, and jet engines from the environment—smashing crates or dismantling rides—before entering a intuitive build mode. Here, drag-and-drop interfaces let you assemble machines: basic carts for traversal, armed tanks for combat, or flying contraptions for evasion. Advanced systems shine for tinkerers—electrical circuits power automations (e.g., self-driving drones), while smart modules enable AI behaviors like patrolling bots. No blueprints are mandatory; creativity reigns, with successes ranging from a bouncy pogo-stick escape to a multi-seat rollercoaster battering ram.

Combat emerges organically from builds: ram bots with chassis-mounted guns or crush them under treads, blending physics-based chaos with light RPG elements like upgradeable parts (e.g., stronger engines via scavenged alloys). Progression ties to story mode’s levels, unlocking new areas and components through objectives—navigate mazes, solve physics puzzles (topple barriers with catapults), or survive boss arenas where oversized Neighbor constructs demand adaptive designs. Multiplayer amplifies this: add control panels for crew roles (driver, gunner), share blueprints via in-game menus, or clash in PvP/PvE “Bumper Car” modes, where player machines duel bots or foes in destructible arenas. Sandbox mode offers infinite resources for unfettered creation, like rocket launches or mechanical beasts.

The UI is clean but clunky—Unity’s radial menus for part placement work well on PC/mouse but falter on controllers, leading to reviews decrying “horrendous controls” on consoles. Innovative flaws abound: physics simulations shine in emergent mayhem (a wobbly wheelbarrow toppling a bot horde), but janky collisions and sensitive vehicle handling (e.g., oversteer in drives) frustrate, echoing Hello Neighbor‘s AI woes. Character progression is minimal—no skill trees, just modular builds—focusing on replayability via co-op variability. Overall, systems innovate by wedding construction to horror-thriller stakes, but unpolished edges (dated collision detection, beta-like feel) undermine the loop, making triumphs feel earned yet inconsistent.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The Golden Apple Amusement Park stands as Hello Engineer‘s atmospheric centerpiece—a sprawling, open-world sandbox of decayed whimsy that amplifies the Hello Neighbor universe’s blend of nostalgia and nightmare. Rusted rollercoasters twist like veins through fog-shrouded paths, boarded-up stalls whisper forgotten laughter, and shadowy tunnels pulse with bot patrols, creating a contemporary horror setting where joy’s ruins breed dread. World-building excels in interactivity: every element is scrap potential, from carousel horses yielding wheels to bumper cars providing chassis frames. Levels evolve dynamically—early zones focus on basic scavenging, later ones introduce verticality with ferris wheel climbs or underground lairs revealing Neighbor lore (e.g., blueprints hinting at his robotic empire). This fosters immersion, turning the park into a living puzzle box where builds interact with the environment, like using a magnet arm to yank distant parts.

Visually, the art direction—overseen by Anatoly Bazarov—opts for a stylized, low-poly aesthetic suited to Unity’s constraints and Stadia’s streaming. 2D concepts by artists like Eugenia Chernova inform vibrant yet eerie palettes: sunset oranges clash with midnight blues, casting long shadows that heighten tension. Character models, redesigned for the 2023 Steam version from Stadia’s simpler ones, feature expressive kid avatars with modular outfits, though animations (e.g., frantic scavenging sprints) feel stiff. Drawbacks include “extremely dated graphics” per critics, with pop-in textures and low-res environments on Switch, but this cel-shaded style contributes to a playful horror vibe, evoking Scrap Mechanic meets Little Nightmares.

Sound design, powered by Wwise, masterfully builds unease: creaking metal during builds provides satisfying ASMR-like feedback, while distant carousel chimes lure players into ambushes. Voice acting adds personality—kids’ banter injects levity (“This bot’s toast!”), contrasted by the Neighbor’s silent menace and robotic whirs signaling pursuits. Ambient score swells with thriller pulses during chases, using horror tropes like dissonant strings for boss reveals. These elements synergize to make the park feel alive and oppressive, enhancing the escape fantasy: every gear click is defiance, every engine roar a momentary victory. Yet, audio glitches (overlapping effects in co-op) occasionally shatter immersion, tempering the overall sensory punch.

Reception & Legacy

Upon its Stadia launch in June 2021 (Early Access, full in October), Hello Engineer garnered limited buzz, overshadowed by the platform’s decline and the series’ niche appeal. Critical reception was tepid, averaging 45% on MobyGames from three reviews: GamesCreed’s 60% praised solo/co-op fun despite “sensitive controls,” VGChartz’s 40% lamented execution fumbles in an otherwise “panache-filled” package, and 3rd Strike’s 35% slammed console ports for “abysmal physics” and beta vibes, advising to “steer clear” even at discount prices. Metacritic echoed this with a mixed 7.3 user score (25% positive, 75% mixed), while OpenCritic’s single 4/10 highlighted the franchise’s pattern of promising ideas undone by polish issues. No major awards followed, and commercial performance was modest—only four collectors on MobyGames, with Steam sales buoyed by bundles but no breakout success.

Over time, reputation has stabilized as a cult curiosity for Hello Neighbor enthusiasts, especially post-2023 ports that fixed some Stadia-era bugs. Its legacy lies in pioneering Stadia exclusives (the first for the service) and expanding the series’ multiplayer scope after Secret Neighbor, influencing spin-offs like Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue (VR, 2023). Industry-wise, it nods to construction horror hybrids, prefiguring elements in The Planet Crafter or Sons of the Forest, but its flaws reinforced skepticism toward tinyBuild’s rapid prototyping. With the franchise surpassing 30 million players by 2020, Hello Engineer endures as a footnote—innovative for co-op crafting in horror but emblematic of indie’s execution risks, inspiring modders via blueprint sharing rather than widespread emulation.

Conclusion

Hello Engineer ambitiously retools the Hello Neighbor formula, swapping stealth for scrapyard ingenuity in a multiplayer playground of peril, where creativity becomes the ultimate survival tool. Its narrative of trapped inventors, robust building systems, and haunting amusement park setting offer flashes of brilliance, particularly in co-op chaos and emergent boss designs. Yet, persistent technical hurdles—woeful controls, uneven physics, and dated visuals—hobble its potential, rendering it more prototype than polished gem. In video game history, it occupies a curious niche: a Stadia-era experiment that captures the franchise’s paranoid spirit while highlighting indie development’s tightrope walk. For die-hard fans seeking bite-sized thrills, it’s worth the $3.74 Steam dip; for others, it’s a reminder that even the wildest machines need sturdy foundations. Verdict: A middling 5.5/10—playable diversion, but not engineering history.