When tasked with some security job, I want to ensure that everyone is who they say they are and that everyone else is safe around me. What if you had to scrutinize every single person who walks through the entrance of the building? What do you do if you find someone acting suspiciously?
That’s Not My Neighbor is an indie game focusing on checking the documents from people who want to enter their apartment complex after a long day. Only one small problem: some aliens can mimic the appearance of anyone. The good news for you is that some of them can slip up and forget some things, so you can call them on their nonsense and have security take care of it.
Sounds simple, right? With that basic orientation out of the way, welcome to the D.D.D. and be a good employee!
This is Easy! Wait, Why Is My Vision Going Dark?
You are sitting at a desk in front of a glass pane and a metal flap through which the residents can slip their IDs and entry requests. To your left, some folders contain every resident in the building and some basic things about their appearance that you can remember. Under this are some buttons that you can open the door for people and make sure to close behind them.
To the right, there’s a rotary phone and a red button to put the place into emergency lockdown. You can also call the apartment number to double-check some things, like whether someone forgot their hat at home or was even there in the first place.
Someone will walk up to the window and give you the documents. You need to study their ID number and appearance and see if their entry request is valid under the circumstances. Sometimes, people will be perfect to walk through, and they can return home to their loving family. More often than not, you are the only thing standing between a doppelganger and the death of everyone.
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Neighbor, Why Are There Little Arms Growing Out of Your Neck?
If this game seems familiar to you, you might recognize that this is similar to Papers, Please. You aren’t fighting people to stop them from getting into your country, but you are ensuring the safety of everyone around you. And if a doppel gets in, that’s your fault.
In this universe, doppelgangers are aliens who want to enter the apartment and feast on all the humans inside. Once they are done with the residents, you are their next target. If you let one in, clawed hands will appear in your eyesight, and everything goes dark.
Some of them will be easy to spot, like they may have an extra appendage growing out of a place that it’s not supposed to, or they weren’t able to get rid of the zipper containing their true form, or they forget to put something like a mouth on the face.
I hope your observation skills are sharp because some of these aliens can be very deceptive with their appearance. Something as small as a mole or the shape of the nose can be the difference between life and death. Once the cleanup crew arrives, you can breathe easy. Does anyone know what they do with the doppels anyway? Eh, it’s probably not a big deal.
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I Would Be Like Henry If I Knew Who He Was
Much like other indie games, a thread of lore is slowly being developed in the game. If normal appearance-stealing aliens weren’t difficult enough to keep up with, there is now a Nightmare mode where you have to protect aliens who live in the apartments and kick out the aliens that don’t belong.
One aspect that has caught my attention is the organization we are working for. The Department of Doppelganger Detection, or D.D.D., promptly sends some agents to “clean up” any alien that might appear at the entrance.
What is this clean-up protocol? We don’t know because a metal shutter comes down, blocking our view of the process (think of the cleaning protocol in Monsters Inc.). The agents are doing their job, right? We shouldn’t question their authority. But we never see the person in the hazmat suit who tells us to continue the job.
I am excited to see what else this game has in store. A few of my favorite YouTubers have started playing it, and their videos are hilarious. Sometimes I quietly shout at the screen that there’s something wrong, but I still miss a few problems. This game will test your powers of observation and memory, which I look forward to seeing.
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for any anomalies, have the D.D.D. on speed dial, and… sir, how in the world am I supposed to know the meaning of life, the universe, and everything else?
Want to see some YouTubers play this game? Here are some of my favorites: Markiplier, Dawko, FusionZGamer, and 8-BitRyan.
You can buy the game on itch.io if you want to check it out yourself!
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