In the first act Hello Neighbor players transform into a child who has taken upon himself the task of breaking into his neighbor's house by any means necessary and getting into the basement. The neighbor – a rude gentleman with a magnificent mustache – will not tolerate intrusion, and every time a child is caught trying to break in, the guy sets new traps, locks the doors and patrols the surrounding area.

In the game “Hello Neighbor”, the further the young explorer moves through the house, the more confusing the neighbor's security system becomes. The gameplay harkens back to the days of point-and-click adventure games in terms of mindless solutions to simple problems. The complex magnetic device used to activate switches in a pair of puzzles is located in a location obvious enough to accidentally stumble upon. Meanwhile, for some reason something useful, like a wrench, is lying in the neighbor’s refrigerator, where you would never think to look. The game itself offers zero insight into what an item can or cannot be used for.

Meanwhile, the man is simply wandering around the house aimlessly. However, no matter how quietly the players sneak, no matter how carefully they evade, the ability of the evil neighbor to hear, see and find the boy does not depend at all on what he does. Eventually, with patience and persistence, you can grab the key to get into the basement. In the second act, players act as adults who return to their childhood home. As a result, it becomes obvious that this is a game in which gamers are better off relying on pure luck rather than on any skills, tactics or intelligence.