History VideoGame / MyFriendlyNeighborhood

** While there is darkness in some people but there’s also light.

* ShoutOut: The studio is filled with posters for {{Fictional Counterpart}}s of various Creator/JimHenson films and shows, including ''[[Film/TheMuppetMovie The Puppets' Road Trip!]]'', ''[[Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper The Puppets' Big Heist]]'', ''[[{{Film/Labyrinth}} The Mystic Maze]]'', ''[[Film/TheDarkCrystal The Shadow Sapphire]]'', ''[[Film/MuppetTreasureIsland Puppet Pirate's Cove]]'', ''[[Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol A Puppet Winter Song]]'', ''[[Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan The Puppets Storm Chicago: A Musical Movie]]'', ''[[Series/TheStoryteller The Scribe]]'', and ''[[Film/MuppetsFromSpace Puppet Space Quest]]''.

* JumpScare: A Norman doll will suddenly fall from a vent in the ceiling of the locker room in the basement when Gordon gets under it. It's better to avoid this event, as the doll will wake up on subsequent visits to the room.

* ObliviouslyEvil: The puppets generally seem to be unaware of the fact that they're doing harm in their attempt to have fun. They always gleefully babble on about nonsensical stuff, whether they're standing idle, attacking Gordon, or tied up.

* GreatOffscreenWar: [[spoiler: The Northern War itself was only shown in newspaper and conversation in-game, but had an impact on the story. Judging by the fact that its rainforest climate and public disillusionment from exposure to its length and brutality, it seems to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of the Vietnam War.]]
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Even early on it is implied the puppets are all merely child-like creatures misbehaving due to learning from the cruelty of the humans who abandoned them. [[spoiler:In the end it is revealed what drove them past the edge was watching on TV particularly violent events most likely relating to TheGreatOffscreenWar. During his final proposal, Ricky is even insistent to Gordon about the outside world being much more of a threat than anything inside the studio, because the lack of kindness would just make things even worse.]]
* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:If Gordon helps certain characters and agrees to help maintain the studio, the game will end with him restarting My Friendly Neighborhood and staying with the puppets.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler:Gordon undergoes this if you do the side quests and agree to help the studio at the end. He starts out as a tired and irritable man whose attitude has caused him to receive multiple complaints from his clients and left him on the verge of being fired. By helping the puppets with their problems, he realizes the value of being friendly and helps to get My Friendly Neighborhood back on the air at the end of the game. At the very conclusion, he notes that he's feeling optimistic about his life for the first time, even though his actions cost him his job as a repairman.]]

** The war stated in the news clippings and journals is one of the Vietnam War, which was known for its decades-long conflict that was known for being the first major conflict to have widespread television coverage in American history and its increasing unpopularity among the public who were exposed to its horrors.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:After turning off the antenna, Ricky explains why the puppets are so unhinged - after their show was cancelled, the puppets decided to watch TV after not being allowed to by their handlers. The adult content disturbed them badly, simply put.]]

* PsychopathicManchild: The puppets speak in a very simplistic and child-like way, which makes sense considering they were made for a children's TV show. However, this is now contrasted by the fact that they're all out to kill you now.

* TrashLanding: [[spoiler:After disabling the antennae, a sudden flash of lightning disorients Gordon and leads him to falling off the antennae directly into a massive deep hole. Good news, [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou there's trash for him to land on to break his fall]]. Bad news, he has directly landed inside of the ''Un''friendly Neighborhood.]]

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:

* WarIsHell: [[spoiler:The two decade long war stated in newspaper and conversation horrified the public and returning soldiers that it did affect society's optimistic view, and My Friendly Neighborhood's popularity with it. This may imply why Gordon became bitter and lashed out when Ricky try to talk about the war after his service during that time.]]

* TalkativeLoon: The puppets babble nonstop regardless of what they're doing. Most of their dialogue consists of bubbly anecdotes and stories, that sounds rather harmless and generic if you aren't paying attention, but actually describe things that are bizarre and sinister, such as chipper instructions for ''swallowing your own hands.'' The only puppet that doesn't talk is [[TheUnintelligible Ray]].

* CreepyDoll: All the puppets with their manic babbling and laughter and their tendency to literally kill you with kindness. [[spoiler:The residents of the ''Unfriendly'' Neighborhood play it even more straight with EyelessFace and SlasherSmiles filled with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily.]]

* AlternateHistory: [[spoiler:It's subtle, but the world of ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' is not our world; "The City" the game takes place in seems to be a sort of city-state, with newspaper articles indicating the war that Gordon fought in, while similar to UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (with it even being termed as the "first war in the living room", a name often applied to Vietnam) it took place on a "Northern Continent". There are still Purple Hearts and a major city called Chicago though.]]

** Trauma and Heartbreak are an undeniable part of life, but they shouldn't rule us, or force us to ignore them.

** Cruelty and Kindness are taught by the people in the world around us.

* AxCrazy: The puppets are violently insane, and they'll assault and murder any human they come across. They're also constantly talking and laughing to themselves. Ray is implied to have been like this even before the shutdown, which is why he's locked away in his own section of the studio. [[spoiler: And all the puppets you run into the studio are the ''good ones'', because the ones in the underground Unfriendly Neighborhood are the ones that went murderously crazy, as opposed to just plain crazy]].

** The war stated in the news clippings and journals is a nod to the Vietnam War, which was known for its decades-long conflict that was known for being the first major conflict to have widespread television coverage in American history and its increasing unpopularity among the public who were exposed to its horrors.

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:After turning off the antenna, Ricky explains why the puppets are so unhinged - after their show was cancelled, the puppets decided to watch TV after not being allowed to by their handlers. The DarkerAndEdgier adult content of the 90's disturbed them badly, simply put.]]

* TheSpook: The giant wall monster fought in the lobby [[spoiler:and the merged puppet fought in the Unfriendly Neighborhood]] are not given any explanation for how they came to be.

* WarIsHell: [[spoiler:The two decade long war stated in newspaper and conversation horrified the public and returning soldiers that it did affect the show’s popularity along with the city’s optimistic view. This may imply why Gordon became bitter and lashed out when Ricky try to talk about the war after his service during that time.]]

* GreatOffscreenWar: [[spoiler: The Northern War itself was only shown in newspaper and conversation in-game, but had an impact on the story. Judging by the fact that its rainforest climate and public disillusionment from exposure to its brutality, it may have been a nod to Vietnam War despite being set in northern continent and lasted for twenty years.]]

* AlternateHistory: [[spoiler:It's subtle, but the world of ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' is not our world; "The City" the game takes place in seems to be a sort of city-state, with newspaper articles indicating the war that Gordon fought in, while similar to UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (with it even being termed as the "first war in the living room", a name often applied to Vietnam) it took place on a "Northern Continent".]]

* KickThemWhileTheyreDown: One of Norman's ramblings about how he had an argument with Leonard[[note]]The same dialogue is said with Leonard (mentioning Junebug), and Junebug (mentioning an unseen character named "Pearl")[[/note]]:

* CreepyDoll: All the puppets with their manic babbling and laughter and their tendency to literally kill you with kindness.

* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Deconstructed as the central theme of the game. [[spoiler: All the puppets wanted to do was play old episodes of ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' because they were constantly exposed to stories of the war and other tragedies while they were trapped and isolated in the abandoned studio and wanted to cheer people up. Although Gordon is cynical and beaten down by his experiences in the past, he does emphasize with the puppets and learns to open himself up so he can actually find a way to enjoy life again.]]

*** The Penthouse area near the end of the game seems sort out of nowhere with its sudden shift in artstyle and construction, until you realize it's a reference to ''Series/ElmosWorld ''.

** forgetting the bright side of life can make you also forget the good and close you off.
** Cruelty and Kindness is taught by the people in the world around us.

* TalkativeLoon: The puppets babble nonstop regardless of what they're doing. Most of their dialogue consists of bubbly anecdotes and stories, that sounds rather harmless and generic if you aren't paying attention, but actually describe things that are very bizarre and sinister, such as Norman's chipper instructions for ''eating your own hands.'' The only puppet that doesn't talk is [[TheUnintelligible Ray]].