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There are a lot of theories about Hello Neighbor out there, a lot of them questioning the identity of the Guest. Perhaps it's time to toss a hat into the ring with this theory.
Players are excited for Hello Neighbor 2, the sequel to the hit 2017 indie game by tinyBuild GAMES and Dynamic Pixels. The new game features full access to the town of Raven Brooks, where the original game takes place. You play as Quentin, a journalist for the Raven Brooks Banner, who's suspicious of many of the townspeople and their odd behavior. Many, however, have some suspicions of their own.
One of the main antagonists of Hello Neighbor 2 is the Guest, a crow-cosplaying madman who has something against Theodore Peterson, a.k.a. the Neighbor. Perhaps it's his heavily groomed mustache, or his hobby of kidnapping children, who knows? Nobody yet, but there is a theory on who he may be.
Our Suspects: Who could be the Guest?
The Neighbor's wife, Diane Peterson, died in a car crash before the events of the first game. This rules her out of the equation, but it should be noted that as well as affecting the Neighbor, her death affected their children.
The Neighbor, Theodore Peterson, had two children, Aaron and Mya Peterson. Aaron was friends with Nicky Roth, the protagonist of the first game, (who was kidnapped by the Neighbor after sneaking into the infamous basement. After escaping with Aaron's help, he returned to his old neighborhood in the third act of the first Hello Neighbor game. There's no saying for sure that he's ruled out, but it's very unlikely that he's the Guest.
Mya Peterson met an untimely fate at the hands of her brother, being pushed off the roof in the middle of a game in Hello Neighbor Hide and Seek, the official prequel to the first game. Her being dead sort of rules her out of the suspect list, as well as the fact that the Guest is, canonically, a male. After this, the Neighbor locked Aaron in the basement so as to not lose the last member of his family.
This leaves us with two more suspects. The Neighbor himself, and Aaron, his son. The Neighbor is already a separate antagonist in the game, which doesn't rule him out entirely, but it's still unlikely that it's him. Some have made connections to the way the Neighbor looks, walks and acts, but as of now, there's no other NPC in the game to prove that all humanoids don't act similarly. That leaves Aaron, the escaped son. After being locked in the basement by his father, he would likely harbor some bitter resentment. Perhaps Aaron returned to Raven Brooks to seek revenge on his father, who still lives in Raven Brooks. The body shape theory suggests that the Guest is the Neighbor as they share a similar body shape. What's to say Aaron doesn't grow up to look like his father?
Arguments against Aaron
Still, there are arguments against the Guest being Aaron Peterson, such as this post from Reddit user GavinTheGrassMan on the r/GameTheorists subreddit.
The post states that Aaron simply can't be the Guest, as Hello Neighbor 2 takes place only a few years after Act 2 of the original game.
"Hello Neighbor 2 is only a few years after act 2. Aaron couldn’t be a grown man. Aaron also does not want revenge on his dad. He states that he deserved to be in the basement and didn’t want to leave."
Does this settle it? Not really. If the Guest isn't Aaron, then who is it? Will the release of the Hello Neighbor 2 Beta on April 7 give any answers? Who knows? All that's left to do is wait.
