i feel as if there's some sort of irony in regards to My Friendly Neighborhood's popularity (specifically its lack thereof) that links towards its core messages and ideals.
this game is most definitely a cut above all the other mascot horror games/franchises -- because instead of having the overused "childrens' souls stuffed into mascot bodies", the puppets are just naturally sentient. not only that, but the MFN TV show within the game teaches you how to be a friendly neighbor, and the game focuses on humanity itself and how people/humans would unfortunately rather ignore their issues, forget about kindness and friendliness, and stop watching those fun and lively and educational shows (and even prevent their kids from watching it) because it "makes them uncomfy" and reminds them of "how messed up they [really] are", reminds them of how hard they find it to stay positive in such dark times. they'd rather shy away towards darker and "less friendly" TV programmes just to distract themselves from how bleak and miserable the world is.
sounds an awful lot like society now tbh.
no wonder FNAF and whatnot are so popular. i guess people saw how MFN touches on the subject of war and finding humanity through kindness and were like "....nnnnnno ima stick with the overly extensive lore of scary animatronics with experimented kids' souls stuffed inside of them." lol.
you see where im going with this, right?
the point is, MFN is so overlooked. what many people don't even realise (and it annoys me that this particular detail is so ignored) is that the puppets in MFN have been alone and abandoned for 10 years, trapped in the studio with nothing but their own thoughts and each other, causing their slightly insane spiral. but they don't wanna hurt you. they want a hug ffs. and despite all this, the player as gordon can help them and restart their show, and give them a better life again, out of the kindness of his/their heart. as a result, gordon himself finds a "light", a guiding goodness, all because he helped the puppets revive their show about friendliness, a show that didn't deserve to be cancelled, a show that ended because people wanted darker programmes, and didn't want to be shown the light.
to me MFN is so important and its messages are more relevant now more than ever:
we have to remember to be kind and friendly towards one another, and to step out of our dark living rooms away from the TV (or our phone screens, in this era's case) so we can find some kind of light with the people we care about. we're so caught up with stress, with negativity, with numbers and money, to the point where many of us may take it out on others, to the point where we become trapped in that dark place. might sound emo, but it's true. yes, the world has gone to shit. yes there's wars and death and all the things that make you want to stay at home and sit on the couch and distract yourself.
but there is light, i promise. you have to keep in mind the good things in your life - your friends, family, loved ones. even if it's a material thing, like your hobbies & interests. or the kind words someone once said to you a while ago. you just have to allow yourself to open up to that light, allow yourself to open up to others. even you helping others in need of support will allow that light in.
remember to be kind. to others, and to yourself.
