Not all autumn fright adventure must terrify you. From iconic favorites like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed favorites are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable games featuring autumn atmosphere, yet without the truly terrifying level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and serves as an excellent cozy alternative to the intensely frightening titles of this year.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Journey
Labeled as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they embark on an quest to restore sunlight to their shadowy environment. Their design is similar to collectible figures mixed with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and heavy-lidded appearance draws inspiration from the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a archetypal all-ages journey. These two forms an strong connection over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to show to her clerical relative that, hey, maybe zombies can be friendly.
Creative Gameplay Systems
The innovative term stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead without a lamp is shone on them.
They have to work in tandem — actually, you’ll use them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained youth will use his zombie strength to shift around items in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are floating, model-like designs that the perspective rotates in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, guiding the duo around a carnival and through a ghostly building, amid other locations. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to pull back and spin the areas, simultaneously to enjoy the designs and search for routes that may not have been clear.
Slight Challenges and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the heroes are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a few random elements to figure out which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those slight obstacles don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly several hours worth of puzzles. Later levels combine subtle hidden movement and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and moderately surprising — finale.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Players shying away from the scares of fear-inducing games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for 25% off on game marketplaces.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on several consoles and provides a pleasurable alternative for players in search of spooky entertainment without the intense scares.
