Not every spooky season experience needs to scare gamers. Starting with well-known tales for example animated detectives to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired titles provide fun without raising your heart rate. Moreover, a growing library of eerie-charming games with Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake level of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and acts as an excellent relaxing choice to the deeply scary releases of the current season.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Labeled as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child named Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their gloomy environment. Their appearance is similar to stylized dolls mixed with the puppets from a animated feature. The fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic draws inspiration from the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a classic family-friendly tale. These two forms an enduring bond over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to show to her clerical relative that, look, perhaps the undead are actually good.
Original Gameplay Systems
The innovative label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate among the newfound friends to solve puzzles and advance through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies except if a light is directed on them.
They must cooperate closely — actually, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to move obstacles in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
The puzzles remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are suspended, diorama-like structures that the perspective rotates in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, taking the friends around a fair and through a ghostly building, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that enables you to pull back and spin the stages, simultaneously to enjoy the artwork and look for paths that may not have been obvious.
Small Challenges and General Adventure
This represents one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists are able to move. Players might have to simply collide with a few random elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those small challenges don't obstruct of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages blend together minor stealth and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and moderately unexpected — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Players shying away from the terror of intense horror releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PS5, PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for 25% off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a pleasurable option for gamers seeking Halloween fun without terrifying moments.
