Not all spooky season adventure needs to scare you. From iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without needing causing fear. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games including autumn atmosphere, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and serves as an excellent relaxing choice to the truly terrifying releases of the current season.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Known as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an quest to restore sunlight to their gloomy environment. Their appearance is similar to stylized dolls mixed with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and tired-looking style borrows heavily from the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a classic suitable for everyone journey. The pair develops an strong connection over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, hey, possibly zombies aren’t half bad.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the budding companions to overcome obstacles and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead except if a lamp is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, players control them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around obstacles in the environment, creating routes for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
These challenges evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are hovering, diorama-like structures that the perspective rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the duo around a amusement park and through a spooky mansion, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that permits you to pull back and spin the stages, both to enjoy the designs and look for paths that may not have been clear.
Minor Challenges and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. Players might have to just bump into a multiple different items to discover which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don't obstruct of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly a few sessions worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages integrate minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and slightly unforeseen — conclusion.
Availability and Summary
Gamers avoiding the frights of intense horror games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, PS5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and provides a pleasurable alternative for fans seeking spooky entertainment without intense scares.
