Not every autumn fright journey must scare gamers. From iconic favorites such as animated detectives to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles provide fun without needing causing fear. Additionally, a growing library of ghostly-adorable releases with spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and stands as an outstanding comfortable alternative to the deeply scary releases of this year.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they begin an quest to restore sunlight to their dark, dark realm. They look is similar to Funko Pops combined with the figures from a animated feature. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded appearance borrows heavily from the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic family-friendly journey. The pair builds an strong friendship over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to show to her priest uncle that, look, possibly living-impaired beings can be friendly.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The innovative label stems from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap between the recent allies to complete challenges and move forward through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures except if a lamp is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — in practice, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around objects in the world, opening up ways for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The brain-teasers remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are floating, miniature constructions that the view pans around in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, leading the duo around a fair and through a spooky mansion, amid other places. Players can use a “diorama view” button that enables you to view from afar and rotate the areas, both for appreciate the artwork and look for ways that may not have been apparent.
Minor Issues and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. You may need to simply collide with a few random items to figure out which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately three to five hours worth of challenges. Later levels integrate minor hidden movement and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.
Availability and Summary
Players steering clear of the frights of intense horror titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PS5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a discount on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on various systems and delivers a pleasurable alternative for gamers looking for Halloween fun without the fear factor.
