The Ghostly-Charming Brain-Teaser Acts as the Perfect Replacement to Halloween Horror

Not each autumn fright adventure has to scare players. Starting with iconic favorites for example mystery-solving cartoons to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season favorites are enjoyable without requiring increasing anxiety. Moreover, a expanding collection of spooky-cute titles featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the truly terrifying intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and serves as an excellent cozy choice to the truly terrifying games of the current season.

A Unique Self-Coop Journey

Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an mission to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. Their appearance is similar to Funko Pops combined with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and tired-looking aesthetic draws inspiration from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a archetypal family-friendly tale. These two builds an unbreakable friendship over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to prove to her clerical relative that, you know, perhaps living-impaired beings are actually good.

Original Puzzle Mechanics

The “self-coop” description comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch amidst the recent allies to overcome obstacles and progress through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a lamp is focused on them.

They have to cooperate closely — actually, players control them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will employ his undead power to move obstacles in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.

Immersive Environment Creation

The puzzles bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are floating, diorama-like constructions that the perspective rotates in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a ghostly building, amid other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that enables you to zoom out and turn the levels, both to admire the artwork and look for routes that may not have been clear.

Slight Issues and General Gameplay

And that’s one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. Players might have to randomly encounter a few random items to discover which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.

Nonetheless, those small speedbumps don't hinder of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas blend together light stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and somewhat unexpected — conclusion.

Release and Final Thoughts

Players avoiding the frights of intense horror releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, Sony system, PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on game marketplaces.

Gloomy Eyes is available on multiple platforms and offers a delightful choice for players seeking Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.