Not all spooky season adventure must scare gamers. Including iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed titles are enjoyable without causing fear. Moreover, a expanding collection of eerie-charming releases with Halloween vibes, but not the keep-you-awake intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in recent months, and stands as an superb relaxing option to the intensely frightening titles of this year.
A Distinctive Self-Coop Adventure
Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their gloomy world. Their appearance is similar to stylized dolls combined with the puppets from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded style is influenced by the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a archetypal family-friendly tale. The duo develops an unbreakable connection over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, maybe living-impaired beings can be friendly.
Innovative Problem-Solving Features
The “self-coop” label originates from the game’s world-based challenges. When Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap among the recent allies to solve puzzles and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead unless a light is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — in practice, players control them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained youth will utilize his supernatural ability to move obstacles in the environment, creating ways for Nena.
Engaging Environment Creation
The brain-teasers bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are suspended, miniature designs that the perspective rotates in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are very enjoyable, leading the duo around a fair and through a haunted house, amid other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that enables you to pull back and spin the areas, both for appreciate the designs and hunt for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Hiccups and Complete Experience
Here lies one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the characters are able to move. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a several various elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those minor challenges don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly a few sessions worth of challenges. Later levels integrate minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and moderately surprising — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the scares of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on online stores.
This charming title is available on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful choice for fans looking for autumn enjoyment minus the intense scares.
