Not all spooky season adventure has to scare players. Including iconic favorites such as animated detectives to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed staples offer entertainment without raising your heart rate. There’s also, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable releases including spooky themes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and acts as an outstanding comfortable choice to the truly terrifying titles of this year.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they begin an adventure to restore sunlight to their shadowy realm. Their design evokes stylized dolls mixed with the characters from a animated feature. The light-complected and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a classic family-friendly journey. The duo develops an unbreakable bond over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, perhaps zombies are actually good.
Original Gameplay Systems
This unique term stems from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the newfound friends to complete challenges and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures unless a light is focused on them.
They must cooperate closely — well, gamers operate them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange objects in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
The brain-teasers bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are floating, miniature designs that the view moves across in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, guiding the companions around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, including other places. The game includes a “diorama view” feature that permits you to zoom out and turn the stages, both to appreciate the designs and look for ways that may not have been apparent.
Small Challenges and General Adventure
This represents one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a few random elements to determine which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those minor challenges don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly several hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and somewhat surprising — conclusion.
Accessibility and Conclusion
Players shying away from the scares of terrifying releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a discount on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful alternative for fans looking for spooky entertainment minus the intense scares.
