Not every spooky season adventure must scare players. Starting with iconic favorites like animated detectives to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a growing library of spooky-cute titles featuring spooky themes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an outstanding comfortable option to the intensely frightening releases of the current season.
A Distinctive Self-Coop Journey
Described as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an quest to return daylight to their dark, dark environment. Their design is similar to Funko Pops blended with the characters from a animated feature. Their fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic draws inspiration from the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages adventure. These two forms an strong bond over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, maybe living-impaired beings can be friendly.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description originates from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch between the budding companions to overcome obstacles and advance through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a light source, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — well, players control them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena may move or briefly disable lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the surroundings, opening up paths for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
These challenges remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are hovering, model-like structures that the view moves across in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, guiding the friends around a fair and through a haunted house, among other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” button that enables you to pull back and turn the stages, both to admire the designs and hunt for paths that may not have been obvious.
Small Issues and General Gameplay
This represents one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other games with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the characters are able to move. Players might have to just bump into a several various elements to discover which ones are interactive, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those slight challenges don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas integrate light sneaking and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and moderately surprising — conclusion.
Accessibility and Conclusion
Gamers avoiding the scares of terrifying games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PS5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for 25% off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on multiple platforms and offers a pleasurable alternative for gamers in search of Halloween fun minus the terrifying moments.
