The Ghostly-Charming Puzzler Serves as the Ideal Alternative to Frightening Flicks

Not all autumn fright journey must terrify you. From well-known tales such as Scooby-Doo to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed favorites are enjoyable without requiring causing fear. Additionally, a expanding collection of eerie-charming titles including Halloween vibes, but not the truly terrifying intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and serves as an outstanding cozy alternative to the deeply scary games of the current season.

A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Journey

Labeled as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their shadowy environment. Their design is similar to Funko Pops blended with the characters from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and heavy-lidded appearance draws inspiration from the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a archetypal family-friendly journey. The pair forms an unbreakable friendship over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, look, possibly living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.

Innovative Gameplay Systems

This unique term stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap between the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and move forward through the areas. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead unless a light is shone on them.

They have to work in tandem — in practice, you’ll use them together — to complete stages. Nena may move or briefly disable lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to rearrange objects in the environment, opening up routes for Nena.

Engaging Environment Creation

These challenges remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are suspended, model-like structures that the perspective rotates in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, leading the duo around a carnival and through a ghostly building, amid other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that enables you to zoom out and rotate the stages, both for appreciate the artwork and search for routes that may not have been clear.

Small Hiccups and Complete Adventure

This represents one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the characters are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a multiple different items to figure out which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.

However, those small challenges don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas combine minor sneaking and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and moderately surprising — ending.

Availability and Summary

Players avoiding the terror of terrifying games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.

This charming title is available on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful choice for fans looking for Halloween fun without the intense scares.