Not all spooky season journey has to terrify gamers. Including iconic favorites like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed favorites provide fun without needing causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of eerie-charming releases with spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an superb comfortable choice to the deeply scary titles of this year.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Known as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an quest to bring the sun back to their dark, dark environment. Their appearance is similar to Funko Pops blended with the figures from a Laika film. The fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic is influenced by the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a classic all-ages adventure. These two develops an unbreakable connection over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to demonstrate to her clerical relative that, hey, maybe zombies can be friendly.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” label comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate among the recent allies to solve puzzles and progress through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies unless a lamp is shone on them.
They must collaborate effectively — actually, players control them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or temporarily shut off lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will use his zombie strength to rearrange obstacles in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.
Immersive World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are floating, diorama-like designs that the view moves across in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, taking the duo around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, amid other places. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to zoom out and turn the stages, both to admire the visuals and hunt for ways that may not have been obvious.
Slight Challenges and Overall Adventure
This represents one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the characters are able to move. You may need to just bump into a several various items to determine which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don't hinder of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels blend together minor hidden movement and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and slightly surprising — ending.
Release and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the terror of terrifying games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PlayStation 5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable choice for gamers in search of autumn enjoyment without intense scares.
