Not every spooky season adventure has to scare players. Starting with beloved classics for example Scooby-Doo to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites provide fun without raising your heart rate. Moreover, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable titles featuring Halloween vibes, but not the truly terrifying level of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and stands as an excellent relaxing option to the deeply scary titles of this year.
A Unique Self-Coop Quest
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their shadowy world. They look resembles Funko Pops blended with the characters from a animated feature. Their fair-toned and baggy-eyed aesthetic is influenced by the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages tale. The duo develops an unbreakable bond over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to prove to her priest uncle that, look, maybe zombies can be friendly.
Creative Gameplay Systems
This unique label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, gamers switch among the recent allies to complete challenges and advance through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures without a lamp is focused on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the environment, opening up ways for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The brain-teasers evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are suspended, diorama-like constructions that the perspective pans around in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the duo around a amusement park and through a haunted house, including other places. There’s a “diorama view” option that enables you to view from afar and spin the areas, simultaneously to admire the designs and search for routes that may not have been obvious.
Minor Issues and Overall Experience
And that’s one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes may or may not travel. You may need to randomly encounter a several various items to figure out which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those slight challenges don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas blend together subtle stealth and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly unexpected — ending.
Accessibility and Summary
Those avoiding the scares of terrifying titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, computer, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on game marketplaces.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful choice for fans seeking autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.
