The Ghostly-Charming Brain-Teaser Acts as the Perfect Replacement to Spooky Scares

Not every autumn fright adventure has to terrify gamers. Starting with iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired favorites offer entertainment without requiring increasing anxiety. There’s also, a growing library of spooky-cute games with Halloween vibes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and serves as an excellent comfortable alternative to the truly terrifying releases of this year.

A Distinctive Self-Coop Adventure

Labeled as a solo collaboration problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a living girl known as Nena as they begin an mission to restore sunlight to their shadowy world. They look evokes Funko Pops mixed with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and tired-looking style draws inspiration from the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages journey. These two builds an enduring connection over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to prove to her clerical relative that, you know, maybe the undead are actually good.

Creative Puzzle Mechanics

This unique label stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the recent allies to solve puzzles and move forward through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a beam is directed on them.

They must work in tandem — well, you’ll use them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around objects in the world, opening up paths for Nena.

Immersive Level Design

The puzzles evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are floating, miniature constructions that the view pans around in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, amid other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that enables you to view from afar and turn the stages, simultaneously to admire the designs and search for paths that may not have been obvious.

Slight Hiccups and Complete Adventure

Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists may or may not travel. You may need to just bump into a multiple different objects to determine which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.

Nonetheless, those slight speedbumps don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas combine minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and moderately surprising — ending.

Accessibility and Summary

Those steering clear of the scares of fear-inducing titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, Sony system, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on online stores.

Gloomy Eyes is available on various systems and offers a enjoyable choice for players in search of Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.