Not each autumn fright journey has to terrify you. Including well-known tales such as mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed favorites provide fun without needing causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of spooky-cute games with Halloween vibes, but not the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and acts as an excellent relaxing choice to the truly terrifying titles of this year.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy named Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they embark on an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their design resembles collectible figures mixed with the figures from a Laika film. Their pale-skinned and tired-looking style is influenced by the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a classic family-friendly tale. The duo builds an unbreakable friendship over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her religious guardian that, hey, perhaps the undead can be friendly.
Original Gameplay Systems
This unique term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap between the budding companions to overcome obstacles and advance through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a light source, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a beam is focused on them.
They have to cooperate closely — well, you’ll use them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to rearrange items in the surroundings, creating paths for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
The brain-teasers remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are suspended, diorama-like constructions that the camera rotates in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, taking the companions around a fair and through a ghostly building, amid other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to zoom out and rotate the areas, simultaneously to admire the artwork and search for paths that may not have been apparent.
Small Challenges and Complete Experience
And that’s one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to just bump into a several various elements to discover which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those minor obstacles don't hinder of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels blend together light stealth and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and slightly surprising — finale.
Release and Summary
Gamers shying away from the scares of intense horror games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful option for fans in search of Halloween fun without fear factor.
