Not each spooky season experience has to terrify you. From iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites offer entertainment without increasing anxiety. Moreover, a growing library of eerie-charming games featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and serves as an excellent relaxing alternative to the truly terrifying games of the current season.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an adventure to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. Their design is similar to Funko Pops combined with the characters from a stop-motion animation. Their light-complected and baggy-eyed aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a quintessential suitable for everyone tale. The duo develops an strong friendship over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her religious guardian that, look, perhaps zombies are actually good.
Innovative Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” description originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the recent allies to complete challenges and advance through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies except if a light is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — actually, you’ll use them together — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or temporarily shut off lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will employ his undead power to shift around obstacles in the surroundings, creating paths for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
These challenges bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are hovering, model-like constructions that the perspective moves across in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are very enjoyable, taking the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, amid other places. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that enables you to pull back and rotate the levels, both for appreciate the designs and search for ways that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and General Adventure
This represents one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. You may need to simply collide with a few random elements to discover which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those small challenges don't hinder of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Later levels combine light stealth and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and somewhat surprising — finale.
Availability and Summary
Those shying away from the frights of terrifying games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on various systems and offers a enjoyable option for players seeking autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.
