Not all spooky season adventure has to terrify players. Starting with well-known tales such as animated detectives to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season titles are enjoyable without needing causing fear. Additionally, a expanding collection of eerie-charming games including autumn atmosphere, yet without the keep-you-awake degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and acts as an excellent cozy alternative to the intensely frightening games of the current season.
An Original Self-Coop Journey
Described as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an quest to return daylight to their dark, dark realm. Their design is similar to stylized dolls blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. Their light-complected and baggy-eyed aesthetic borrows heavily from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic family-friendly adventure. The pair builds an strong friendship over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to show to her priest uncle that, hey, possibly the undead are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” description stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate amidst the recent allies to overcome obstacles and advance through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a light source, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies unless a light is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or temporarily shut off illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to shift around objects in the world, opening up routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
These challenges bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are suspended, diorama-like designs that the view rotates in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a amusement park and through a haunted house, amid other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” option that allows you to view from afar and spin the levels, both to admire the designs and search for ways that may not have been obvious.
Slight Issues and Overall Adventure
Here lies one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes can and cannot go. You may need to simply collide with a several various items to determine which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those slight obstacles don't hinder of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about several hours worth of challenges. Later levels combine minor sneaking and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.
Availability and Summary
Gamers shying away from the frights of intense horror games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on multiple platforms and offers a delightful option for fans in search of Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.
