Not every Halloween horror adventure must scare you. Including well-known tales like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season favorites offer entertainment without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of eerie-charming games featuring spooky themes, yet without the truly terrifying degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in recent months, and acts as an outstanding cozy alternative to the truly terrifying releases of this year.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Journey
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an adventure to restore sunlight to their gloomy realm. They look evokes stylized dolls combined with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed aesthetic borrows heavily from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic all-ages tale. The pair forms an strong bond over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps zombies can be friendly.
Original Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate among the newfound friends to solve puzzles and progress through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures without a beam is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — actually, players control them together — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will employ his undead power to rearrange objects in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The puzzles remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are suspended, diorama-like designs that the camera pans around in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, taking the duo around a carnival and through a ghostly building, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” button that enables you to zoom out and spin the levels, both for enjoy the artwork and look for routes that may not have been clear.
Slight Hiccups and General Adventure
Here lies one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a static view, it’s not always clear where the characters can and cannot go. Players might have to just bump into a multiple different elements to determine which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those slight speedbumps don't hinder of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly a few sessions worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages combine minor hidden movement and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and slightly unexpected — ending.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the frights of fear-inducing titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo platform, PS5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for 25% off on game marketplaces.
This charming title is out now on various systems and offers a delightful alternative for players in search of Halloween fun without the intense scares.
