Not each Halloween horror journey must frighten you. Starting with iconic favorites like Scooby-Doo to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed staples offer entertainment without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of eerie-charming releases featuring autumn atmosphere, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and stands as an superb relaxing alternative to the intensely frightening titles of this year.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Described as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes unites a undead youth known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an adventure to bring the sun back to their gloomy realm. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the figures from a animated feature. The light-complected and baggy-eyed appearance borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a archetypal all-ages tale. These two forms an enduring friendship over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to show to her clerical relative that, you know, perhaps living-impaired beings are actually good.
Innovative Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, gamers switch among the recent allies to complete challenges and move forward through the areas. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead without a light is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — well, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move obstacles in the world, revealing ways for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
These challenges bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are suspended, model-like designs that the camera moves across in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, amid other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to zoom out and spin the stages, simultaneously to appreciate the artwork and hunt for paths that may not have been apparent.
Small Hiccups and Complete Gameplay
Here lies one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the characters are able to move. You may need to just bump into a multiple different objects to figure out which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
However, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about a few sessions worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages combine subtle sneaking and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and slightly unforeseen — finale.
Availability and Conclusion
Gamers avoiding the scares of intense horror games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for 25% off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on several consoles and provides a delightful choice for fans looking for autumn enjoyment minus the fear factor.
