The Spooky-Cute Puzzler Serves as the Ideal Replacement to Frightening Flicks

Not every spooky season journey has to scare players. From beloved classics such as Scooby-Doo to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired staples are enjoyable without requiring raising your heart rate. There’s also, a increasing selection of spooky-cute titles with Halloween vibes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and stands as an superb comfortable choice to the deeply scary releases of this year.

An Original Collaborative Solo Journey

Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an adventure to bring the sun back to their gloomy environment. They look evokes Funko Pops blended with the puppets from a Laika film. Their light-complected and tired-looking style draws inspiration from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a quintessential suitable for everyone journey. These two develops an strong bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, you know, maybe living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.

Original Problem-Solving Features

The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the newfound friends to complete challenges and move forward through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.

They have to cooperate closely — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around objects in the world, opening up paths for Nena.

Engaging Environment Creation

The puzzles remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are hovering, diorama-like constructions that the view moves across in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other places. Players can use a “diorama view” option that permits you to pull back and spin the levels, both for enjoy the visuals and look for paths that may not have been clear.

Small Challenges and Complete Adventure

This represents one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a multiple different elements to discover which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.

However, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly a few sessions worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together light stealth and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.

Availability and Final Thoughts

Players steering clear of the terror of intense horror titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, PS5, computer, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for 25% off on digital platforms.

Gloomy Eyes is out now on several consoles and provides a delightful option for gamers seeking Halloween fun minus the fear factor.