Not every autumn fright experience needs to scare you. Starting with beloved classics like animated detectives to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles offer entertainment without raising your heart rate. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games with autumn atmosphere, though lacking the truly terrifying intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and acts as an outstanding relaxing alternative to the truly terrifying releases of the current season.
A Unique Self-Coop Journey
Described as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they embark on an quest to bring the sun back to their shadowy world. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the characters from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded aesthetic is influenced by the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential family-friendly journey. The pair forms an unbreakable connection over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to prove to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps the undead are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique label stems from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the budding companions to complete challenges and progress through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — actually, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will employ his undead power to shift around obstacles in the world, revealing ways for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are suspended, diorama-like constructions that the camera pans around in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, guiding the duo around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, among other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that enables you to pull back and spin the areas, both for enjoy the artwork and hunt for ways that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the heroes can and cannot go. Players might have to randomly encounter a few random items to determine which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those slight speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly a few sessions worth of challenges. Subsequent stages combine minor stealth and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Those avoiding the terror of terrifying titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful alternative for players looking for Halloween fun without intense scares.
