Not all Halloween horror experience must frighten you. Starting with well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season titles provide fun without needing raising your heart rate. Additionally, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable releases featuring autumn atmosphere, but not the truly terrifying degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and stands as an superb relaxing option to the deeply scary titles of this year.
A Distinctive Collaborative Solo Adventure
Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they begin an quest to bring the sun back to their shadowy world. Their design is similar to collectible figures blended with the figures from a animated feature. Their pale-skinned and tired-looking aesthetic draws inspiration from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a classic all-ages journey. These two builds an strong connection over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to show to her clerical relative that, look, perhaps the undead are actually good.
Creative Gameplay Systems
The innovative label comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate between the budding companions to complete challenges and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a lamppost, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead without a beam is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — in practice, you’ll use them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or briefly disable lights to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange items in the world, creating ways for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The brain-teasers bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are hovering, model-like structures that the perspective rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, taking the duo around a fair and through a haunted house, including other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” option that allows you to pull back and turn the areas, simultaneously to enjoy the designs and look for ways that may not have been obvious.
Small Hiccups and Complete Gameplay
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes may or may not travel. You may need to randomly encounter a few random items to determine which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas combine minor hidden movement and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.
Release and Conclusion
Those steering clear of the terror of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on online stores.
This charming title has been released on various systems and provides a pleasurable alternative for fans seeking spooky entertainment without the fear factor.
