Not every autumn fright journey must scare you. Starting with iconic favorites such as mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without causing fear. There’s also, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable releases with Halloween vibes, yet without the truly terrifying degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and serves as an outstanding cozy option to the deeply scary titles of this year.
A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child named Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an quest to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. Their appearance resembles Funko Pops blended with the characters from a Laika film. Their fair-toned and baggy-eyed appearance is influenced by the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a quintessential suitable for everyone journey. These two builds an unbreakable bond over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, look, maybe living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
This unique label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to complete challenges and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a light source, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures except if a beam is focused on them.
They must cooperate closely — actually, gamers operate them simultaneously — to complete stages. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange obstacles in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The puzzles evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are hovering, diorama-like structures that the view moves across in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a fair and through a haunted house, amid other places. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to zoom out and rotate the areas, simultaneously to enjoy the visuals and look for routes that may not have been apparent.
Slight Challenges and Overall Experience
This represents one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to just bump into a several various elements to figure out which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately a few sessions worth of puzzles. Advanced areas integrate light stealth and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and slightly surprising — ending.
Release and Summary
Those shying away from the terror of terrifying games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on multiple platforms and provides a enjoyable alternative for players in search of spooky entertainment minus the terrifying moments.
