Not every autumn fright adventure must scare players. From well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed favorites provide fun without raising your heart rate. Additionally, a increasing selection of spooky-cute releases featuring Halloween vibes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and serves as an superb cozy option to the intensely frightening games of this year.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Described as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth named Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they start an mission to restore sunlight to their gloomy environment. Their appearance resembles stylized dolls combined with the figures from a animated feature. Their pale-skinned and baggy-eyed aesthetic is influenced by the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a quintessential all-ages tale. These two develops an unbreakable friendship over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, hey, possibly the undead aren’t half bad.
Original Gameplay Systems
The innovative label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch amidst the recent allies to solve puzzles and progress through the areas. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures except if a lamp is directed on them.
They must work in tandem — in practice, gamers operate them together — to finish levels. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to rearrange items in the surroundings, opening up routes for Nena.
Captivating Environment Creation
These challenges bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are suspended, diorama-like structures that the camera pans around in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, guiding the friends around a fair and through a spooky mansion, including other locations. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to zoom out and turn the stages, simultaneously to enjoy the designs and look for paths that may not have been apparent.
Minor Issues and General Gameplay
And that’s one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes may or may not travel. Gamers could require to simply collide with a multiple different objects to figure out which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don't obstruct of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately several hours worth of challenges. Later levels blend together minor sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and moderately surprising — conclusion.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Those steering clear of the scares of terrifying releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for 25% off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is available on multiple platforms and offers a pleasurable choice for players looking for autumn enjoyment minus the terrifying moments.
