Not every Halloween horror adventure needs to frighten players. Starting with beloved classics such as mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed favorites are enjoyable without requiring raising your heart rate. Additionally, a growing library of spooky-cute titles including spooky themes, but not the truly terrifying intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and acts as an superb cozy option to the truly terrifying games of the current season.
An Original Self-Coop Adventure
Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their dark, dark environment. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the puppets from a Laika film. Their pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance is influenced by the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a classic family-friendly adventure. The duo builds an strong bond over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to show to her religious guardian that, look, possibly living-impaired beings are actually good.
Innovative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate between the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead unless a light is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — well, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena may move or briefly disable illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange items in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are suspended, diorama-like constructions that the camera pans around in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that permits you to view from afar and turn the stages, both for admire the designs and look for routes that may not have been apparent.
Minor Challenges and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a several various objects to determine which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about several hours worth of puzzles. Advanced areas combine subtle hidden movement and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and moderately unforeseen — finale.
Availability and Summary
Those shying away from the frights of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, PS5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on online stores.
This charming title has been released on multiple platforms and provides a enjoyable option for fans in search of Halloween fun minus the fear factor.
