Not every spooky season experience has to scare players. From beloved classics such as mystery-solving cartoons to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without raising your heart rate. Moreover, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable games featuring Halloween vibes, but not the truly terrifying level of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and stands as an excellent cozy alternative to the truly terrifying games of this year.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Known as a solo collaboration problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy called Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their dark, dark environment. Their appearance is similar to stylized dolls combined with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the story is a archetypal family-friendly journey. The duo builds an strong friendship over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to prove to her priest uncle that, you know, possibly living-impaired beings are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” description originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch between the newfound friends to solve puzzles and move forward through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a lamp is directed on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or temporarily shut off lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to shift around items in the environment, opening up ways for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
The brain-teasers bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are suspended, diorama-like constructions that the perspective moves across in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other locales. There’s a “diorama view” feature that permits you to pull back and rotate the stages, both for enjoy the visuals and look for paths that may not have been obvious.
Slight Issues and Overall Adventure
And that’s one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the characters can and cannot go. You may need to just bump into a few random elements to figure out which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those slight speedbumps don't obstruct of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages integrate minor stealth and action elements with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and somewhat unexpected — finale.
Release and Conclusion
Gamers avoiding the terror of intense horror titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a discount on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on multiple platforms and delivers a enjoyable choice for gamers in search of autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.
