This Spooky-Cute Puzzler Functions as the Ideal Alternative to Spooky Scares

Not each spooky season experience must scare you. From beloved classics for example mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed titles provide fun without needing causing fear. There’s also, a expanding collection of eerie-charming releases featuring spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and serves as an excellent comfortable alternative to the intensely frightening releases of this year.

A Unique Collaborative Solo Journey

Labeled as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they begin an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. They look is similar to collectible figures blended with the puppets from a animated feature. Their light-complected and tired-looking style borrows heavily from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the story is a quintessential all-ages tale. The pair builds an enduring bond over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to prove to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps the undead are actually good.

Creative Gameplay Systems

This unique description originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to solve puzzles and move forward through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead without a lamp is shone on them.

They have to cooperate closely — well, gamers operate them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will use his zombie strength to shift around objects in the environment, creating ways for Nena.

Immersive World Building

The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are suspended, miniature designs that the camera moves across in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, taking the companions around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, including other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” feature that enables you to zoom out and turn the levels, both to enjoy the visuals and search for ways that may not have been clear.

Small Issues and Overall Gameplay

Here lies one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. Players might have to simply collide with a several various items to discover which ones are interactive, as the game doesn't always indicate.

Nonetheless, those slight speedbumps don't obstruct of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Later levels combine light hidden movement and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.

Availability and Summary

Those avoiding the terror of fear-inducing titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, computer, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on game marketplaces.

Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and provides a delightful choice for gamers in search of autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.