Not every spooky season adventure has to frighten you. Including iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed titles provide fun without causing fear. Moreover, a expanding collection of eerie-charming releases including autumn atmosphere, but not the keep-you-awake intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an excellent comfortable alternative to the deeply scary games of this year.
A Distinctive Collaborative Solo Quest
Known as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they start an adventure to restore sunlight to their shadowy realm. Their appearance evokes stylized dolls blended with the figures from a Laika film. The light-complected and heavy-lidded style is influenced by the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages adventure. These two forms an strong bond over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to show to her clerical relative that, you know, maybe the undead are actually good.
Innovative Problem-Solving Features
The innovative label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap amidst the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a beam is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — in practice, players control them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or briefly disable lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will employ his undead power to rearrange objects in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The brain-teasers remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are floating, diorama-like structures that the perspective moves across in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, guiding the companions around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other locations. There’s a “diorama view” option that permits you to zoom out and spin the areas, both to appreciate the artwork and hunt for routes that may not have been apparent.
Slight Issues and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes can and cannot go. Players might have to just bump into a multiple different elements to figure out which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight speedbumps don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas integrate minor hidden movement and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and slightly unexpected — finale.
Release and Final Thoughts
Players steering clear of the terror of terrifying titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.
This charming title has been released on multiple platforms and offers a delightful option for fans in search of spooky entertainment minus the fear factor.
