Not each autumn fright journey must scare you. Starting with well-known tales for example Scooby-Doo to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season favorites offer entertainment without requiring causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games with autumn atmosphere, yet without the truly terrifying level of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an superb cozy option to the intensely frightening games of this year.
A Distinctive Self-Coop Journey
Labeled as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they embark on an quest to return daylight to their gloomy world. Their appearance is similar to collectible figures mixed with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. The light-complected and heavy-lidded style draws inspiration from the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a quintessential family-friendly tale. The duo builds an enduring connection over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps the undead can be friendly.
Innovative Problem-Solving Features
This unique term originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch among the budding companions to overcome obstacles and move forward through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead except if a light is shone on them.
They must collaborate effectively — well, players control them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will utilize his supernatural ability to move obstacles in the surroundings, creating routes for Nena.
Immersive World Building
These challenges bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are hovering, miniature constructions that the perspective rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, leading the companions around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other places. The game includes a “diorama view” feature that allows you to pull back and rotate the levels, both for appreciate the artwork and hunt for routes that may not have been clear.
Small Challenges and Overall Experience
This represents one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the characters can and cannot go. Gamers could require to just bump into a few random objects to figure out which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those slight speedbumps don't hinder of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas blend together minor sneaking and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly unforeseen — finale.
Release and Summary
Players shying away from the scares of intense horror titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PlayStation 5, computer, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for 25% off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and provides a delightful option for players in search of spooky entertainment without the intense scares.
