The Ghostly-Charming Puzzler Acts as the Excellent Replacement to Halloween Horror

Not each spooky season adventure must scare players. Including beloved classics like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable releases with spooky themes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and stands as an superb cozy option to the truly terrifying games of the current season.

An Original Self-Coop Adventure

Labeled as a single-player cooperative puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an quest to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. They look evokes stylized dolls blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and tired-looking style is influenced by the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential suitable for everyone tale. The pair develops an strong connection over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, hey, maybe the undead can be friendly.

Creative Problem-Solving Features

The innovative description stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap amidst the recent allies to solve puzzles and advance through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a light source, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a lamp is focused on them.

They must collaborate effectively — in practice, you’ll use them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena may move or briefly disable lights to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around obstacles in the environment, opening up paths for Nena.

Immersive World Building

The puzzles bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are hovering, model-like constructions that the camera pans around in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, guiding the companions around a fair and through a haunted house, among other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that permits you to view from afar and spin the stages, both for appreciate the artwork and search for ways that may not have been obvious.

Minor Challenges and General Experience

This represents one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to simply collide with a several various objects to determine which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.

Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas blend together light stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and somewhat unexpected — ending.

Accessibility and Summary

Those shying away from the frights of terrifying titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.

Gloomy Eyes is available on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable choice for gamers seeking Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.