Not each autumn fright adventure must scare you. From beloved classics such as Scooby-Doo to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of eerie-charming titles with Halloween vibes, though lacking the keep-you-awake intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and serves as an superb comfortable option to the truly terrifying releases of the current season.
A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Known as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a living girl known as Nena as they embark on an quest to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. Their appearance is similar to Funko Pops mixed with the puppets from a animated feature. The light-complected and baggy-eyed appearance borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a classic all-ages adventure. The duo forms an unbreakable friendship over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Innovative Puzzle Mechanics
The innovative term comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. When Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap amidst the newfound friends to complete challenges and move forward through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures unless a lamp is shone on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange objects in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Engaging Environment Creation
The brain-teasers remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are floating, model-like constructions that the camera moves across in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, leading the companions around a carnival and through a haunted house, amid other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to pull back and spin the areas, both to appreciate the visuals and look for routes that may not have been apparent.
Small Challenges and General Gameplay
And that’s one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the protagonists can and cannot go. Players might have to randomly encounter a several various objects to determine which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight speedbumps don't hinder of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately several hours worth of challenges. Later levels combine subtle sneaking and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the frights of fear-inducing games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo platform, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on several consoles and offers a enjoyable choice for fans seeking Halloween fun minus the terrifying moments.
