Not each autumn fright adventure has to scare players. Starting with beloved classics like mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season staples are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. Additionally, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable games with Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and acts as an superb relaxing alternative to the deeply scary titles of the current season.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they embark on an quest to bring the sun back to their dark, dark world. They look is similar to collectible figures mixed with the puppets from a animated feature. The light-complected and heavy-lidded aesthetic is influenced by the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential suitable for everyone journey. The duo builds an unbreakable friendship over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, hey, possibly zombies aren’t half bad.
Innovative Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap between the newfound friends to complete challenges and advance through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a lamp is focused on them.
They have to cooperate closely — in practice, players control them together — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or briefly disable illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will use his zombie strength to move obstacles in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
These challenges bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are floating, diorama-like constructions that the camera pans around in conjunction with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are very enjoyable, taking the companions around a fair and through a haunted house, among other locales. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to view from afar and turn the areas, both to admire the visuals and hunt for routes that may not have been obvious.
Small Issues and General Adventure
Here lies one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other games with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to just bump into a several various elements to discover which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those minor challenges don't obstruct of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about three to five hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages combine minor stealth and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and somewhat unexpected — conclusion.
Release and Conclusion
Players shying away from the scares of terrifying titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, computer, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a discount on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on various systems and delivers a delightful choice for fans in search of Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.
