Not all Halloween horror journey has to scare you. Including well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles provide fun without requiring raising your heart rate. There’s also, a growing library of spooky-cute games featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and acts as an outstanding cozy option to the intensely frightening releases of the current season.
A Unique Self-Coop Journey
Described as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they begin an mission to return daylight to their gloomy world. Their design is similar to stylized dolls mixed with the figures from a animated feature. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed style draws inspiration from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a quintessential suitable for everyone adventure. The duo forms an enduring connection over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to show to her religious guardian that, you know, possibly living-impaired beings are actually good.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate among the budding companions to complete challenges and advance through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead except if a lamp is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — in practice, players control them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will use his zombie strength to move objects in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Immersive World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are suspended, miniature designs that the view moves across in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, guiding the duo around a amusement park and through a haunted house, among other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” option that allows you to pull back and spin the levels, both for admire the artwork and look for ways that may not have been obvious.
Minor Issues and Complete Gameplay
This represents one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the protagonists can and cannot go. Gamers could require to simply collide with a multiple different elements to figure out which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those slight speedbumps don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately a few sessions worth of challenges. Later levels integrate subtle stealth and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and slightly surprising — finale.
Release and Conclusion
Gamers shying away from the scares of intense horror titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, Sony system, PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on several consoles and delivers a enjoyable option for players looking for Halloween fun minus the terrifying moments.
