Not each spooky season adventure must terrify you. From beloved classics for example animated detectives to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites offer entertainment without causing fear. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games featuring autumn atmosphere, yet without the truly terrifying level of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and stands as an superb cozy alternative to the truly terrifying releases of the current season.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Known as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they start an adventure to return daylight to their shadowy world. They look evokes Funko Pops mixed with the characters from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and baggy-eyed appearance draws inspiration from the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a classic family-friendly journey. The pair builds an strong bond over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her clerical relative that, look, maybe living-impaired beings are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The innovative description originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate between the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures without a beam is shone on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or temporarily shut off illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will employ his undead power to move items in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
These challenges evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are hovering, diorama-like designs that the camera moves across in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are very enjoyable, leading the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other places. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to view from afar and spin the areas, simultaneously to appreciate the artwork and search for paths that may not have been obvious.
Slight Issues and Overall Adventure
And that’s one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to randomly encounter a few random elements to determine which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those small challenges don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages integrate subtle stealth and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.
Availability and Summary
Those shying away from the scares of fear-inducing releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and offers a delightful option for players in search of spooky entertainment without intense scares.
