Not every spooky season adventure has to terrify gamers. Including well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season staples offer entertainment without causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of spooky-cute releases featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the truly terrifying intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and acts as an excellent comfortable alternative to the truly terrifying games of the current season.
An Original Collaborative Solo Journey
Labeled as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child named Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an mission to bring the sun back to their dark, dark realm. They look evokes Funko Pops mixed with the characters from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a quintessential all-ages adventure. The duo forms an enduring bond over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to prove to her religious guardian that, look, maybe living-impaired beings are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The “self-coop” label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate among the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a light source, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies except if a beam is shone on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange objects in the environment, opening up routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are floating, diorama-like designs that the view pans around in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the duo around a fair and through a ghostly building, amid other places. Players can use a “diorama view” button that enables you to view from afar and turn the levels, both for enjoy the designs and hunt for paths that may not have been obvious.
Small Hiccups and Complete Experience
And that’s one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other games with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes can and cannot go. Players might have to randomly encounter a multiple different elements to discover which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those slight obstacles don't obstruct of a eerie-adorable fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately three to five hours worth of challenges. Later levels combine subtle stealth and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and moderately surprising — finale.
Release and Final Thoughts
Those avoiding the scares of fear-inducing games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, Sony system, PC, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on game marketplaces.
This charming title is out now on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable alternative for players looking for autumn enjoyment minus the intense scares.