Not every Halloween horror adventure has to frighten you. Including well-known tales such as Scooby-Doo to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season favorites are enjoyable without increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of eerie-charming titles with spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake level of fear. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and acts as an outstanding relaxing choice to the truly terrifying games of this year.
A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an quest to return daylight to their shadowy world. Their design evokes collectible figures combined with the puppets from a animated feature. Their pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance is influenced by the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a quintessential family-friendly tale. These two forms an enduring friendship over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to prove to her religious guardian that, hey, perhaps living-impaired beings are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” description stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch amidst the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and advance through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures except if a beam is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them together — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around objects in the world, revealing routes for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are floating, miniature structures that the perspective pans around in sync with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the friends around a amusement park and through a haunted house, amid other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that permits you to pull back and rotate the areas, both to admire the designs and search for routes that may not have been apparent.
Small Issues and Overall Adventure
This represents one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to simply collide with a multiple different objects to determine which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly several hours worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages integrate subtle stealth and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and moderately surprising — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the scares of fear-inducing titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for 25% off on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is available on several consoles and offers a delightful alternative for gamers seeking Halloween fun without the fear factor.
