Not each Halloween horror experience needs to scare gamers. Including iconic favorites like animated detectives to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed titles provide fun without causing fear. Additionally, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable releases including spooky themes, though lacking the truly terrifying intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and stands as an excellent comfortable choice to the truly terrifying titles of this year.
An Original Self-Coop Adventure
Described as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an mission to bring the sun back to their gloomy realm. Their design evokes collectible figures mixed with the characters from a stop-motion animation. Their pale-skinned and baggy-eyed style is influenced by the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a classic all-ages journey. The pair develops an unbreakable connection over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her clerical relative that, you know, perhaps living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Original Gameplay Systems
This unique description stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena cross paths, gamers switch amidst the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies without a beam is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — well, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to move obstacles in the environment, creating routes for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
These challenges evoke memories a little of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are hovering, diorama-like constructions that the perspective pans around in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the duo around a fair and through a ghostly building, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” button that permits you to zoom out and spin the stages, both to admire the designs and hunt for routes that may not have been apparent.
Minor Challenges and Complete Adventure
And that’s one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. Players might have to just bump into a few random items to figure out which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately a few sessions worth of challenges. Later levels combine light hidden movement and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and somewhat surprising — conclusion.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Players shying away from the frights of intense horror releases ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for 25% off on game marketplaces.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful alternative for gamers seeking spooky entertainment without the fear factor.
