Not all Halloween horror experience has to frighten gamers. From beloved classics such as mystery-solving cartoons to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season staples are enjoyable without needing raising your heart rate. Moreover, a expanding collection of eerie-charming releases including spooky themes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and serves as an excellent relaxing alternative to the deeply scary games of this year.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Labeled as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their gloomy environment. Their appearance resembles collectible figures mixed with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages tale. These two develops an unbreakable connection over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, hey, maybe the undead are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the budding companions to solve puzzles and move forward through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead except if a beam is shone on them.
They have to cooperate closely — actually, players control them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lights to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will use his zombie strength to shift around items in the world, revealing paths for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The brain-teasers bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are suspended, miniature constructions that the view moves across in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that enables you to pull back and turn the levels, simultaneously to enjoy the designs and look for routes that may not have been clear.
Slight Challenges and General Experience
Here lies one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists are able to move. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a multiple different objects to figure out which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those minor obstacles don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately several hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas integrate minor hidden movement and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Gamers shying away from the frights of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, computer, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on several consoles and provides a delightful choice for players in search of Halloween fun without intense scares.
