Not all spooky season adventure has to terrify you. Including iconic favorites such as mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season staples offer entertainment without needing increasing anxiety. Additionally, a expanding collection of eerie-charming titles including spooky themes, but not the truly terrifying level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and serves as an outstanding comfortable alternative to the intensely frightening releases of the current season.
An Original Self-Coop Journey
Known as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth named Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they embark on an quest to restore sunlight to their gloomy world. Their design is similar to collectible figures mixed with the puppets from a Laika film. The pale-skinned and tired-looking appearance draws inspiration from the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a classic family-friendly adventure. The pair builds an enduring friendship over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena strives to prove to her clerical relative that, hey, perhaps the undead can be friendly.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique term stems from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch amidst the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and advance through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead except if a beam is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — in practice, players control them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or briefly disable illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will use his zombie strength to move items in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are floating, miniature constructions that the view rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, leading the duo around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, including other places. There’s a “diorama view” button that enables you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both to admire the visuals and search for paths that may not have been clear.
Slight Hiccups and General Experience
This represents one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to just bump into a several various elements to discover which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those minor challenges don't hinder of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages integrate light sneaking and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and moderately unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the terror of fear-inducing releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, PlayStation 5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.
This charming title has been released on several consoles and offers a delightful choice for fans seeking Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.
