Not all autumn fright adventure needs to frighten gamers. From iconic favorites for example mystery-solving cartoons to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed staples offer entertainment without needing raising your heart rate. Moreover, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable games featuring Halloween vibes, though lacking the keep-you-awake intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and serves as an excellent relaxing alternative to the intensely frightening titles of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Quest
Described as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they start an adventure to restore sunlight to their shadowy world. Their design resembles Funko Pops blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The light-complected and tired-looking appearance draws inspiration from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages adventure. The duo develops an enduring friendship over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, possibly zombies are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The innovative term stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and advance through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead unless a lamp is focused on them.
They have to work in tandem — actually, gamers operate them together — to finish levels. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to shift around objects in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Engaging World Building
These challenges evoke memories a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are suspended, model-like structures that the perspective rotates in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the duo around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other places. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that permits you to view from afar and turn the areas, both to appreciate the visuals and look for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Hiccups and General Gameplay
And that’s one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists are able to move. Gamers could require to simply collide with a few random items to figure out which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those small challenges don't obstruct of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about several hours worth of brain-teasers. Later levels blend together light stealth and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and slightly unexpected — finale.
Availability and Summary
Those shying away from the scares of fear-inducing releases ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for 25% off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on various systems and provides a delightful choice for players in search of Halloween fun without the intense scares.
