The Ghostly-Charming Brain-Teaser Acts as the Perfect Replacement to Frightening Flicks

Not every autumn fright experience has to scare you. Starting with iconic favorites like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed titles are enjoyable without requiring causing fear. Additionally, a growing library of ghostly-adorable titles with Halloween vibes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and serves as an excellent comfortable choice to the intensely frightening games of the current season.

A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Journey

Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an adventure to return daylight to their shadowy environment. Their appearance is similar to collectible figures combined with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. Their fair-toned and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a classic all-ages adventure. The pair develops an unbreakable connection over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to show to her clerical relative that, hey, maybe living-impaired beings can be friendly.

Innovative Puzzle Mechanics

This unique term comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch between the newfound friends to solve puzzles and advance through the areas. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies without a lamp is shone on them.

They must collaborate effectively — in practice, players control them together — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around items in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.

Captivating World Building

The brain-teasers evoke memories a little of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are floating, diorama-like constructions that the perspective rotates in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the friends around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, amid other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” button that allows you to pull back and turn the levels, both to appreciate the visuals and look for paths that may not have been obvious.

Small Hiccups and General Experience

Here lies one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the heroes can and cannot go. You may need to randomly encounter a multiple different elements to discover which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.

Nevertheless, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about a few sessions worth of challenges. Later levels combine subtle sneaking and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and slightly unforeseen — ending.

Accessibility and Summary

Those steering clear of the scares of terrifying games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, Sony system, computer, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for 25% off on online stores.

The spooky-cute adventure has been released on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable option for players looking for spooky entertainment without intense scares.