This Spooky-Cute Brain-Teaser Acts as the Perfect Replacement to Halloween Horror

Not each Halloween horror adventure must terrify gamers. Starting with well-known tales such as mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season titles are enjoyable without requiring causing fear. Moreover, a expanding collection of spooky-cute releases with spooky themes, yet without the keep-you-awake intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an superb cozy option to the deeply scary releases of the current season.

An Original Self-Coop Adventure

Known as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they embark on an adventure to restore sunlight to their gloomy world. Their design resembles stylized dolls blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and baggy-eyed style draws inspiration from the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a classic all-ages journey. The pair forms an unbreakable bond over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, hey, possibly zombies are actually good.

Creative Problem-Solving Features

The “self-coop” term stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate between the newfound friends to solve puzzles and move forward through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the illumination of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead except if a light is directed on them.

It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — in practice, you’ll use them together — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around items in the surroundings, revealing routes for Nena.

Captivating Environment Creation

The brain-teasers remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are suspended, diorama-like designs that the camera pans around in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the duo around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, including other locales. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that enables you to view from afar and rotate the areas, both to enjoy the visuals and look for routes that may not have been clear.

Slight Hiccups and General Experience

And that’s one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other games with a static view, it’s not always clear where the heroes can and cannot go. Players might have to randomly encounter a several various elements to discover which ones are interactive, as the game doesn't always indicate.

Nevertheless, those slight obstacles don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages integrate subtle sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and somewhat unexpected — finale.

Release and Final Thoughts

Players steering clear of the scares of fear-inducing releases ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on online stores.

This charming title is out now on various systems and offers a delightful option for fans in search of Halloween fun minus the fear factor.