Not every Halloween horror adventure has to frighten you. From iconic favorites for example animated detectives to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired staples are enjoyable without needing raising your heart rate. Additionally, a increasing selection of spooky-cute releases with spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and stands as an superb relaxing choice to the deeply scary titles of the current season.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they embark on an mission to restore sunlight to their gloomy world. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the puppets from a animated feature. Their fair-toned and heavy-lidded style draws inspiration from the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a archetypal all-ages tale. The duo forms an enduring connection over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to demonstrate to her clerical relative that, hey, perhaps the undead are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The innovative label originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch among the budding companions to solve puzzles and progress through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies unless a light is shone on them.
They must work in tandem — in practice, players control them together — to complete stages. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to shift around items in the world, opening up routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The brain-teasers bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are suspended, diorama-like structures that the perspective moves across in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, leading the companions around a fair and through a haunted house, among other places. There’s a “diorama view” button that allows you to view from afar and spin the stages, both to admire the designs and hunt for routes that may not have been apparent.
Small Challenges and Overall Gameplay
And that’s 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. You may need to simply collide with a multiple different items to discover which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those minor challenges don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas combine subtle sneaking and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and moderately unexpected — conclusion.
Availability and Summary
Players steering clear of the frights of intense horror releases ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a discount on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on various systems and offers a pleasurable option for fans seeking spooky entertainment without intense scares.
