Not each spooky season adventure must scare gamers. From beloved classics for example Scooby-Doo to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed favorites provide fun without requiring increasing anxiety. Additionally, a growing library of ghostly-adorable titles with spooky themes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in the fall, and acts as an superb relaxing choice to the truly terrifying games of the current season.
An Original Collaborative Solo Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an quest to return daylight to their shadowy world. Their appearance resembles stylized dolls blended with the puppets from a stop-motion animation. Their pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance draws inspiration from the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a quintessential family-friendly journey. The duo develops an enduring friendship over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to show to her clerical relative that, hey, maybe the undead aren’t half bad.
Creative Gameplay Systems
The innovative term originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate between the budding companions to complete challenges and move forward through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies except if a beam is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — in practice, players control them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will employ his undead power to move objects in the surroundings, opening up routes for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are floating, model-like structures that the perspective moves across in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, guiding the duo around a amusement park and through a spooky mansion, among other places. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to view from afar and rotate the levels, simultaneously to admire the artwork and hunt for ways that may not have been apparent.
Minor Hiccups and Overall Adventure
This represents one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the characters are able to move. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a multiple different elements to discover which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about several hours worth of challenges. Later levels blend together light stealth and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and somewhat surprising — finale.
Release and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the scares of terrifying releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, Sony system, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a discount on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and offers a pleasurable choice for fans looking for autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.
