Not each autumn fright experience needs to frighten players. Including well-known tales for example mystery-solving cartoons to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired titles provide fun without causing fear. Additionally, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable titles including spooky themes, but not the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and stands as an superb relaxing alternative to the deeply scary games of the current season.
A Unique Self-Coop Quest
Labeled as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they start an quest to restore sunlight to their shadowy realm. They look resembles stylized dolls combined with the characters from a stop-motion animation. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded appearance is influenced by the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a quintessential all-ages tale. These two develops an strong friendship over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her clerical relative that, look, perhaps living-impaired beings are actually good.
Original Gameplay Systems
The innovative description originates from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the recent allies to solve puzzles and move forward through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead unless a light is directed on them.
They must work in tandem — well, players control them together — to complete stages. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained youth will employ his undead power to shift around obstacles in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating Environment Creation
The puzzles bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are floating, model-like constructions that the view rotates in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, taking the friends around a amusement park and through a spooky mansion, among other places. There’s a “diorama view” button that enables you to zoom out and rotate the stages, both to admire the designs and search for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Hiccups and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the characters can and cannot go. You may need to simply collide with a few random objects to determine which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those small obstacles don't hinder of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly several hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas combine minor sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and slightly surprising — ending.
Release and Conclusion
Players steering clear of the frights of fear-inducing releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is available at a reduced price for 25% off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on multiple platforms and provides a pleasurable choice for fans seeking spooky entertainment without intense scares.