Not every spooky season adventure needs to frighten you. Starting with beloved classics such as animated detectives to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites are enjoyable without increasing anxiety. Additionally, a growing library of eerie-charming games including spooky themes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in recent months, and serves as an outstanding relaxing alternative to the truly terrifying games of this year.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Labeled as a single-player cooperative puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth called Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an adventure to return daylight to their gloomy environment. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the characters from a animated feature. Their pale-skinned and heavy-lidded aesthetic is influenced by the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a classic suitable for everyone journey. The pair develops an enduring connection over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, you know, possibly living-impaired beings are actually good.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate between the recent allies to complete challenges and progress through the areas. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead unless a light is directed on them.
They have to work in tandem — in practice, gamers operate them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will employ his undead power to shift around items in the surroundings, opening up routes for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
These challenges bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are hovering, miniature constructions that the perspective pans around in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the duo around a carnival and through a ghostly building, including other places. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that allows you to pull back and rotate the levels, both to appreciate the visuals and search for ways that may not have been clear.
Small Hiccups and General Adventure
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a few random items to figure out which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those small challenges don't hinder of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly several hours worth of puzzles. Later levels integrate subtle sneaking and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and moderately unforeseen — finale.
Availability and Summary
Those avoiding the frights of fear-inducing games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a discount on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes is available on various systems and offers a pleasurable option for gamers seeking spooky entertainment without fear factor.
