Not each autumn fright experience has to terrify players. From well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season favorites offer entertainment without needing increasing anxiety. Additionally, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable titles with spooky themes, yet without the keep-you-awake degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and serves as an superb cozy option to the deeply scary games of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Journey
Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a living girl known as Nena as they start an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy world. Their design evokes stylized dolls combined with the figures from a Laika film. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded aesthetic borrows heavily from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a archetypal suitable for everyone journey. The pair builds an unbreakable bond over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to show to her religious guardian that, look, possibly zombies aren’t half bad.
Innovative Gameplay Systems
The innovative label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch between the newfound friends to solve puzzles and move forward through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the illumination of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies except if a light is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — actually, you’ll use them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lights to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will use his zombie strength to move obstacles in the world, creating ways for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
These challenges evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are suspended, miniature constructions that the camera pans around in sync with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, guiding the friends around a amusement park and through a haunted house, among other locales. Players can use a “diorama view” button that permits you to zoom out and turn the areas, simultaneously to enjoy the artwork and hunt for paths that may not have been obvious.
Slight Issues and Complete Experience
And that’s one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other games with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to just bump into a multiple different items to figure out which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with roughly three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas combine subtle sneaking and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and slightly unexpected — finale.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers shying away from the scares of intense horror releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, Sony system, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for a discount on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on several consoles and offers a pleasurable alternative for fans seeking autumn enjoyment without the intense scares.
