Not each autumn fright experience must frighten you. Including beloved classics such as mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season favorites are enjoyable without requiring increasing anxiety. Moreover, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games with autumn atmosphere, but not the keep-you-awake degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and serves as an outstanding relaxing choice to the truly terrifying games of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Adventure
Described as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their shadowy world. Their design evokes Funko Pops combined with the characters from a Laika film. Their fair-toned and baggy-eyed aesthetic draws inspiration from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a archetypal suitable for everyone journey. The pair forms an strong bond over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena strives to show to her clerical relative that, hey, possibly the undead are actually good.
Original Gameplay Systems
The innovative label comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate amidst the recent allies to overcome obstacles and move forward through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies unless a light is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — in practice, you’ll use them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will use his zombie strength to rearrange obstacles in the world, creating routes for Nena.
Immersive World Building
These challenges bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are suspended, diorama-like designs that the view rotates in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, taking the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other locales. There’s a “diorama view” button that permits you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both to admire the visuals and look for paths that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and Complete Adventure
Here lies one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. You may need to randomly encounter a multiple different items to figure out which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
However, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about several hours worth of challenges. Subsequent stages combine light hidden movement and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly surprising — ending.
Release and Conclusion
Gamers avoiding the terror of terrifying releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for a discount on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful choice for fans looking for spooky entertainment without terrifying moments.
