Not all spooky season adventure needs to scare gamers. Starting with well-known tales like Scooby-Doo to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired favorites are enjoyable without causing fear. Moreover, a growing library of eerie-charming titles featuring autumn atmosphere, though lacking the keep-you-awake level of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an outstanding comfortable choice to the truly terrifying games of the current season.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy named Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their shadowy environment. They look evokes stylized dolls blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed aesthetic draws inspiration from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a quintessential suitable for everyone adventure. These two forms an unbreakable friendship over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to demonstrate to her clerical relative that, look, maybe living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate between the recent allies to solve puzzles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies except if a lamp is shone on them.
They must collaborate effectively — well, gamers operate them simultaneously — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will use his zombie strength to shift around items in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Engaging World Building
These challenges evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are floating, model-like constructions that the camera pans around in sync with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are very enjoyable, guiding the companions around a fair and through a ghostly building, including other places. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to view from afar and turn the levels, both to admire the visuals and look for paths that may not have been apparent.
Slight Hiccups and Overall Gameplay
Here lies one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the protagonists may or may not travel. Players might have to just bump into a few random items to figure out which ones are interactive, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight challenges don't obstruct of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels combine subtle stealth and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and moderately unforeseen — finale.
Release and Summary
Players steering clear of the frights of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo platform, Sony system, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.
This charming title is out now on several consoles and offers a delightful alternative for fans seeking Halloween fun minus the intense scares.
