Not all spooky season experience must scare you. Including well-known tales such as mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired staples provide fun without requiring increasing anxiety. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable releases with autumn atmosphere, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an outstanding comfortable choice to the truly terrifying releases of 2025.
An Original Collaborative Solo Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth named Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an adventure to return daylight to their gloomy environment. Their design resembles stylized dolls blended with the puppets from a animated feature. The light-complected and tired-looking aesthetic is influenced by the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the narrative is a classic all-ages adventure. The duo forms an strong friendship over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to show to her religious guardian that, hey, maybe the undead can be friendly.
Original Problem-Solving Features
This unique description originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch 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 streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead unless a light is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — in practice, gamers operate them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around objects in the surroundings, opening up paths for Nena.
Immersive World Building
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are suspended, miniature structures that the camera rotates in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, leading the duo around a carnival and through a haunted house, including other locales. Players can use a “diorama view” button that permits you to pull back and rotate the areas, simultaneously to enjoy the visuals and hunt for paths that may not have been clear.
Minor Challenges and Overall Gameplay
And that’s one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a few random objects to discover which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those minor obstacles don't hinder of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately several hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together light stealth and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and moderately unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Players avoiding the terror of intense horror titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for 25% off on game marketplaces.
This charming title is available on various systems and delivers a pleasurable alternative for players looking for Halloween fun without terrifying moments.
