Not all autumn fright journey has to scare gamers. Including beloved classics like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired staples are enjoyable without needing raising your heart rate. Moreover, a expanding collection of eerie-charming games featuring Halloween vibes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and acts as an excellent relaxing choice to the truly terrifying games of 2025.
A Distinctive Self-Coop Adventure
Labeled as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an quest to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their design evokes Funko Pops combined with the puppets from a Laika film. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the story is a archetypal suitable for everyone adventure. The pair develops an unbreakable connection over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena strives to prove to her clerical relative that, you know, maybe the undead are actually good.
Original Gameplay Systems
This unique term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead unless a lamp is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — well, you’ll use them together — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will employ his undead power to shift around items in the world, revealing routes for Nena.
Immersive World Building
The brain-teasers bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are hovering, diorama-like constructions that the view moves across in sync with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, taking the companions around a carnival and through a ghostly building, amid other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” button that permits you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both for appreciate the artwork and hunt for ways that may not have been obvious.
Small Challenges and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists can and cannot go. Gamers could require to just bump into a several various elements to determine which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about several hours worth of puzzles. Later levels combine subtle sneaking and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and slightly unforeseen — conclusion.
Release and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the terror of fear-inducing games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on various systems and delivers a delightful option for gamers seeking spooky entertainment without the fear factor.
