Not all autumn fright journey must terrify you. From beloved classics such as animated detectives to endearing shows like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season favorites provide fun without needing raising your heart rate. Moreover, a growing library of ghostly-adorable releases with Halloween vibes, though lacking the truly terrifying intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and serves as an excellent cozy choice to the deeply scary releases of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Adventure
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an adventure to return daylight to their gloomy environment. Their appearance evokes stylized dolls blended with the puppets from a Laika film. Their fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic is influenced by the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a classic family-friendly adventure. These two builds an enduring connection over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, you know, possibly the undead aren’t half bad.
Innovative Problem-Solving Features
This unique term comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate amidst the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies unless a beam is shone on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — actually, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange obstacles in the world, revealing ways for Nena.
Immersive World Building
These challenges remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are floating, model-like constructions that the perspective rotates in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, leading the duo around a fair and through a haunted house, amid other places. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to view from afar and turn the areas, both for admire the visuals and hunt for ways that may not have been apparent.
Slight Challenges and General Adventure
Here lies one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to just bump into a few random items to discover which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those minor challenges don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately several hours worth of challenges. Later levels blend together minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and somewhat surprising — ending.
Release and Conclusion
Gamers shying away from the terror of fear-inducing titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for 25% off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on several consoles and delivers a enjoyable option for players in search of Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.
