Not all Halloween horror journey needs to scare players. Starting with well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired staples are enjoyable without raising your heart rate. Moreover, a increasing selection of eerie-charming games featuring Halloween vibes, but not the truly terrifying intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and serves as an superb cozy choice to the intensely frightening releases of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Quest
Labeled as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth called Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their shadowy world. They look resembles Funko Pops mixed with the figures from a Laika film. The pale-skinned and tired-looking appearance is influenced by the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the story is a quintessential family-friendly tale. The pair builds an enduring bond over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to show to her clerical relative that, you know, possibly living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Gameplay Systems
This unique term comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap amidst the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures without a lamp is directed on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will utilize his supernatural ability to move obstacles in the world, creating ways for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are hovering, diorama-like constructions that the view moves across in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the companions around a fair and through a ghostly building, among other locales. There’s a “diorama view” option that allows you to zoom out and spin the stages, both for appreciate the designs and look for ways that may not have been obvious.
Slight Issues and Overall Gameplay
This represents one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the characters may or may not travel. You may need to simply collide with a few random elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those small obstacles don't hinder of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately several hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together light hidden movement and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and slightly surprising — conclusion.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Players shying away from the scares of terrifying games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for 25% off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on several consoles and offers a enjoyable option for players seeking Halloween fun without the intense scares.
