Not each spooky season journey must frighten you. From beloved classics such as animated detectives to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season titles provide fun without needing increasing anxiety. Moreover, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games with autumn atmosphere, but not the keep-you-awake degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and stands as an excellent comfortable option to the deeply scary releases of 2025.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Described as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an quest to return daylight to their gloomy environment. Their appearance resembles Funko Pops blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and heavy-lidded style draws inspiration from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a archetypal suitable for everyone tale. The duo develops an strong friendship over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to show to her priest uncle that, hey, possibly the undead can be friendly.
Innovative Puzzle Mechanics
The innovative description originates from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate amidst the recent allies to solve puzzles and progress through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a lamppost, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — well, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or briefly disable lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to move objects in the environment, revealing ways for Nena.
Immersive World Building
The puzzles remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are hovering, diorama-like designs that the camera pans around in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the companions around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, amid other locales. There’s a “diorama view” feature that enables you to zoom out and spin the areas, both to admire the designs and hunt for routes that may not have been clear.
Small Issues and Overall Adventure
This represents one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the characters may or may not travel. You may need to just bump into a multiple different items to determine which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don't obstruct of a spooky-cute good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about a few sessions worth of puzzles. Advanced areas blend together minor hidden movement and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and slightly surprising — conclusion.
Availability and Conclusion
Players steering clear of the scares of fear-inducing titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, computer, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on game marketplaces.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on several consoles and delivers a delightful choice for fans in search of Halloween fun without the terrifying moments.
