Not each spooky season adventure must frighten gamers. Starting with beloved classics like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired staples offer entertainment without requiring causing fear. There’s also, a expanding collection of eerie-charming titles with spooky themes, but not the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and acts as an excellent cozy alternative to the intensely frightening titles of the current season.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth named Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they embark on an quest to restore sunlight to their shadowy environment. Their design resembles Funko Pops combined with the figures from a Laika film. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed style draws inspiration from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a classic suitable for everyone journey. These two forms an enduring connection over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, hey, maybe the undead are actually good.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique term originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the budding companions to overcome obstacles and advance through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a light source, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies without a light is shone on them.
They have to work in tandem — in practice, you’ll use them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will utilize his supernatural ability to move objects in the environment, creating ways for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are floating, model-like structures that the view moves across in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the duo around a fair and through a ghostly building, among other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” button that allows you to pull back and spin the areas, both to admire the visuals and search for routes that may not have been obvious.
Small Issues and General Gameplay
This represents one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other games with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists can and cannot go. You may need to randomly encounter a several various objects to determine which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those minor speedbumps don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas blend together subtle sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and slightly unexpected — conclusion.
Release and Summary
Players avoiding the terror of fear-inducing games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, Sony system, PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on various systems and provides a delightful option for fans looking for autumn enjoyment without fear factor.
