Not all spooky season experience has to scare players. Starting with beloved classics for example mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired favorites provide fun without increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable titles with Halloween vibes, but not the keep-you-awake intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and stands as an superb comfortable choice to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Quest
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they start an mission to bring the sun back to their gloomy environment. They look is similar to stylized dolls mixed with the figures from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance is influenced by the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a quintessential all-ages tale. The pair builds an strong bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to show to her religious guardian that, look, possibly living-impaired beings are actually good.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
This unique term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate between the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a lamppost, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead without a beam is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — well, you’ll use them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained youth will employ his undead power to rearrange items in the surroundings, creating paths for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
These challenges remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are suspended, model-like constructions that the camera rotates in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, taking the duo around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, including other locations. There’s a “diorama view” option that allows you to pull back and turn the areas, both to enjoy the artwork and search for ways that may not have been apparent.
Slight Hiccups and Complete Gameplay
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to simply collide with a several various objects to determine which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those small challenges don't hinder of a eerie-adorable fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately three to five hours worth of challenges. Later levels integrate minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and slightly unforeseen — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Those avoiding the terror of intense horror titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, Sony system, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on multiple platforms and provides a enjoyable alternative for players looking for Halloween fun minus the intense scares.
