Not each spooky season journey needs to terrify gamers. From beloved classics such as animated detectives to charming series such as Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed titles provide fun without requiring causing fear. Additionally, a increasing selection of eerie-charming titles with autumn atmosphere, though lacking the keep-you-awake degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and acts as an superb relaxing alternative to the truly terrifying releases of this year.
An Original Self-Coop Adventure
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they begin an mission to return daylight to their gloomy world. Their appearance evokes stylized dolls mixed with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The pale-skinned and tired-looking aesthetic draws inspiration from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a archetypal all-ages journey. The pair develops an enduring friendship over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, look, perhaps living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” term originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap amidst the recent allies to solve puzzles and advance through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead unless a lamp is directed on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, gamers operate them simultaneously — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or temporarily shut off lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will employ his undead power to move items in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Immersive Environment Creation
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are floating, model-like constructions that the view pans around in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, guiding the duo around a fair and through a ghostly building, amid other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” feature that enables you to zoom out and turn the areas, simultaneously to appreciate the visuals and hunt for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Challenges and Complete Experience
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the protagonists may or may not travel. You may need to randomly encounter a several various items to discover which ones are interactive, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those slight obstacles don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly several hours worth of challenges. Later levels blend together minor stealth and action elements with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.
Accessibility and Summary
Gamers avoiding the scares of intense horror games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and provides a pleasurable option for fans looking for autumn enjoyment minus the intense scares.
