Not all Halloween horror adventure needs to scare gamers. From beloved classics like animated detectives to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, numerous Halloween-themed staples provide fun without requiring increasing anxiety. Additionally, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable releases featuring spooky themes, yet without the truly terrifying level of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an superb cozy option to the truly terrifying releases of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Adventure
Labeled as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their appearance is similar to Funko Pops blended with the puppets from a Laika film. The fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic borrows heavily from the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a quintessential family-friendly adventure. The duo forms an strong friendship over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to show to her clerical relative that, hey, perhaps zombies can be friendly.
Innovative Problem-Solving Features
This unique label originates from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate amidst the budding companions to solve puzzles and move forward through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures without a beam is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them together — to complete stages. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange obstacles in the surroundings, opening up paths for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are floating, diorama-like structures that the view moves across in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the companions around a fair and through a spooky mansion, amid other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” option that permits you to pull back and spin the levels, simultaneously to appreciate the visuals and search for ways that may not have been clear.
Minor Issues and Complete Gameplay
And that’s one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the heroes can and cannot go. You may need to just bump into a multiple different objects to determine which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
However, those small speedbumps don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly several hours worth of puzzles. Later levels combine light sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and somewhat surprising — conclusion.
Accessibility and Conclusion
Gamers avoiding the frights of intense horror titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable option for players seeking spooky entertainment without the intense scares.
