Not every Halloween horror experience must scare you. From iconic favorites like animated detectives to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed titles offer entertainment without requiring increasing anxiety. There’s also, a increasing selection of spooky-cute releases with spooky themes, but not the truly terrifying degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and serves as an superb cozy alternative to the intensely frightening games of 2025.
An Original Collaborative Solo Adventure
Known as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an adventure to return daylight to their dark, dark realm. They look is similar to Funko Pops combined with the characters from a animated feature. The fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic is influenced by the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a quintessential family-friendly adventure. The duo forms an enduring bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to prove to her clerical relative that, hey, perhaps zombies aren’t half bad.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” description originates from the game’s world-based challenges. After Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, you’ll swap between the recent allies to solve puzzles and move forward through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by loitering creatures unless a lamp is shone on them.
They must collaborate effectively — in practice, you’ll use them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or temporarily shut off illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will employ his undead power to rearrange items in the surroundings, creating routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are floating, model-like structures that the view rotates in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, guiding the companions around a carnival and through a haunted house, amid other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” button that enables you to pull back and spin the areas, both for enjoy the visuals and hunt for routes that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and Overall Gameplay
This represents one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to just bump into a multiple different elements to discover which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages combine subtle hidden movement and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly unexpected — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers shying away from the frights of intense horror releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for 25% off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes is available on various systems and offers a enjoyable choice for players looking for spooky entertainment without the intense scares.
