Not each autumn fright experience must scare gamers. Starting with iconic favorites like animated detectives to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season favorites provide fun without needing increasing anxiety. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable releases including Halloween vibes, yet without the truly terrifying degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an excellent relaxing choice to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Journey
Described as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they start an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their appearance evokes stylized dolls combined with the figures from a Laika film. Their fair-toned and tired-looking appearance is influenced by the visual style of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a classic all-ages adventure. The duo forms an enduring friendship over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, hey, perhaps living-impaired beings can be friendly.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
The innovative term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate between the recent allies to complete challenges and advance through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the brightness of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by wandering undead unless a beam is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — well, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the environment, opening up paths for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are hovering, miniature designs that the perspective rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other locales. There’s a “diorama view” feature that permits you to view from afar and spin the stages, both for appreciate the designs and hunt for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Challenges and Overall Gameplay
Here lies one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a static view, it’s not always clear where the protagonists can and cannot go. Players might have to randomly encounter a multiple different items to figure out which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
However, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about several hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas combine minor stealth and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the terror of intense horror games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for 25% off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes is available on multiple platforms and offers a delightful option for fans seeking autumn enjoyment minus the intense scares.
