Not each spooky season experience needs to scare players. Starting with iconic favorites like Scooby-Doo to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season titles are enjoyable without needing increasing anxiety. Moreover, a growing library of eerie-charming games featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in recent months, and acts as an excellent cozy option to the intensely frightening releases of 2025.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Described as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child called Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they embark on an adventure to restore sunlight to their dark, dark environment. Their appearance is similar to Funko Pops blended with the figures from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded style borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a archetypal family-friendly adventure. The duo forms an unbreakable connection over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to prove to her clerical relative that, look, maybe living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate amidst the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by idle zombies without a lamp is directed on them.
They have to collaborate effectively — in practice, you’ll use them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena may move or briefly disable lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The puzzles remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are hovering, miniature structures that the perspective rotates in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, leading the duo around a amusement park and through a spooky mansion, amid other places. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that permits you to zoom out and turn the levels, simultaneously to appreciate the designs and search for ways that may not have been obvious.
Slight Challenges and Overall Gameplay
And that’s one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other games with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a multiple different elements to determine which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those small obstacles don’t get in the way of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately several hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas combine minor hidden movement and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a rewarding — and slightly unexpected — ending.
Release and Summary
Those steering clear of the scares of fear-inducing releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and provides a pleasurable option for players in search of autumn enjoyment without fear factor.
