Not all autumn fright experience needs to frighten you. Starting with beloved classics like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired staples provide fun without needing causing fear. Moreover, a expanding collection of spooky-cute titles with spooky themes, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in September, and stands as an superb comfortable alternative to the truly terrifying releases of 2025.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a solo collaboration problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they start an quest to bring the sun back to their gloomy realm. Their design evokes Funko Pops mixed with the characters from a Laika film. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance is influenced by the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a quintessential suitable for everyone tale. These two develops an strong friendship over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to prove to her priest uncle that, you know, perhaps zombies can be friendly.
Original Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, gamers switch among the newfound friends to complete challenges and advance through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a light is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — well, you’ll use them together — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or momentarily deactivate lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will employ his undead power to rearrange objects in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are floating, model-like structures that the view pans around in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, guiding the companions around a fair and through a spooky mansion, amid other locations. There’s a “diorama view” feature that enables you to zoom out and turn the areas, both to appreciate the visuals and search for paths that may not have been obvious.
Slight Hiccups and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the heroes may or may not travel. Gamers could require to simply collide with a few random objects to figure out which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nevertheless, those minor challenges don't hinder of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with approximately three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas integrate subtle sneaking and exciting moments with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the scares of terrifying titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PS5, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on online stores.
This charming title has been released on various systems and offers a delightful alternative for fans in search of Halloween fun without the intense scares.