Not each autumn fright experience needs to frighten gamers. Including well-known tales for example animated detectives to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired staples are enjoyable without requiring raising your heart rate. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable titles including spooky themes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and stands as an superb relaxing option to the deeply scary releases of the current season.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a human girl called Nena as they begin an mission to bring the sun back to their dark, dark world. They look resembles collectible figures mixed with the characters from a Laika film. Their pale-skinned and baggy-eyed appearance is influenced by the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a quintessential family-friendly tale. These two forms an strong friendship over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, hey, maybe the undead can be friendly.
Original Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, you’ll swap between the recent allies to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a beam is shone on them.
They must work in tandem — actually, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will use his zombie strength to rearrange obstacles in the surroundings, creating routes for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are floating, model-like structures that the view pans around in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a ghostly building, amid other places. There’s a “diorama view” button that allows you to view from afar and spin the levels, both for enjoy the designs and look for ways that may not have been clear.
Small Issues and General Gameplay
This represents one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other games with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the characters may or may not travel. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a several various elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
However, those small speedbumps don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas blend together light sneaking and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and slightly unforeseen — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Those steering clear of the frights of intense horror games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, Sony system, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes has been released on multiple platforms and offers a enjoyable alternative for players seeking spooky entertainment minus the fear factor.
