Not each spooky season experience must frighten gamers. From iconic favorites like animated detectives to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired titles are enjoyable without needing raising your heart rate. Additionally, a expanding collection of spooky-cute titles including Halloween vibes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and acts as an outstanding cozy option to the intensely frightening titles of 2025.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Known as a solo collaboration brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they embark on an adventure to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. They look evokes collectible figures mixed with the puppets from a Laika film. Their fair-toned and heavy-lidded appearance borrows heavily from the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a classic family-friendly adventure. The duo forms an enduring friendship over the course of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, look, possibly living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique label stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate amidst the budding companions to solve puzzles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a light source, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies unless a beam is focused on them.
They must cooperate closely — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena might relocate or briefly disable illumination to open routes for Gloomy, while the thoughtful boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move objects in the surroundings, revealing paths for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The brain-teasers remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are suspended, diorama-like designs that the camera moves across in conjunction with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, guiding the duo around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both to enjoy the designs and hunt for ways that may not have been clear.
Minor Issues and Overall Adventure
And that’s one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the heroes may or may not travel. You may need to simply collide with a few random objects to figure out which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those small challenges don't hinder of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together subtle sneaking and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and somewhat unexpected — finale.
Accessibility and Conclusion
Those steering clear of the scares of fear-inducing titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a quarter off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is available on various systems and offers a delightful alternative for fans in search of autumn enjoyment minus the intense scares.
