Not all autumn fright journey must terrify you. Including well-known tales for example mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites provide fun without needing causing fear. Moreover, a expanding collection of eerie-charming games featuring autumn atmosphere, but not the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and acts as an excellent relaxing option to the intensely frightening titles of this year.
A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy named Gloomy and a living girl known as Nena as they start an mission to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their design resembles collectible figures mixed with the figures from a animated feature. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed appearance is influenced by the visual style of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a archetypal all-ages adventure. These two develops an strong connection over the duration of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, hey, maybe the undead are actually good.
Innovative Gameplay Systems
The “self-coop” label comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. When Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap among the budding companions to overcome obstacles and advance through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead unless a beam is directed on them.
They must work in tandem — actually, players control them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious character will use his zombie strength to move items in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The brain-teasers remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are floating, miniature designs that the view pans around in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, leading the companions around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other places. The game includes a “diorama view” feature that allows you to pull back and rotate the stages, both for enjoy the designs and look for ways that may not have been apparent.
Minor Challenges and General Experience
This represents one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the protagonists may or may not travel. You may need to just bump into a several various items to discover which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those small speedbumps don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels blend together minor stealth and action elements with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and somewhat surprising — finale.
Accessibility and Summary
Players shying away from the frights of fear-inducing releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for 25% off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on several consoles and delivers a enjoyable alternative for fans looking for autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.
