Not each spooky season experience needs to frighten players. Starting with well-known tales like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, many autumn-inspired staples provide fun without needing causing fear. Additionally, a expanding collection of ghostly-adorable games with Halloween vibes, but not the sleep-with-the-lights-on level of fear. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and acts as an superb relaxing choice to the deeply scary releases of 2025.
An Original Self-Coop Quest
Known as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child named Nena as they begin an quest to restore sunlight to their shadowy environment. Their design resembles stylized dolls combined with the characters from a stop-motion animation. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded style is influenced by the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a classic suitable for everyone adventure. These two forms an strong friendship over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to prove to her priest uncle that, look, maybe living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Puzzle Mechanics
The “self-coop” term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap between the recent allies to complete challenges and advance through the areas. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the illumination of a light source, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — actually, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will employ his undead power to rearrange obstacles in the world, opening up routes for Nena.
Immersive Level Design
These challenges evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are suspended, miniature structures that the camera moves across in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, guiding the companions around a fair and through a haunted house, among other locations. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both for admire the visuals and search for routes that may not have been clear.
Small Issues and Overall Adventure
Here lies one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a fixed perspective, it’s not always clear where the heroes are able to move. Players might have to just bump into a few random items to discover which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don't hinder of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately several hours worth of brain-teasers. Later levels combine minor sneaking and action elements with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a fulfilling — and slightly unexpected — conclusion.
Release and Final Thoughts
Those steering clear of the frights of terrifying releases should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a quarter off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes is available on multiple platforms and delivers a pleasurable choice for fans looking for Halloween fun minus the fear factor.
