Not every spooky season experience must scare gamers. Including beloved classics like Scooby-Doo to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles offer entertainment without increasing anxiety. Moreover, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable titles including spooky themes, but not the keep-you-awake level of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in the fall, and stands as an outstanding cozy choice to the deeply scary titles of 2025.
A Unique Self-Coop Journey
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a undead youth named Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an mission to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. They look resembles Funko Pops combined with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and heavy-lidded aesthetic is influenced by the look of Burtonesque cinema, and the story is a quintessential all-ages tale. These two forms an strong bond over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena strives to show to her clerical relative that, you know, perhaps zombies are actually good.
Creative Gameplay Systems
This unique label originates from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate between the newfound friends to complete challenges and progress through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead unless a beam is directed on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the surroundings, creating routes for Nena.
Immersive World Building
These challenges bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are floating, miniature designs that the view moves across in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are highly entertaining, guiding the companions around a amusement park and through a spooky mansion, including other places. There’s a “diorama view” option that permits you to zoom out and turn the stages, both to admire the designs and search for ways that may not have been clear.
Slight Challenges and Complete Experience
And that’s one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a static view, it’s not always clear where the characters may or may not travel. Players might have to just bump into a several various items to figure out which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about several hours worth of puzzles. Subsequent stages blend together light hidden movement and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a satisfying — and somewhat surprising — ending.
Release and Conclusion
Those shying away from the frights of intense horror releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, computer, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for 25% off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and offers a pleasurable option for players seeking spooky entertainment minus the fear factor.
