Not all autumn fright experience needs to scare you. Starting with beloved classics like mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories like Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites provide fun without needing raising your heart rate. Additionally, a expanding collection of eerie-charming titles featuring autumn atmosphere, but not the truly terrifying level of terror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in recent months, and serves as an outstanding relaxing choice to the deeply scary games of 2025.
A Distinctive Collaborative Solo Journey
Described as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a zombie boy called Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they embark on an adventure to return daylight to their dark, dark environment. They look evokes collectible figures blended with the puppets from a Laika film. Their pale-skinned and tired-looking style draws inspiration from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a archetypal family-friendly journey. These two builds an unbreakable bond over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to show to her clerical relative that, look, possibly zombies can be friendly.
Creative Gameplay Systems
This unique label stems from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, gamers switch among the budding companions to overcome obstacles and progress through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a light source, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead unless a beam is shone on them.
They must cooperate closely — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or briefly disable illumination to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will use his zombie strength to shift around obstacles in the world, revealing paths for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The brain-teasers remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are floating, miniature structures that the view pans around in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are quite fun, taking the duo around a carnival and through a haunted house, among other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to zoom out and spin the levels, both for appreciate the artwork and look for paths that may not have been clear.
Small Issues and Overall Gameplay
This represents one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a locked camera, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to just bump into a multiple different elements to determine which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly three to five hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas blend together light sneaking and dynamic sequences with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — conclusion.
Accessibility and Conclusion
Gamers steering clear of the terror of terrifying games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for 25% off on digital platforms.
Gloomy Eyes is available on multiple platforms and delivers a delightful alternative for players in search of spooky entertainment without the terrifying moments.
