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This Spooky-Cute Brain-Teaser Functions as the Excellent Alternative to Halloween Horror

Not each spooky season experience needs to frighten gamers. Including beloved classics such as mystery-solving cartoons to charming series including Over the Garden Wall, numerous spooky-season favorites provide fun without needing raising your heart rate. Additionally, a increasing selection of spooky-cute releases including autumn atmosphere, but not the truly terrifying level of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an excellent comfortable option to the truly terrifying releases of 2025.

This title visual
Image: Creators, ATLAS V, Design Group, Publishers

An Original Collaborative Solo Journey

Known as a solo collaboration problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an quest to return daylight to their gloomy realm. Their design is similar to collectible figures combined with the characters from a animated feature. Their pale-skinned and heavy-lidded aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic suitable for everyone tale. The duo forms an unbreakable connection over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to prove to her priest uncle that, look, perhaps zombies are actually good.

Creative Puzzle Mechanics

This unique term comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch between the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies without a beam is directed on them.

They must collaborate effectively — in practice, players control them in tandem — to advance through areas. Nena may move or briefly disable illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will employ his undead power to move objects in the surroundings, opening up paths for Nena.

This adventure screenshot
Image: ARTE France, ATLAS V, Art Team, Be Revolution/Untold Tales

Immersive World Building

These challenges evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the levels are floating, model-like designs that the camera rotates in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are very enjoyable, guiding the companions around a fair and through a ghostly building, among other places. There’s a “diorama view” button that allows you to view from afar and spin the levels, both to admire the visuals and search for paths that may not have been clear.

Small Challenges and Complete Experience

This represents one of the few problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other releases with a static view, it’s not always clear where the protagonists can and cannot go. Gamers could require to randomly encounter a multiple different elements to discover which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.

Nevertheless, those minor speedbumps don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately three to five hours worth of challenges. Later levels integrate minor sneaking and dynamic sequences with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and somewhat surprising — conclusion.

Accessibility and Final Thoughts

Gamers shying away from the terror of fear-inducing titles ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, computer, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for a discount on game marketplaces.

The spooky-cute adventure is out now on multiple platforms and delivers a enjoyable alternative for players looking for spooky entertainment without terrifying moments.

About the author

Monique Kelley

A software engineer and tech writer passionate about AI ethics and open-source projects, with over a decade of industry experience.

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