Not each autumn fright journey has to frighten players. Including well-known tales like Scooby-Doo to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, many spooky-season favorites are enjoyable without requiring increasing anxiety. Additionally, a expanding collection of spooky-cute releases with autumn atmosphere, though lacking the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an superb comfortable option to the intensely frightening releases of 2025.
An Original Collaborative Solo Adventure
Known as a single-player cooperative puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they start an mission to return daylight to their shadowy environment. They look evokes collectible figures blended with the figures from a stop-motion animation. The fair-toned and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic all-ages tale. The duo builds an unbreakable connection over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena strives to prove to her clerical relative that, look, maybe the undead aren’t half bad.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
This unique description originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate between the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the brightness of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures except if a beam is directed on them.
They have to cooperate closely — actually, gamers operate them in tandem — to complete stages. Nena might relocate or briefly disable illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will utilize his supernatural ability to move items in the surroundings, opening up ways for Nena.
Captivating Environment Creation
The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are floating, diorama-like constructions that the perspective rotates in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, taking the companions around a fair and through a ghostly building, amid other locations. There’s a “diorama view” feature that allows you to zoom out and spin the levels, both to enjoy the artwork and hunt for routes that may not have been obvious.
Slight Challenges and Overall Adventure
And that’s one of the sole problems with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the heroes can and cannot go. You may need to simply collide with a multiple different items to determine which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels integrate minor sneaking and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and moderately unforeseen — ending.
Release and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the scares of fear-inducing releases won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Xbox, and is currently on sale for 25% off on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure has been released on multiple platforms and delivers a enjoyable option for gamers looking for spooky entertainment without intense scares.
