Not each spooky season adventure needs to terrify you. From iconic favorites such as animated detectives to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed titles are enjoyable without requiring raising your heart rate. Additionally, a increasing selection of eerie-charming titles including spooky themes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and stands as an outstanding comfortable choice to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
A Unique Collaborative Solo Quest
Known as a single-player cooperative problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they begin an quest to bring the sun back to their shadowy realm. Their appearance evokes Funko Pops mixed with the puppets from a animated feature. The fair-toned and baggy-eyed appearance borrows heavily from the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential all-ages adventure. These two builds an unbreakable connection over the span of the game’s numerous levels as Nena tries to show to her priest uncle that, look, possibly zombies are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
This unique term originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap among the newfound friends to solve puzzles and move forward through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures without a lamp is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to collaborate effectively — well, gamers operate them simultaneously — to complete stages. Nena may move or briefly disable lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will use his zombie strength to shift around objects in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a little of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the areas are hovering, miniature constructions that the view moves across in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the friends around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other locations. There’s a “diorama view” button that permits you to pull back and rotate the levels, simultaneously to appreciate the artwork and search for ways that may not have been apparent.
Small Hiccups and Complete Experience
And that’s one of the few hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, it’s not always clear where the characters may or may not travel. You may need to just bump into a multiple different elements to discover which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nevertheless, those slight speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about three to five hours worth of challenges. Subsequent stages integrate minor stealth and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and slightly surprising — ending.
Release and Conclusion
Those avoiding the scares of terrifying titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is presently discounted for 25% off on online stores.
This charming title is out now on several consoles and offers a pleasurable choice for players seeking autumn enjoyment without terrifying moments.
