Not every spooky season journey has to frighten players. Including well-known tales like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed titles offer entertainment without causing fear. There’s also, a expanding collection of eerie-charming games featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake degree of terror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and acts as an excellent cozy alternative to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Described as a single-player cooperative puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child named Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an quest to bring the sun back to their dark, dark environment. Their appearance evokes Funko Pops mixed with the figures from a animated feature. The fair-toned and tired-looking aesthetic borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the plot is a classic all-ages adventure. The pair forms an strong connection over the course of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, perhaps living-impaired beings aren’t half bad.
Creative Gameplay Systems
The innovative label comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. When Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, players alternate amidst the recent allies to overcome obstacles and progress through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a streetlight, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures except if a lamp is shone on them.
They must work in tandem — well, you’ll use them together — to advance through areas. Nena may move or briefly disable illumination to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will employ his undead power to shift around objects in the environment, revealing routes for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The brain-teasers remind me a bit of The Gardens Between, in the fashion the stages are floating, diorama-like designs that the perspective rotates in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are quite fun, guiding the duo around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, among other locations. There’s a “diorama view” option that permits you to view from afar and rotate the stages, both to admire the visuals and search for routes that may not have been obvious.
Small Hiccups and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a locked camera, it’s not always clear where the protagonists are able to move. Players might have to simply collide with a multiple different items to discover which ones are interactable, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nevertheless, those small challenges don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas integrate light stealth and action elements with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and somewhat unforeseen — conclusion.
Release and Summary
Gamers steering clear of the frights of fear-inducing games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is presently discounted for a discount on game marketplaces.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and provides a pleasurable choice for gamers looking for Halloween fun without the fear factor.