Not each Halloween horror experience has to scare you. Including beloved classics such as Scooby-Doo to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, many Halloween-themed favorites offer entertainment without needing raising your heart rate. Moreover, a increasing selection of spooky-cute titles featuring spooky themes, yet without the keep-you-awake intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and acts as an superb cozy alternative to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
An Original Collaborative Solo Journey
Labeled as a single-player cooperative brain-teaser, Gloomy Eyes pairs up a undead youth called Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they embark on an quest to return daylight to their gloomy realm. Their design evokes collectible figures combined with the characters from a animated feature. Their light-complected and baggy-eyed style borrows heavily from the appearance of Tim Burton’s films, and the story is a quintessential family-friendly tale. These two develops an strong bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, hey, perhaps zombies aren’t half bad.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
The innovative term originates from the game’s world-based challenges. When Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate among the recent allies to complete challenges and progress through the areas. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies without a beam is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to cooperate closely — in practice, you’ll use them simultaneously — to complete stages. Nena could adjust or temporarily shut off lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained boy will utilize his supernatural ability to move obstacles in the environment, opening up ways for Nena.
Captivating Environment Creation
The puzzles bring to mind a bit of The Gardens Between, in the manner the areas are floating, miniature constructions that the camera pans around in sync with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, guiding the friends around a carnival and through a ghostly building, among other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” option that allows you to pull back and spin the stages, both to enjoy the artwork and look for paths that may not have been obvious.
Slight Challenges and Complete Experience
Here lies one of the sole hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other titles with a fixed perspective, sometimes it's unclear where the characters are able to move. You may need to just bump into a multiple different items to discover which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those minor speedbumps don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly a few sessions worth of brain-teasers. Later levels integrate light sneaking and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and moderately unexpected — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Those avoiding the scares of terrifying games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Switch console, PS5, Windows PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on game marketplaces.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on several consoles and delivers a enjoyable choice for fans seeking autumn enjoyment without terrifying moments.
