Not all autumn fright experience must scare gamers. Including iconic favorites like Scooby-Doo to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed titles offer entertainment without requiring causing fear. Additionally, a growing library of ghostly-adorable titles including spooky themes, yet without the sleep-with-the-lights-on intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and stands as an excellent comfortable option to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Described as a solo collaboration problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl named Nena as they start an adventure to bring the sun back to their dark, dark world. Their appearance resembles collectible figures mixed with the characters from a Laika film. Their light-complected and baggy-eyed appearance draws inspiration from the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a quintessential family-friendly adventure. These two forms an strong bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena strives to show to her religious guardian that, look, possibly the undead are actually good.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
This unique label comes about from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena meet, you’ll swap amidst the budding companions to solve puzzles and move forward through the stages. As an undead, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a light is directed on them.
They must cooperate closely — in practice, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lights to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful youth will use his zombie strength to shift around items in the world, opening up paths for Nena.
Engaging World Building
The puzzles evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are floating, miniature constructions that the view moves across in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the duo around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other locations. There’s a “diorama view” button that permits you to view from afar and spin the levels, both for admire the designs and search for ways that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and Complete Gameplay
And that’s one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other games with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a several various elements to figure out which ones are interactable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
Nonetheless, those minor obstacles don’t get in the way of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about a few sessions worth of challenges. Later levels combine minor sneaking and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and slightly surprising — ending.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers avoiding the scares of fear-inducing titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on online stores.
Gloomy Eyes is out now on several consoles and delivers a delightful alternative for fans seeking Halloween fun without intense scares.