Not all Halloween horror journey has to scare you. Including iconic favorites like animated detectives to delightful stories such as Over the Garden Wall, plenty of Halloween-themed staples are enjoyable without requiring increasing anxiety. Moreover, a increasing selection of eerie-charming releases with autumn atmosphere, but not the truly terrifying degree of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in recent months, and stands as an outstanding relaxing choice to the intensely frightening titles of 2025.
A Distinctive Collaborative Solo Journey
Labeled as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a living girl called Nena as they start an adventure to bring the sun back to their dark, dark realm. Their appearance resembles collectible figures blended with the characters from a animated feature. The pale-skinned and heavy-lidded appearance borrows heavily from the look of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a archetypal all-ages journey. These two forms an strong bond over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to show to her clerical relative that, hey, maybe zombies are actually good.
Original Puzzle Mechanics
The innovative description stems from the game’s interactive problem-solving. After Gloomy and Nena meet, players alternate amidst the budding companions to complete challenges and advance through the levels. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures without a light is focused on them.
It's necessary for them to work in tandem — in practice, players control them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or momentarily deactivate lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will use his zombie strength to rearrange items in the world, revealing paths for Nena.
Captivating Level Design
These challenges remind me a little of The Gardens Between, in the manner the levels are suspended, model-like designs that the perspective moves across in coordination with your characters. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are quite fun, taking the duo around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, among other places. Players can use a “diorama view” button that enables you to view from afar and spin the levels, simultaneously to appreciate the designs and hunt for paths that may not have been obvious.
Minor Challenges and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the only hiccups with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists may or may not travel. You may need to randomly encounter a few random items to discover which ones are usable, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those slight speedbumps don't obstruct of a spooky-cute enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with approximately several hours worth of brain-teasers. Subsequent stages blend together subtle hidden movement and exciting moments with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a satisfying — and slightly unforeseen — conclusion.
Release and Final Thoughts
Players avoiding the frights of intense horror titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Nintendo platform, PlayStation 5, PC, and Microsoft console, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on digital platforms.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on multiple platforms and delivers a enjoyable option for fans looking for Halloween fun without terrifying moments.
