Not all spooky season experience must terrify you. Starting with iconic favorites such as mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired titles provide fun without increasing anxiety. There’s also, a expanding collection of spooky-cute games including autumn atmosphere, though lacking the truly terrifying intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and stands as an outstanding comfortable choice to the truly terrifying titles of 2025.
An Original Single-Player Cooperative Journey
Known as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy named Gloomy and a living girl named Nena as they embark on an quest to restore sunlight to their dark, dark world. They look is similar to stylized dolls mixed with the characters from a Laika film. The fair-toned and tired-looking style borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the narrative is a classic all-ages journey. The pair develops an enduring connection over the course of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena attempts to demonstrate to her priest uncle that, look, maybe the undead are actually good.
Original Problem-Solving Features
This unique term originates from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch between the budding companions to complete challenges and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy can’t walk through the brightness of a light source, while Nena may be grabbed by loitering creatures unless a light is directed on them.
They have to work in tandem — well, players control them together — to advance through areas. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lamps to clear paths for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will employ his undead power to shift around obstacles in the environment, revealing paths for Nena.
Captivating World Building
The puzzles bring to mind a little of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are hovering, miniature structures that the view rotates in conjunction with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, leading the companions around a carnival and through a ghostly building, including other locations. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that permits you to view from afar and spin the stages, simultaneously to appreciate the artwork and search for routes that may not have been clear.
Minor Issues and Overall Experience
Here lies one of the few difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other titles with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the characters may or may not travel. You may need to randomly encounter a multiple different objects to figure out which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.
However, those slight speedbumps don't hinder of a eerie-adorable good time. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with approximately three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels blend together minor sneaking and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — finale.
Release and Final Thoughts
Those shying away from the scares of fear-inducing games should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Nintendo Switch, PS5, computer, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for a discount on online stores.
This charming title has been released on multiple platforms and provides a delightful alternative for players in search of Halloween fun minus the fear factor.
