The Ghostly-Charming Brain-Teaser Functions as the Ideal Substitute to Halloween Horror

Not each autumn fright adventure has to frighten you. From well-known tales such as Scooby-Doo to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired favorites are enjoyable without raising your heart rate. There’s also, a expanding collection of spooky-cute titles featuring Halloween vibes, yet without the keep-you-awake intensity of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and acts as an superb cozy alternative to the intensely frightening titles of 2025.

Gloomy Eyes screenshot
Visual: Creators, ATLAS V, Design Group, Be Revolution/Untold Tales

An Original Self-Coop Quest

Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child known as Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they start an mission to bring the sun back to their gloomy realm. Their appearance evokes Funko Pops combined with the puppets from a Laika film. Their light-complected and tired-looking appearance borrows heavily from the appearance of Gothic fantasy movies, and the story is a classic all-ages adventure. The duo develops an enduring connection over the duration of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to prove to her priest uncle that, look, maybe zombies can be friendly.

Original Gameplay Systems

The innovative term stems from the game’s environmental puzzles. Once Gloomy and Nena cross paths, players alternate amidst the newfound friends to overcome obstacles and advance through the levels. As an undead, Gloomy is unable to traverse through the light of a lamppost, while Nena can be captured by loitering creatures unless a beam is focused on them.

They have to cooperate closely — well, players control them together — to advance through areas. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lights to create passages for Gloomy, while the thoughtful character will utilize his supernatural ability to shift around items in the environment, opening up paths for Nena.

This adventure screenshot
Image: Creators, Studio, Art Team, Game Company

Immersive Environment Creation

The brain-teasers remind me a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are floating, model-like designs that the camera moves across in coordination with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the companions around a fair and through a spooky mansion, among other places. The game includes a “diorama view” button that allows you to zoom out and turn the levels, both for enjoy the designs and look for paths that may not have been obvious.

Slight Challenges and Overall Adventure

And that’s one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other games with a static view, sometimes it's unclear where the characters can and cannot go. Players might have to simply collide with a multiple different elements to discover which ones are usable, as it’s not always intuitive.

Nonetheless, those small speedbumps don't obstruct of a ghostly-charming good time. Gloomy Eyes has a compact length, with about three to five hours worth of brain-teasers. Advanced areas integrate subtle hidden movement and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes progresses to a fulfilling — and somewhat unforeseen — ending.

Accessibility and Conclusion

Gamers steering clear of the scares of terrifying games won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, and is currently on sale for a discount on online stores.

Gloomy Eyes is available on various systems and provides a delightful alternative for fans looking for autumn enjoyment without terrifying moments.

Dawn Hill
Dawn Hill

Elena Visser is a certified nutritionist and health writer with over a decade of experience in public health.