Not each autumn fright adventure must terrify you. Including well-known tales like Scooby-Doo to endearing shows including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of autumn-inspired staples offer entertainment without needing raising your heart rate. There’s also, a growing library of ghostly-adorable games including autumn atmosphere, though lacking the keep-you-awake intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes arrived in September, and stands as an superb relaxing option to the truly terrifying games of 2025.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Quest
Described as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes teams up a zombie boy named Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they begin an quest to bring the sun back to their shadowy world. Their appearance is similar to collectible figures blended with the puppets from a Laika film. Their light-complected and baggy-eyed aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a quintessential family-friendly journey. The duo forms an strong connection over the duration of the game’s numerous levels as Nena attempts to prove to her religious guardian that, you know, perhaps the undead aren’t half bad.
Creative Problem-Solving Features
The “self-coop” label stems from the game’s world-based challenges. When Gloomy and Nena cross paths, 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 light source, while Nena can be captured by idle zombies unless a beam is focused on them.
They have to cooperate closely — in practice, gamers operate them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena may move or temporarily shut off lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious youth will employ his undead power to shift around objects in the surroundings, opening up paths for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The brain-teasers bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the levels are suspended, model-like structures that the camera rotates in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ settings are highly entertaining, taking the friends around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, including other locales. Players can use a “diorama view” feature that permits you to view from afar and rotate the levels, both for appreciate the artwork and search for paths that may not have been obvious.
Minor Hiccups and General Gameplay
Here lies one of the only difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other releases with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes may or may not travel. Players might have to just bump into a multiple different objects to determine which ones are usable, as the game doesn't always indicate.
Nonetheless, those slight obstacles don't hinder of a ghostly-charming enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with about three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels integrate minor hidden movement and action elements with the challenge completion, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and slightly surprising — ending.
Availability and Final Thoughts
Gamers steering clear of the terror of intense horror titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. It’s available on Switch console, Sony system, PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a quarter off on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is available on multiple platforms and provides a delightful choice for players looking for autumn enjoyment minus the terrifying moments.
