Not all Halloween horror experience has to frighten you. Starting with iconic favorites such as mystery-solving cartoons to charming series like Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season favorites are enjoyable without requiring raising your heart rate. There’s also, a growing library of spooky-cute titles with Halloween vibes, yet without the truly terrifying degree of fear. Gloomy Eyes debuted in recent months, and acts as an outstanding cozy option to the deeply scary games of 2025.
A Distinctive Single-Player Cooperative Adventure
Known as a solo collaboration puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a human girl known as Nena as they begin an quest to restore sunlight to their shadowy environment. Their appearance resembles stylized dolls blended with the characters from a stop-motion animation. The light-complected and baggy-eyed aesthetic borrows heavily from the appearance of Burtonesque cinema, and the plot is a classic family-friendly journey. These two forms an enduring bond over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena attempts to show to her religious guardian that, hey, possibly zombies are actually good.
Original Problem-Solving Features
The “self-coop” term originates from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch between the budding companions to solve puzzles and progress through the stages. Since he's not alive, Gloomy can’t walk through the light of a streetlight, while Nena can be captured by wandering undead without a beam is directed on them.
They have to collaborate effectively — well, you’ll use them simultaneously — to complete stages. Nena may move or momentarily deactivate lights to clear paths for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will use his zombie strength to shift around objects in the world, revealing paths for Nena.
Engaging Level Design
The brain-teasers evoke memories a touch of The Gardens Between, in the way the areas are suspended, model-like structures that the perspective pans around in coordination with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ worlds are highly entertaining, guiding the duo around a carnival and through a spooky mansion, among other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to zoom out and spin the stages, both to admire the artwork and search for ways that may not have been obvious.
Small Issues and Complete Adventure
Here lies one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Comparable to other titles with a fixed perspective, occasionally it's confusing where the heroes are able to move. Gamers could require to simply collide with a multiple different elements to discover which ones are interactive, as it’s not always intuitive.
Nonetheless, those minor challenges don't hinder of a eerie-adorable fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with roughly several hours worth of challenges. Advanced areas combine subtle sneaking and exciting moments with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a satisfying — and slightly unforeseen — conclusion.
Accessibility and Final Thoughts
Gamers shying away from the scares of terrifying titles won’t want to miss Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC, and Xbox, and is available at a reduced price for a discount on online stores.
The spooky-cute adventure is out now on various systems and provides a pleasurable option for fans looking for spooky entertainment minus the terrifying moments.
