Skip to content
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
TechPulse Insights

This Ghostly-Charming Brain-Teaser Acts as the Excellent Replacement to Frightening Flicks

Not every Halloween horror adventure has to terrify you. From well-known tales such as mystery-solving cartoons to endearing shows such as Over the Garden Wall, numerous autumn-inspired titles provide fun without increasing anxiety. Moreover, a growing library of spooky-cute titles with Halloween vibes, though lacking the keep-you-awake intensity of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in the fall, and serves as an outstanding comfortable option to the intensely frightening titles of this year.

Gloomy Eyes screenshot
Image: ARTE France, ATLAS V, Art Team, Game Company

A Unique Single-Player Cooperative Adventure

Known as a “self-coop” problem-solving title, Gloomy Eyes unites a living-impaired child named Gloomy and a mortal child called Nena as they start an quest to return daylight to their shadowy environment. They look is similar to Funko Pops combined with the characters from a animated feature. Their fair-toned and heavy-lidded style borrows heavily from the visual style of Tim Burton’s films, and the narrative is a classic family-friendly journey. These two develops an unbreakable friendship over the span of the game’s multiple stages as Nena tries to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, you know, possibly the undead are actually good.

Original Gameplay Systems

The innovative term comes about from the game’s world-based challenges. Once Gloomy and Nena encounter each other, gamers switch amidst the recent allies to solve puzzles and advance through the levels. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the illumination of a lamppost, while Nena will get snatched up by idle zombies without a light is focused on them.

They have to cooperate closely — actually, gamers operate them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena might relocate or temporarily shut off lamps to open routes for Gloomy, while the open-brained character will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange objects in the surroundings, revealing paths for Nena.

The game gameplay
Visual: ARTE France, ATLAS V, Art Team, Be Revolution/Untold Tales

Captivating Level Design

The brain-teasers evoke memories a bit of The Gardens Between, in the way the stages are suspended, miniature designs that the perspective pans around in sync with your heroes. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, leading the companions around a amusement park and through a ghostly building, including other locations. There’s a “diorama view” option that enables you to view from afar and rotate the stages, simultaneously to enjoy the visuals and hunt for paths that may not have been apparent.

Minor Hiccups and Complete Gameplay

This represents one of the only problems with Gloomy Eyes. Similar to other games with a locked camera, sometimes it's unclear where the protagonists can and cannot go. Players might have to simply collide with a multiple different items to discover which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.

Nevertheless, those minor challenges don't obstruct of a eerie-adorable enjoyable experience. Gloomy Eyes is relatively brief, with roughly three to five hours worth of puzzles. Later levels blend together light sneaking and dynamic sequences with the problem-solving, as Gloomy Eyes marches toward a rewarding — and slightly surprising — conclusion.

Accessibility and Summary

Players avoiding the frights of intense horror titles should definitely try Gloomy Eyes. You can find it on Nintendo Switch, Sony system, PC, and Microsoft console, and is currently on sale for a discount on digital platforms.

Gloomy Eyes is available on several consoles and delivers a pleasurable option for fans in search of autumn enjoyment minus the terrifying moments.

By

Kaitlyn Garcia

A software engineer and tech writer passionate about AI ethics and open-source projects, with over a decade of industry experience.

TechPulse Insights

Type to search articles.