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Wednesday, October 14, 2026
NetworkPulse UK

The Spooky-Cute Brain-Teaser Acts as the Excellent Replacement to Spooky Scares

Not every autumn fright experience must scare you. Including well-known tales for example mystery-solving cartoons to delightful stories including Over the Garden Wall, plenty of spooky-season titles provide fun without causing fear. Additionally, a increasing selection of ghostly-adorable releases including autumn atmosphere, but not the keep-you-awake level of horror. Gloomy Eyes was released in September, and stands as an excellent relaxing alternative to the deeply scary games of 2025.

The game visual
Screenshot: ARTE France, Studio, Design Group, Game Company

An Original Collaborative Solo Adventure

Known as a “self-coop” puzzle game, Gloomy Eyes unites a zombie boy known as Gloomy and a mortal child known as Nena as they start an quest to return daylight to their dark, dark environment. Their appearance resembles Funko Pops blended with the figures from a animated feature. Their light-complected and heavy-lidded aesthetic borrows heavily from the look of Tim Burton’s films, and the plot is a classic suitable for everyone adventure. The pair forms an enduring bond over the span of the game’s 14 chapters as Nena tries to demonstrate to her religious guardian that, hey, perhaps the undead are actually good.

Creative Problem-Solving Features

This unique description comes about from the game’s environmental puzzles. When Gloomy and Nena meet, gamers switch amidst the budding companions to overcome obstacles and move forward through the stages. Being a zombie, Gloomy cannot pass through the light of a streetlight, while Nena will get snatched up by wandering undead except if a lamp is directed on them.

They must collaborate effectively — well, gamers operate them in tandem — to finish levels. Nena could adjust or briefly disable lamps to create passages for Gloomy, while the intellectually curious boy will utilize his supernatural ability to rearrange objects in the world, revealing routes for Nena.

The game visual
Image: ARTE France, Production Team, Art Team, Game Company

Captivating Environment Creation

The brain-teasers bring to mind a touch of The Gardens Between, in the manner the stages are hovering, model-like designs that the view pans around in sync with your protagonists. Gloomy Eyes’ environments are very enjoyable, taking the companions around a carnival and through a ghostly building, including other locales. The game includes a “diorama view” option that enables you to pull back and spin the levels, simultaneously to appreciate the artwork and look for paths that may not have been apparent.

Slight Hiccups and Complete Experience

And that’s one of the sole difficulties with Gloomy Eyes. Like other releases with a static view, occasionally it's confusing where the characters are able to move. You may need to simply collide with a few random elements to figure out which ones are interactive, as clues aren't consistently provided.

However, those slight challenges don't hinder of a ghostly-charming fun adventure. Gloomy Eyes runs on the short side, with about a few sessions worth of puzzles. Advanced areas integrate subtle hidden movement and action elements with the puzzle solving, as Gloomy Eyes advances to a rewarding — and slightly unforeseen — finale.

Release and Conclusion

Gamers avoiding the scares of terrifying games ought to experience Gloomy Eyes. The game is out on Switch console, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox, and is presently discounted for 25% off on online stores.

The spooky-cute adventure is available on several consoles and offers a pleasurable option for gamers in search of autumn enjoyment without the terrifying moments.

GF
The writer

Geoffrey Fisher

Alex is a veteran network engineer and tech journalist who covers innovations in UK networking.

NetworkPulse UK

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