A game like Gloomy Eyes should’ve been reviewed in October, right? Not the holiday season in December? Well, here we are, anyway. Consider it a Nightmare Before Christmas kind of thing, which makes sense considering the Burton-inspired visuals.
Gloomy Eyes is an adventure/puzzle game based on an animated VR short from 2019. You play as Gloomy (a zombie boy) and Nena (a living girl) who come together in hopes of finding the sun, which has been lost for a while. The art style, sound, and storytelling have a distinctly creepy vibe, but the game remains cozy and fun, with no major jumpscares or immediate present danger.
The Gloomy Eyes world exists like a Super Mario Galaxy map, in which each level is a new setting with much to explore and many puzzles to solve. There is a starting point at each level, and your goal is always to find your way to the end. Of course, many obstacles block your way, and swapping between Gloomy and Nena will be required to get past—he can’t be in the light and she can’t be around zombies. These characters therefore must work together, but from separate parts of the level, to clear each other of any obstacles and find the way to the end.
The game is single-player only, so expect a lot of switching between the two and finding what actions serve what purposes. For example, in the first couple levels where the two meet, you’ll play as Nena and find buttons within her area that shut off lights so Gloomy can then access areas where he’ll solve puzzles that help Nena in return.
These areas are like dioramas from which you can back out and rotate to take it all in. They’re large, though, so you will spend plenty of time down close to the action, experimenting with the environments to figure out what to do. That’s the whole point, after all. Gloomy Eyes doesn’t do much to guide you, you’re just expected to scout the areas until you find the triggers to help the other progress. A large majority of the gameplay, therefore, centers around blind exploration and trial and error. Is that fun?
Here, it kind of is, largely because finally figuring out how to progress is quite satisfying. It’s like advancing from one puzzle to the next in an escape room, and it doesn’t take much longer; Gloomy Eyes can be completed in just one or two sittings if you’re dedicated. You also don’t have to deal with being cramped in a tiny room with others who think they’re better puzzle-solvers than you.
You are, however, struck with a cramped camera that makes it difficult to find what you need. In some areas, I wasn’t even able to detect that there were paths I could take. The muted colors and blurry graphics on the Switch don’t help, either. To stick with the Tim Burton reference, it needs the visual flair of Corpse Bride’s land of the dead, not the upstairs.
And considering the short gameplay, Gloomy Eyes is just priced too high at $25.
Still, I had fun with the game. The story is good, although cryptic in parts. The gameplay provides enough rewards to push you through the occasional frustrating elements. And although it’s single-player only, I recommend sharing it with others, especially younger gamers who’ll more easily connect with Gloomy and Nena. And no need to wait for next October to do so; it’s OK to be spooked in any given season.
