It might be pitched as a “cozy self-co-op” horror game, but Gloomy Eyes is darker than you think. Playing through a series of head-scratching environmental puzzles is just the start, using my left Xbox joystick and the A and B buttons to solve them, but what lies beneath is a sobering tale of friendship, humanity, and how magic can be found in the dreariest of places.
Gloomy is a little zombie boy. Nena is a human girl. In a world where humans hunt zombies, forcing them to live in shadows and slink beneath the radar, the pair must navigate their way carefully on their hunt to find the sun. Between the zombie hunters on the prowl for Gloomy and Nena’s fearmongering “Priest” uncle keeping a watchful eye on her, the pair have quite a journey ahead. It’s just as well, then, that Gloomy Eyes is a heartwarming delight in the most bonechilling way.
Screamwork
I know: that’s a lot of body parts and temperatures. But in a game about zombies, I think it’s pretty apt.
Our leading boy Gloomy is integral to the story, but so is Nema, since Gloomy Eyes functions as a puzzle game you play with yourself. Once each character is unlocked, you’ll be able to swap between the two at given moments to help solve puzzles, using each character’s unique traits to exploit the environment around you.
Gloomy, as a zombie, is sensitive to electricity. Standing in a pool of electricity-powered light for even a couple of seconds will make him pass out, and you’ll have to restart from a checkpoint. Similarly, Nema needs to stay clear of lingering zombies and make sure she doesn’t get too close, lest they grab her. A neat little circle around each danger alerts you of the wide berth you must take, which means that every so often, there’s no way around a given hazard for either character. That’s where the puzzling comes in.
While controlling each protagonist, the goal is to help the other progress through the puzzle by removing dangers. For Gloomy, this usually amounts to moving heavy things, throwing heavy things (mostly at lampposts), and generally shifting the playing field to help Nema stay away from zombies.
Meanwhile, Nema can turn generators off and on to help Gloomy pass brightly lit areas safely, as well as climb ladders, branches, and other things requiring a more nimble human touch. Swapping characters is as easy as hitting the Y button, and you can even get a wide view of a given puzzle map by pressing the windows button to help plan ahead.
Both of them need to watch out for Cultists – aka, zombie hunters who work for Nema’s Priest uncle – who can sometimes be found prowling in the darkness in ghostly hoods, holding lanterns. These sections remind me a lot of Shadow Gambit or other Mimimi Games titles like Desperados 3 in that they’re highly stealth-puzzle oriented, though there’s no real-time combat to worry about this time!
Little nightmares
While environmental puzzling sits at the core of Gloomy Eyes, it’s impossible to ignore the sumptuous world building. The Tim Burton inspirations are palpable, from its baleful wide-eyed protagonists to the claymation art style, and everything is peppered with an aura of macabre wonder.
Each map is cleverly laid out like a small island of interconnected pathways – most of them blocked off unless you do something about it. An example is the mine, used by the Cultists as a place to amass materials for zombie hunting, where Gloomy and Nema must search for two battery cells to power up a generator and get one of the mine carts working.
Nema can leap about to her heart’s content to reach the generator itself, but Gloomy needs to venture down into the Cultists’ sleeping quarters to throw a brick at a bell, hide in a log, summon a Cultist into the other room to investigate the noise, and grab the battery cell before he gets back.
The mine itself is a cool puzzle area, but my favorite so far has to be Gloomy’s treehouse – his home.
This giant, bioluminescent willow tree is surrounded by glowing flora and fauna, from glittering flowers to vivid green-yellow waters, all wound through an endless tangle of roots. I didn’t mind getting turned around a few times just so I could pore over each petal and bushel, letting myself get swept away by the storybook-style narration (courtesy of the unseen Gravekeeper) and gentle piano music underscoring my climb.
It’s moments like these that make Gloomy Eyes truly memorable. Puzzle games have a tendency to get frustrating, but here, I’m too busy being transfixed by the world around me to get annoyed by the odd dead end. This game is the perfect way to kick off Halloween month – especially when Silent Hill f gets a little intense and I need a brain break – so if you’re hunting for this season’s cutest, creepiest little indie gem, I think you’ve found it.