The horror industry is in a rather dire state these days, as its target audience is not large enough to satisfy the indiscreet appetites of the big studio bosses. No matter how ironic it may sound, the “major league” is simply afraid to scare its audience. After the abandonment of the Dead Space series by EA, not a single major video game publisher delved into this genre beyond light flirtations.
Some creepy entries in Capcom’s Resident Evil series released in recent years? Alas, the atmosphere of fear in them lasts only at the very beginning, until the protagonist finds the strength to become a killing machine himself. The Evil Within series from Bethesda with its bloodshed and madness? No matter how repulsive the scenery is, this series is hardly capable of scaring anyone, since it practically does not use techniques to do this.
For large publishing houses, the horror component is solely “sauce for the main dish”, which should be added at your own peril and risk. The independent sector, albeit more loyal to the genre itself, suffers from the dominance of low-quality crafts on a theme that only in theory can be classified as horror. For every Darkwood, there are dozens of games with running errands from low-poly monsters surrounded by free assets of the Unity engine.
This makes the game I’m reviewing even more valuable – Coma 2 manages to not only show itself worthy against the background of its competitors, but also brings something new to the genre. Have you ever heard the phrase “dynamic stealth horror”?? I strongly doubt it, since Coma 2 is the first game in my memory that turned out to be worthy of such a title. If after these words you are interested in this creation of the South Korean game developer, then I can only wish you a pleasant reading!
Heiress of Pyramid Head.
I’ll come up trumps – why are we afraid of Pyramid Head? Because of the formidable weapon, the dirty apron and the grotesque headdress? I strongly doubt this, since the clones of Pyramid Head could not achieve even a tenth of his nightmarish charm. For example, Safe Head from The Evil Within, who could not be made at least interesting, despite even having a personal dlc.
Moreover, the image of Pyramid Head himself reached its apogee in the same game where he first appeared – in Silent Hill 2. His subsequent appearances in the series rarely evoked similar emotions, let alone his cameos in other games that were completely unrelated to Quiet Hill. In other words, it’s definitely not about looks. Then what?
In power! Absolute power that hits the player like a monstrous wave of ultra-violence! This is not just an enemy, but something much more dangerous. When meeting Pyramid Head for the first time, the protagonist is separated from him by bars. It would seem that there is nothing to be afraid of? It’s like looking at a lion in a zoo that is incapable of harming visitors… As long as you are on opposite sides, of course. However, despite the lack of real threat, this scene is still scary.
The thing is that the player on a subconscious level begins to feel a catch – until this moment, all the enemies attacked or ran away from the main character, barely seeing him, but not this time. Pyramid Head simply observes the protagonist, but our brain notices one important difference – this ominous figure has a mind or some perverted semblance of it. This is what’s scary – Pyramid Head immediately stands out from the crowd of monsters, without even making any special efforts to do so.
However, if everything was limited to this, then we would not have received such a cult character. Already during the next meeting with him, Pyramid Head clearly demonstrates his superiority – he abuses two monsters at once, who are absolutely helpless in front of him. Moreover, even the main character is afraid of him, hiding instead of intervening.
The threat posed by Pyramid Head is further emphasized by the ease with which he takes what is happening. He’s having fun. He does whatever he wants. There’s no one to stop him. He is at the top of the local food chain. And for this he doesn’t even need a huge cleaver, which he will arm himself with later. In this scene, the power of Pyramid Head is emphasized by the powerlessness and fear of those around him.
It’s not surprising that in the future you can only run away from him, trying to save your life. And even during the final battle with him, an unpleasant surprise awaits you, preventing you from getting the long-awaited relief – there are two of them, and maybe more. In other words, the formula of fear by which Pyramid Head works can be described as follows: demonstration of absolute power.
Above the monsters, because to this https://goatspinscasino.co.uk/mobile-app/ day they are just the latest victims. Over a protagonist who is unable to cope with such an enemy on his own. Over the player, who can only fear the next meeting with such a frightening pursuer. As you might have guessed, the developers of Coma 2 managed to reproduce this formula, despite the fact that they themselves clearly would not have expected such a comparison.
Players could have encountered “Flesh Thrall” back in the first part, where this pursuer did not particularly stand out from his colleagues in the shop. The chases became less and less impressive over time, hide-and-seek remained rather boring, and the atmosphere of the shadowy underbelly of the South Korean school rather than the gradually progressing monster creeped into fear
In the second part, everything changed – already during the first meeting it becomes clear that this monster is a mad hound, and the surrounding areas are its hunting grounds. Soon another part is thrown in – the force of the blow of this hound allows it to cut metal with its bare hands. It would seem that this is a mere trifle, but after a clear demonstration of such crushing power, I began to feel something that I had been missing in horror for a long time – a threat.
At some point, the main character finds herself in a new location – in the market, where enterprising shadows live. There she begins to be pursued by a new monster – a butcher with cleavers. It would seem that there is absolutely nothing special, but while communicating with one of the characters, “Enslaved Flesh” bursts into the room, kills this character, piercing right through the torso, after which it again begins its pursuit of the main character. Running through the streets, where here and there the remains of murdered shadows are visible, I notice a butcher pinned to the wall with his own weapon. And at this moment the realization dawns on me – I guessed why I met so many corpses in previous locations.
Movement is life!
The main problem with horror films with stealth elements is their monotony and dullness of the process itself. Hiding from a blind monster behind boxes is not the most interesting activity in itself, let alone those projects where this is the main game mechanic. The developers of Coma 2 managed to solve this problem, making the entire game more dynamic.
If we talk about the genre of the project, then we will talk about stealth horror with a side view and a slight flirtation with the concept of a metroidvania. The story begins with the main character falling into "Coma", a shadow reflection of the real world. Her main goal is to get out of there, since the rising of the blood-red moon does not bode well for the girl.
Don’t let your health bar fool you – "Enslaved Flesh" kills without checking your medical record. However, other monsters also thirst for the heroine’s blood.
In this she will be hampered by numerous obstacles with a bad character – aggressive shadows and poisonous plants, which strive to ruin the life of the main character. And the word obstacle is used here for a reason – game locations can turn into a real obstacle course at any moment when “Enslaved Flesh” appears on the scene.
Oh, how your heart skips a beat when this creature jumps right in front of you. It will take her a couple of seconds to notice you, but this time is even more frightening than the subsequent chase. Panic, thinking of an escape plan… too late, she noticed you. You run along a dark corridor, see a life-saving door and run into it. You’re wrong, there are no hiding places in this room, because tentacle-like appendages have sprouted in the local cabinet. She’s already here.
Trying to dodge. Success, but you’re completely exhausted. And now it overtakes you. Pepper spray buys a few more seconds of life. Are you looking for some kind of accessible shelter?. You find a nightstand. Terrible choice. The only choice you have left. She’s nearby. Trying not to breathe. The nightstand is cramped. The monster can’t stand it first and decides to check another floor. With trembling hands, you shop at the nearby vending machine, because you still need to get to the rest room on the third floor.
Stamina is critical. It’s good that the heroine is able to restore it by instantly sucking in an entire bottle of mineral water.
After such moments, you understand the fundamental difference between Coma 2 and most of its competitors – the game does not encourage excessive caution. Here you don’t need to sneak around on all fours for most of the passage, tormenting the unfortunate protagonist’s knees. You can’t sneak around here on your hands and knees at all! The monster is fast, but you must be even faster! Run faster, think faster and make faster decisions!
Coma 2 is not about hardcore. This is far from survival horror. Consumables are not present here so that you can just beat the game, No, they are needed so that you can do it beautifully, quickly, brightly! To make your heart beat and your body get goosebumps! A fast-paced stealth horror game that wants you to act according to circumstances, make the best of the circumstances and, most importantly, have fun in the process!
The only thing that spoils this picture is that the game is too careful with the player at the beginning, and only fully accelerates towards the middle. However, the average duration of this game takes 7-8 hours, which means 3-4 hours of dynamic horror, where you really get scared. I would like to compare this with something, but now there is an acute shortage of analogues on the market, which only emphasizes the positive qualities of this game.
If we talk about the plot, I would like to divide it into three parts: the main story, characters and atmosphere. The main story here is functional – it justifies the movement of the main character from the starting point to the ending point. It’s not bad, but I’m hesitant to call a story that features an important "piano-in-the-bush" plot twist good.
As for the characters, the situation here is already better. The main character turned out especially well. She reacts quite quickly to what is happening (for example, she becomes horrified, which is not given to every protagonist of horror games), shows resourcefulness, but at the same time she also has her unsightly sides. The golden mean, for my taste. It’s also worth noting that some characters’ storylines are more interesting than the main plot.
The atmosphere is the icing on the cake, because it is quite thick and frightening. I admit frankly that in the first part it was even better, but the sequel compensates for this with an increased duration and a much greater variety of levels (the original was limited to just one school). Coma 2 also has a trump card in the form of a pursuer, radiating power and danger, which should not be discounted.
The heroine often uses her crazy hands to repair and collect things that help her survive.
The atmosphere is also enhanced by the fact that this game contains secrets, the discovery of which affects your progress and the ability to reach a good ending. They provide in-game bonuses, allow you to visit interesting places and complement the lore of the game. There are also thought-provoking puzzles and notes that, even with all my love for the game, I only skimmed. And here you can call the dead, standing next to their corpses. One day they answered me..
To summarize, I would like to note that Coma 2 is suitable for all horror fans, since there is a banal shortage of good representatives of this genre on the market. The game may also be suitable for those who have long wanted to touch the genre of tickling their own nerves, since this game is interesting to play, despite its undemandingness to the skill of the player.
In conclusion, I would like to note one interesting thing – a whole bunch of dlc came out for Coma 2, but they are all extremely optional, since they only add new skins for the main character. And that’s all for this! Thank you for your attention!
P.S. Completing the first part is not necessary to enjoy the sequel, but it will not be superfluous, since several storylines are directly related to it. Fortunately, the original is much shorter and can be completed in just one evening.
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