Coma may be a side scrolling platformer, but it hardly follows the tradition of Mario or Sonic. Creator Thomas Brush has independently created a world that is charming and whimsical as well as creepy as all get out. Though confusing at times, he has brought us faithful gamers an experience that is unlike what we have come to expect from these quick, free, online games.
The real draw of Coma is the atmosphere and ambiance.
The concept is simple. A little bird tells you your father has locked your sister in the basement and wants her to starve. It is up to you to save her from this terrible fate, or so you think. This plot almost seems irrelevant for the majority of the game till the end when it is briefly revisited to reveal a shocking twist. The focus quickly shifts to figuring out how much of the world you can interact with (which isn’t much, but its fun to test the limits) and seeing which dialog will upset the other characters you encounter.
The game play itself is unconventional for a 2D platformer. First off; there are no real “enemies” or pits of instant death. This can be a fairly confusing concept at times since we have come to expect danger at every turn. At one point, you encounter a giant worm in a deep dark cave with a gaping, wriggling mouth – after you let out a surprised yelp like I did – your first thought isn’t necessarily “Gee, I should really stroll into the belly of THAT thing.” But, nonetheless, that’s what you have to do to advance through game. Second, the puzzles are simple and sparse. Most of the actual game consists of running across the screen and occasionally jumping over or bouncing on something. There’s a bit of a fetching mission but all in all, the puzzles are based in common sense and, once you get over your fear of falling into pits of death, can be completed with little effort.
A little birdie helps you on your journey.
The real draw of Coma is the atmosphere and ambiance. In other words, it’s all about the way it makes you feel. Coma fully embraces its independent standing. Not only because of its low, low price of $0, but by creating a dream like world that’s long shadows and snarky dialog make you feel both light and uncomfortable simultaneously. Your character, Pete, looks not unlike an adorable jelly bean whose arms flail a bit when you jump but when he opens his mouth, he’s short with the other creatures and even seems like a bit of a jerk (or as much of a jerk as you can be when you look like a jelly bean). The back and fore grounds display flowing fields with bright flowers juxtaposed with shadowy trees. A dark house with cryptic messages scribbled on the walls (something about a door bell…) emerges into the evening sky, reminiscent of the PS3 game Flower. These artistic juxtapositions refuse to let you in on what kind of game (be it frightening or beautifully calm) this is going to be, right up until the end, which makes you want to complete it all the more.
Though your life will certainly go on if you never see this game, instead of perusing Facebook next time you take that 10 minute work break, be sure to check out Coma. It’s free, it’s weird and it’s definitely worth a shot. You can find Coma, along with a full walkthrough if you need it, at http://www.comagame.net/ .
*This month’s guest columnist is Lindsay Benkel – a game geek and future columinst for the Freakin’ Awesome Network.