Sometimes atmosphere is everything. Coma, a delightful exploration and adventure game by Thomas Brush, brings such an abundance of atmosphere to the exploration game table you might just want to clean out your refrigerator to save the leftovers. Managing to set the scene, tell an intriguing story and wrap everything up very tidily in about 15 minutes, Coma makes for an excellent casual game experience. Cryptic graffiti scrawled on walls hint at a course of action but first there are things to be done.
Use the [arrow] keys to move your character around and the left mouse button to advance dialog. Within moments you'll be quite comfortable with the precise and tight controls which will come in useful with the very few platforming elements Coma introduces. The majority of the time the character will be running and jumping through non-hazardous environments and interacting with other characters to advance the story. Dialog options will always resolve themselves to move the adventure forward. Occasionally your character will need the help of his associate, Bird, to interact with elements just out of your character's reach.
Analysis: Mildly reminiscent of the Nevermore series, Coma is executed superbly well. The fluidity of the characters' movement and the soft yet exacting details of the scenery work together to create a rich and whimsical experience and it does so without being overwhelming or pretentious. The game does lack a mute button but a mute button in Coma would somehow be detrimental. The music (also by the developer) is as mellow and noninvasive as Coma's environment and is precisely complementary to the game's mood.
There is nothing very difficult involved with the game play; the few puzzles encountered are very straightforward and there's generally nothing stressful to be encountered. With no scoring mechanism and nothing that can kill you the motivation to continue is to resolve seemingly odd requests and questions introduced by other characters.
The ambience is somewhat melancholy in places but never gets too dark or depressing; there's always something the character is heading toward to give the needed momentum. The length of the game is approximately 15 minutes which might seem short but those 15 minutes bring forth a surprising amount of depth and quality. Hopefully future projects by Mr Brush will be longer because Coma is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure.
Walkthrough Guide
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What a gorgeous, lovely little game!
Here's a complete walkthrough, if anybody needs it:
Part 1: A Task From Your Father
You start in a dark room. The shadow to the left is a piano; you can play it if you'd like. Head right, past the windows, over the table, up the stairs.
You'll learn that your name is Pete. You have a friend, Bird. Take Bird along and continue right.
Continue past your father, who is fishing. He'll stop you and give you a job.
Continue right for several screens. You'll encounter Jon the girl and Gomboysa the Gomgossa in the lovely Redwind Field. The platforming is sometimes tricky, particularly at the water wheel and the arched rock, but it's doable. Stop when you reach a pipe, then drop into the pipe and speak with Fatty Panakes, the black creature in the pipe.
After speaking with Fatty, head all the way back to the left to speak with your father again. He'll give Bird his fishing hook; make a jump to get Bird up to reach him. Carry it all the way back to to deflate Fatty, and the water will begin to flow again.
Part 2: Into The Silver Shute
Keep walking right, past Fatty. You'll see that you're in a pipe, and that the pipe has a cut-out to go up, if only you could cross that crevasse. Maybe try to jump and reach that hanging light?
...Nope. You'll fall into the Silver Shute. Proceed left.
Jump to allow Bird to catch the light, and head left another screen. As you approach the middle of the screen, jump to follow a branch up and leftward. Continue left one more screen, where you'll encounter a giant worm.
Walk into the worm's terrifying maw. It's okay. Two more screens left, to the green creature-tube. Jump into the creature-tube, and you'll be expelled back at its other end in Redwind Field.
...But what's this? You've received an orange seed from the creature-tube. Have Bird carry it, and head right through the fields again.
Go back into the pipe, past Fatty, but notice that this time, the light is attracted to the orange seed. Jump up, grab the light, and swing across.
Part 3: The Lies of Shill Bend
Continue right. Bird has trepidations. Forge ahead.
The next two screens will switch right and left controls. That's okay. Cross over top of the hangmen galleys. Try not to think of whether the silhouettes look like children.
On the next screen, you'll encounter somebody you can't reach, playing a song that Bird recognizes. Note down the song: DEBAB. Even if this is your sister, you cannot rescue her now. Continue right.
On the trampoline, hold Up to bounce into the sky. Eventually, you'll see cloud flowers; land on them and continue left.
Mama Gombossa has a mixed bag of advice for you, but she leaves you with the marching orders to play with her son, Gomboysa, who you saw swinging in Redwind Field earlier. Backtrack out of Shill Bend.
Part 4: Considering Mama Gombossa's Advice
You'll have to trace through the Silver Shute to get back to Redwind Field. Follow the same path you did before, and make sure Bird picks up the orange seed again when you're expelled from the creature-tube.
Run right and find Gomboysa, who will instruct you on playing Gomgosa Ball. Once you eat the seeds, you'll find that you can jump much higher than you were able to before.
...Now. Is there anywhere you couldn't reach because you couldn't jump high enough?
Part 5: Endgame
Run left. Eventually, you'll reach your father again. Before, you couldn't jump back onto the dock and into your home. Now, you can.
Go past your father on the dock, and back into your terrible home. Go all the way to the starting screen, with the piano. Play the song that Bird said was from your sister. A door will open. Go right.
...This is not the room with the windows, as you'd expect. Bird gives you some unwelcome news.
To escape this room, there are a couple of switches that must be triggered. Start on the box right-of-center, and make a running leftward leap from it, pushing along the ceiling. Then, upon landing, run to the right along the floor. Eventually, this will trigger a glowing hole in the floor. Drop in.
...it would appear that you've found a worse place. At the right-side corner of the tunnel through which you dropped, on the ceiling, there is a bump, which is a switch. Hit it. Proceed right.
On the next screen, walk right to the end of the screen, then left again; the floor in the upper-left of the screen will fall out and allow you down to the lower level. From the lower area, there is a ceiling bump between the two hanging organs; hit it, and the floor will open beneath you. Fall.
Now you've reached the Dore Bell. It is the flashing yellow light in the upper-left corner; you can ring it. Ring it.
Posted by: scottique
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July 6, 2010 11:31 AM