The Coma: Recut

1. The Coma: Recut First Hurdle Achievement
2. The Coma Recut Endings
3. The Coma Recut How To Survive

The Coma: Recut is a game that eventually loops the same mechanic repeatedly, which can be tiring after some time. However, it can still provide some decent scares for those interested in this type of game.

1. We are the official wiki for The Coma series, a 2D horror-survival video game series where students investigate the mysteries behind their high school, Sehwa High, amidst final exam season. This series is developed by Devespresso Games.
2. The Coma: Recut. All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews. 2 in Group Chat. You are Youngho, a Korean high school student trapped and relentlessly pursued by a psychotic killer in the hellish corridors of Sehwa High.

A different kind of school experience

The Coma: Recut is a Korean mystery/horror/survival game that focuses on exploration and collecting things to unravel the story behind a dark alternate world within the Sehwa Highschool, where a murderous predator is on the hunt.

The Story

The final exams of the year are approaching fast. Youngho, the main character, wakes up late after a heavy session of last minute studying. On his way to school, he meets an unknown girl with bandages around her arms and finds a pendant that belongs to his favorite homeroom teacher. Just as he reaches school, shocking news approaches. It seems somebody couldn't handle the pressure and tried to kill himself. As shocking as it is, this kind of event isn't enough to faze the school and stop the exams. Walking through the school and talking to his fellow students, it becomes clear that the exams are very important. Youngho's circle of familiarity consists of a female childhood friend, a nerd buddy, a bully who harasses him, his buddy and even the suicide victim.

The most crucial time in the school year arrives and the exam starts. Unfortunately, he loses consciousness amidst the exam, only to wake up at night in the classroom, or so it looks like. Soon he discovers that the place isn't just scary, but also deadly. A murderous lookalike of his favorite teacher is after his life, trying to slice and dice him. The hex game. Now it's up to him to find out what is happening and escape this nightmare.

The Coma: Recut. All Discussions. Run, hide, explore, and survive while piecing together the mystery The Coma in this remastered version of the Korean cult classic. The Coma is back, recut and remastered. Explore this horror-fest of the Korea indie cult classic with an all-new visual upgrade and mechanics.

It's going to be a long night.

The story is presented in a series conversations between characters, event scenes, or notes you can find that add more background information about the school and its people. You can also make a few choices that will most likely change the ending you get.

Controls

A = Confirm, contextual button (hold to grab an item or unlock things)
B = Cancel
R = Flashlight
RZ = Run depletes stamina
L = Cower down and hold breath, only usable with flashlight off and depletes stamina
LZ = Dodge roll, invincible for the roll duration uses stamina

Controls are shown step by step in illustrations as tutorials.

D-Pad
Left = Mission hints
Up = Map
Right = Notes, story snippets you can find
Down = Items

The controls are simple enough, so getting used to it won't take much time. Dodge rolling isn't really necessary in the beginning, but will become a move that one should get familiar with for the later parts.

Input Bug?

Sometimes the game doesn't react to my button presses, resulting in me not being able to dodge attacks or quickly enter things to escape. I don't know if it's on purpose or just a bug, my guess is most likely the latter.

Gameplay

Your goal is to find the next object/clue to push the story forward. Sometimes it's marked on the map and other times you have to search for it. Backtracking is also part of this. The school is split into multiple parts and each part involves a load screen when moving in-between them. Outside of the main quest, you can take on optional quests that you have to locate by yourself and they are also part of the ending criteria.
Smooth sailing is not within the job description though, as there is a killer roaming the halls trying to kill you.

The flashlight is needed to bring items into sight. It takes a little bit of time to grab them.

While exploring the school, you only have limited sight due to the darkness. To find items that you can pick up requires the usage of the flashlight.
There are two gauges; One for life and one for stamina. The first one is rather self-evident, the latter gets depleted by running, holding your breath, rolling, or moving stairways up or down. Technically speaking it's only important when you have to escape your pursuer. Once you run out of stamina, you'll be close to helpless as your only option is to walk exhausted or use items to recover it quickly.

Don't get caught by the killer, unless you want to get to know her knife.

The killer always announces it's awareness of you by screaming and a change of music. If you are on the same floor you might even able to hear its steps before it notices you.

The very first thing you learn in the game is a kind of M.O. of how to escape:

1. Run away
2. Enter a room
3. Enter hiding place
4. Wait till it's safe
5. Continue on

If it's somehow in your way, you can try to roll through to avoid it hitting you. The other option would be running away far enough till it loses sight of you and then hold your breath to wait for it to walk past. You cannot fight it. Evasion is the only option. Its appearances seem to be mostly random and I haven't noticed any specific logic or pattern, but there are likely some exceptions.

For example, after story related events it awaits you at fixed locations to hinder your progress. That's not the only danger. At the later parts of the game, you will also have to watch out for traps that are only visible when using the flashlight. Be it either bleeding or poisoning traps, both are fatal status afflictions that reduce your life over time and can kill you the moment you run out of health.

As I mentioned before, there are also items/money you can pick up from exploring or use the money at vending machines to purchase items of your choice. Those range from health/status/stamina recovery to buffs like infinite stamina for a short time.

Graphics

Sprites and backgrounds are showing their timeless prowess.

The graphics consist of sprites that look pretty good, including the drawn backgrounds. A few important story moments have full illustrations, emphasizing its importance. Being sprite-based gives it a timeless look that it will age well under most circumstances.

Sound

There aren't a lot of music tracks, but they do well in supporting the atmosphere. Whether it's sneaking around the eerie school, the panic after getting sighted and escaping or calm music within the cafeteria it fits well within the themes. Being able to hear the killer's footsteps is also a nice touch.

1. We are the official wiki for The Coma series, a 2D horror-survival video game series where students investigate the mysteries behind their high school, Sehwa High, amidst final exam season. This series is developed by Devespresso Games.
2. The Coma: Recut. All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews. 2 in Group Chat. You are Youngho, a Korean high school student trapped and relentlessly pursued by a psychotic killer in the hellish corridors of Sehwa High.

A different kind of school experience

The Coma: Recut is a Korean mystery/horror/survival game that focuses on exploration and collecting things to unravel the story behind a dark alternate world within the Sehwa Highschool, where a murderous predator is on the hunt.

The Story

The final exams of the year are approaching fast. Youngho, the main character, wakes up late after a heavy session of last minute studying. On his way to school, he meets an unknown girl with bandages around her arms and finds a pendant that belongs to his favorite homeroom teacher. Just as he reaches school, shocking news approaches. It seems somebody couldn't handle the pressure and tried to kill himself. As shocking as it is, this kind of event isn't enough to faze the school and stop the exams. Walking through the school and talking to his fellow students, it becomes clear that the exams are very important. Youngho's circle of familiarity consists of a female childhood friend, a nerd buddy, a bully who harasses him, his buddy and even the suicide victim.

The most crucial time in the school year arrives and the exam starts. Unfortunately, he loses consciousness amidst the exam, only to wake up at night in the classroom, or so it looks like. Soon he discovers that the place isn't just scary, but also deadly. A murderous lookalike of his favorite teacher is after his life, trying to slice and dice him. The hex game. Now it's up to him to find out what is happening and escape this nightmare.

The Coma: Recut. All Discussions. Run, hide, explore, and survive while piecing together the mystery The Coma in this remastered version of the Korean cult classic. The Coma is back, recut and remastered. Explore this horror-fest of the Korea indie cult classic with an all-new visual upgrade and mechanics.

It's going to be a long night.

The story is presented in a series conversations between characters, event scenes, or notes you can find that add more background information about the school and its people. You can also make a few choices that will most likely change the ending you get.

Controls

A = Confirm, contextual button (hold to grab an item or unlock things)
B = Cancel
R = Flashlight
RZ = Run depletes stamina
L = Cower down and hold breath, only usable with flashlight off and depletes stamina
LZ = Dodge roll, invincible for the roll duration uses stamina

Controls are shown step by step in illustrations as tutorials.

D-Pad
Left = Mission hints
Up = Map
Right = Notes, story snippets you can find
Down = Items

The controls are simple enough, so getting used to it won't take much time. Dodge rolling isn't really necessary in the beginning, but will become a move that one should get familiar with for the later parts.

Input Bug?

Sometimes the game doesn't react to my button presses, resulting in me not being able to dodge attacks or quickly enter things to escape. I don't know if it's on purpose or just a bug, my guess is most likely the latter.

Gameplay

Your goal is to find the next object/clue to push the story forward. Sometimes it's marked on the map and other times you have to search for it. Backtracking is also part of this. The school is split into multiple parts and each part involves a load screen when moving in-between them. Outside of the main quest, you can take on optional quests that you have to locate by yourself and they are also part of the ending criteria.
Smooth sailing is not within the job description though, as there is a killer roaming the halls trying to kill you.

The flashlight is needed to bring items into sight. It takes a little bit of time to grab them.

While exploring the school, you only have limited sight due to the darkness. To find items that you can pick up requires the usage of the flashlight.
There are two gauges; One for life and one for stamina. The first one is rather self-evident, the latter gets depleted by running, holding your breath, rolling, or moving stairways up or down. Technically speaking it's only important when you have to escape your pursuer. Once you run out of stamina, you'll be close to helpless as your only option is to walk exhausted or use items to recover it quickly.

Don't get caught by the killer, unless you want to get to know her knife.

The killer always announces it's awareness of you by screaming and a change of music. If you are on the same floor you might even able to hear its steps before it notices you.

The very first thing you learn in the game is a kind of M.O. of how to escape:

1. Run away
2. Enter a room
3. Enter hiding place
4. Wait till it's safe
5. Continue on

If it's somehow in your way, you can try to roll through to avoid it hitting you. The other option would be running away far enough till it loses sight of you and then hold your breath to wait for it to walk past. You cannot fight it. Evasion is the only option. Its appearances seem to be mostly random and I haven't noticed any specific logic or pattern, but there are likely some exceptions.

For example, after story related events it awaits you at fixed locations to hinder your progress. That's not the only danger. At the later parts of the game, you will also have to watch out for traps that are only visible when using the flashlight. Be it either bleeding or poisoning traps, both are fatal status afflictions that reduce your life over time and can kill you the moment you run out of health.

As I mentioned before, there are also items/money you can pick up from exploring or use the money at vending machines to purchase items of your choice. Those range from health/status/stamina recovery to buffs like infinite stamina for a short time.

Graphics

Sprites and backgrounds are showing their timeless prowess.

The graphics consist of sprites that look pretty good, including the drawn backgrounds. A few important story moments have full illustrations, emphasizing its importance. Being sprite-based gives it a timeless look that it will age well under most circumstances.

Sound

There aren't a lot of music tracks, but they do well in supporting the atmosphere. Whether it's sneaking around the eerie school, the panic after getting sighted and escaping or calm music within the cafeteria it fits well within the themes. Being able to hear the killer's footsteps is also a nice touch.

Verdict

Reviewers note: I'd like to mention that I'm not much of a horror fan. So there is a little bit of a target mismatch here. I was intrigued enough by the games look and premise. Therefore, it's a case of me moving outside of my comfort zone.

Close to everything about the game works fine, my only real issue is just the gameplay. As I try to unravel the story, the frequent 'one-trick-pony' loop of hide and seek starts to overstay its welcome. For example, after just escaping you are faced with the situation of meeting it again right away. It makes forward progress almost feel like a real time waster. The best analogy would be old JRPG random enemy encounters without payoffs. Furthermore, there are no notable changes to its gameplay as you get further, what you see within the first minutes is pretty much what you get throughout the whole game.

This game is a case of being specialized for a certain demographic. I don't think it's bad, but my personally perceived flaws hampered my time with it.
If you know what you are getting into and like what you are seeing, it's probably going to be worth a try, especially at that budget price. Otherwise, you might want to wait for a sale.

Horror is a tough genre to tackle for games, because there's a fine line between being genuinely scary, and being exhausting. A game that has a tense atmosphere and strong story can get away with jump scare if they're timed correctly. On the other hand, a different type of horror game can become tedious and annoying if it's always trying to scare you.

The Coma: Recut tries attempts to balance on this line. As a remaster of a cult classic Korean horror title, it has a pedigree that certainly makes it interesting. Now that PS4 players can experience this horror title, it's time to find out if this one is going to keep you on the edge of your seat or put you into a coma instead.

A Dark and Twisted Version of Reality

In The Coma: Recut, you play as a young student named Youngho. He's heading to school for his last day of finals. The pressure is on, and as he arrives to find that one student has already been taken away in an ambulance. When you get to class, we're introduced to Ms. Song, his teacher.

He has a big crush on her, but soon he falls asleep in class and wakes up to find himself in a dark and twisted version of the school. What's worse is that Ms. Song wants to kill him. She appears pretty suddenly when the game begins, brandishing a knife, a blood-stained face, and a psychotic grin.

For the rest of the roughly four-hour experience, Youngho is hunted and stalked through the halls of the school. The bulk of the story will come to you via notes that you pick up and read. There are some cut scenes, but they are few and far between.

With several different endings, The Coma: Recut does offer a pretty compelling story. It's not ideal that most of it is hidden away in notes and text that you have to read in the game's menu, but it's an interesting tale nonetheless.

The mystery behind Youngho's situation is strong enough to pull you in during the early hours of the game. It would have been nice to see more story in the moment-to-moment gameplay, but the notes and written entries helped flesh out the world.

Erratic Gameplay That Leans Too Heavily on Jump Scares

Survival horror depends on a lot of atmosphere and tension. The best games in the genre use this to great effect by building tension and reminding you of your fragility by sending enemies at you. Of course, there's always the possibility that you have too much of a good thing.

There's a thick atmosphere that surrounds Youngho as he explores the school. The darkened classrooms and strange growths on the floor and walls do a lot to make the environments feel foreign and strange.

The gameplay itself is pretty simple to grasp and understand. You can walk or run through the various areas using your flashlight or moving by the small space of vision around you. You can expend stamina when running, or use it to crouch and hide when you don't have a hiding place to jump into.

Finally, a dodge roll can be used to escape the clutches of an enemy. The simple controls and concepts make it easy to get into the game quickly, but there were a couple problems I noticed early on that never really went away for me.

For starters, enemies appear far too often. Knowing that you're being stalked by an unkillable enemy is a powerful tool, but if you bring them out every couple minutes, they soon become less of a threat and more of an annoyance.

In my opinion, there needs to be space between the encounters to sufficiently build up tension and make those moments unexpected. I found myself rolling my eyes because I could almost predict when enemies would appear and force me to run and hide, which put more space between me and my objective.

While the balance between tension and scares was off, the thing that really made the game frustrating for me, was a perceived delay between me pressing buttons and the character taking action. When I was on the run from an enemy, there was a perceptible delay between when I hit the 'X' button, and when he got into a locker or a hiding spot.

The delay was so noticeable, that often times I would get killed because I pressed the button twice, thinking that it didn't read correctly the first time. The same went for the game's dodge mechanic, which also seemed like it had a slight delay.

The crouching mechanic that is also meant to hide you never seemed to work for me either. I found myself dying a lot, and it made progressions frustrating when I felt like I could go more than two or three rooms before I was ambushed again.

Using coins that you find, you can purchase items to recover health, stamina, or antidotes to stop poison that you'll come across during your adventure. Your actual objectives are displayed well on the game's map, but your mission never really changes from 'go here and do this.'

Were it not for the obsessive nature of the game's enemies and jump scares or the unresponsive controls, I would be easily able to recommend The Coma: Recut. The gameplay may be simple, but had it been tweaked and polished to be more responsive it would have been a really solid horror game.

Striking Art and Animation

The Coma: Recut uses a striking 2D art style that gives the game a unique visual flair. Characters and objects have sharp edges that make them stand out from the rest of the environments.

The crippling darkness around you makes it difficult to navigate without your flashlight, knowing full well that it could make it harder to escape. There's a good mixture of intense music and terrifying animation when enemies appear. If the rhythm of the enemy appearances had more spaced out, these tense moments could have had time to shine, instead of being overwhelming and exhausting.

The Coma: Recut has all the trimmings of a great horror game, but it falls short in some key areas that hold it back from being a wholly enjoyable experience. As it stands, the game's world and story are interesting, but the gameplay itself tries too hard to be scary and ends up being more annoying and exhausting than tense or exhilarating.

The Coma: Recut First Hurdle Achievement

In the end, The Coma: Recut is an interesting horror game, but it makes a few too many mistakes along the way to be a truly masterful horror experience.

Final Score: 6.5/10

The Coma Recut Endings

A copy of The Coma: Recut was provided to PS4 Experts for review purposes

The Coma Recut How To Survive

Article by - Bradley Ramsey
Insert date - 10/9/17

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