[Review] Once Upon A Coma (Demo): "Surviving in the indie industry is very tough"

That's right, this is an adventure in dark tones like Inside or Braid. Although I played it without knowing anything, I only saw the art on the cover and downloaded it immediately, in the middle of dialogues of characters (very like Undertale, por cierto) nd the emptiness that can be seen in that town, Let us know enough to not lose the curiosity of what this adventure of platform embarks us. However, I can not rule out the fact that the duration of the demo has not been enough to show us the most sinister side of this game and has cut it just when it seems that the real action will begin.

From the beginning, I am surrounded by pleasant sensations for two things that should be as important as the story: the soundtrack and the graphics image. This wonderful musical setting may unleash a bit of the dark aspect that appears on the screen, but it is so relaxing and peaceful that invites you to explore until you meet your enemies. Magical and sweet piano tunes that catch you in this village of dream or, better said, of nightmares.

Although its creator mentions in his Kickstarter publication that he has been inspired by The Legend of Zelda for the feeling of exploration in Once Upon A Coma, I can not pass up the resemblance to another successful indie industry game: Limbo, which has been an example to follow of many other games. As for art and for that search for a close relative who has been lost in a dark world.

Thomas Brush is not new in videogames development, and he already has a résumé in the indie circle with Pinstripe, a game that gave him 5 awards in 2016. But before this, about 8 years ago, he had already released Coma, as a Flash game very short and with the same plot that this new installment offers. The differences are clear when you play both, because this new version is a remake totally from 0.

The characteristic of Thomas Brush, we could call his personal brand, is this aesthetic so careful and sinister that it seems to be taken from the universe of Tim Burton. So calm, sepia tones and a design of somewhat ghostly characters, makes us feel really trapped in a dream, in a deep coma (which reminds me of an animated series of worship ...).

In terms of gameplay, like all platform games we move towards the side of the screen, jump, and interact with our environment. Something that has delayed me at the beginning has been the lack of instructions; yes, we move with the arrows and interact with the space key, but it was impossible to guess that it was jumping on the "Z". On the other hand, Pete, our character in this adventure, has a fluid displacement, can jump very high and his attack is incredibly fast. In addition, it is necessary to highlight that the most particular and original in combat is that giant razor blade that you use as a weapon and is sharp enough to trim the grass, literally. What I found unnecessary is that at the beginning Pete already seems to have a sword in his belt, which we can not use until we find the Occam’s Razor, which justifies that design in the character.

There is no life bar and, for the moment, in this demo our character does not suffer damage when attacked by those enemy spiders. Then the "combat" becomes less interesting, although the fluidity of the weapon could make it fun.

Conclusion:

With Once Upon A Coma , Thomas Brush, who always claims to have dreamed of making video games, although surviving as an independent in any field of work is something hard and risky, teaches us that Persistence and Passion can achieve great results. From the design of characters, scenarios, narrative and music, you can notice the effort and affection in each landscape, there are no repetitive screens, there are no dialogues without relevance, everything has a reason and the important thing is not only to become a witness of the story, but that you get to care for it. You go from here to there with more questions than answers while you enjoy a beautiful soundtrack and the mystery that accompanies the atmosphere.

Once Upon A Coma is not a horror game, much less an action game, it is a mystery and psychological adventure, a journey through an intriguing story, but one that probably does not cause some emotion for the lack of challenge in combat. However, for those who enjoy an excellent narrative, I think this promises to be a shocking game in this regard and I will be looking forward to the full release.

Where can you play Once Upon A Coma?

Just a few weeks ago I test the demo, and in the publication of money collection for its full release I could see that they still needed a lot to reach the goal. Now I have found the surprise that it has passed the budget requested, so with this great fundraising it is possible to see it soon in Steam . For the moment, if you liked it as it looks and you would like to try it, I leave you the link to the demo in GameJolt :