After a very successful Early Access period, The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters by Devespresso Games has finally been released in its full form. Sequel to The Coma: Recut, Vicious Sisters shares a similar art-style, and gameplay mechanics. Although it picks up shortly after where the first game left off, The Coma 2 requires no knowledge of the previous game, making it a more enjoyable experience for new players, such as myself. The game can be picked up on either Steam, or GOG for about $14.99, and is about 7-8 hours long for first timers. However, in an effort to beat the game for the second ending, I was able to reach the end in just under 2 hours.
Story
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters continues the story of The Coma: Recut, but follows a brand new protagonist. Players take control of Mina Park, a student at Sehwa High School and best friend to the previous protagonist, Youngho. After being shoved into ‘The Coma’, a shadow realm where just about everything can kill you. Mina must figure out why she is there, and try to escape while traversing her hostile environment.
Review copy provided by Devespresso Games
Gameplay
Vicious Sisters is a 2D side-scroller that features run and hide mechanics with survival horror elements; encouraging players to explore the environment. The game rewards exploration with the knowledge of recovery item locations and hiding spots. Mina is being relentlessly pursued by a vicious killer, so it is vital that players know where to find these things if they are in a pinch. On top of that, exploration will introduce players to other characters that might provide helpful tips/tricks, as well as useful items. If Mina is left unprepared when she reaches the end of an area, she will suffer permanent damage that sticks with players for the rest of the game.
Visuals
The game features a very beautiful and fitting art-style with hand-drawn visuals illustrated by Minho Kim. The style resembles what you might see from an anime/manga, or comic book. All of the cutscenes are structured like comic book panels that slowly render on to the screen, adding a sense of uneasiness for the player.
Audio
The Coma 2 features a beautiful, yet dark and eerie soundtrack that helps build the atmosphere of the game. The soundtrack paired with the little sounds made throughout the environment, doors opening/closing, footsteps, moans, whispers, etc; make for a terrifying experience. If players choose to wear headphones, the audio will also assist them in hiding from the relentless killer, as they will be able to hear which side of the screen they are approaching from.
Replayability
Vicious Sisters features two different endings, one bad ending and one good ending. The ending that players receive will be determined by their level of preparedness. There are also some different customization options available for the main character, with more on the way. Besides playing for the other ending, and with the other skins, there really isn’t much else in terms of replayability.
What Could Be Better
There really weren’t many things that the game gave me to gripe about. It was well rounded and all together a good experience. I think it would be nice to have maybe a chapter/area select option after beating the game.
Verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed the game and will probably go back and play for a third time. Being introduced to the Coma universe through this title has given me a strong desire to go back and play the first game, so I can be better versed with the lore. If you’re looking for a strong Korean survival-horror experience, then I strongly recommend The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters.
