Survive the afterschool hauntings
Horror games are becoming more and more popular these days. Lots of variation of these type of genre continue to shamble about in massive droves throughout the digital streets. The Coma: Cutting Class is yet another entry to the 2D survival-horror genre. It entrusts you the control of a high school student who will have a frightening adventure in his twisted school at night. A KO theme with polished graphics and animation, this game will send a chill down your spine.
The school after dark
The Coma: Cutting Class game, lets players take the role of a young high school student named Youngho. The game opens up with him trying to make it in time for his class after he overslept due to cramming. With a little maligned luck, a student committed suicide in the school the night before, thereby disrupting the normal schedule.
Using the commotion, Youngho made it to his exam. However, while in the middle of answering, he drifts asleep, and this is where the horror began. He woke up to find himself trapped in school at night. To make it worse, the school looked seemingly dark and different, with its doors and windows plastered shut.
Youngho’s option is clear; he needs to escape. The only problem is the school’s inhabitants have other ideas. There are horrors within the school that wish him harm, and Youngho’s only way to escape is to illuminate the mystery of Sehwa High.
The usual gameplay
As a side-scroller, The Coma: Cutting Class has basic controls. Players will have two buttons for left and right movement, a use button, and buttons specific to accessing maps, bags, and other tools in the game. For players always boggled with keys on the keyboard, this is a welcome feature.
As mentioned, the goal in this game is simple and straight; to escape. To do so, players must solve the mystery of the school. The school will look the same as it does during school hours. However, the haunting apparitions of various characters will make a difference. One of which is Youngho’s English teacher who stalks the halls.
Being seen by the teacher spurs into a chase that will only end if the player manages to hide Youngho in a cabinet or establish a great distance from the threat. It also ends if Youngho gets caught and ended up sliced, skewered, or decapitated. And if the teacher is not enough of a threat, there are also weird poisonous plants and heaps of student corpses who are out to get Youngho.
Be warned that Youngho can only run for a limited—if not generous—amount of time. To replenish his stamina, players need to find items throughout the school. There are also bandages and antidots lying around, which can help if Youngho catches a bleeding wound or be poisoned by a hostile plant.
While there is a true “good ending,” The Coma: Cutting Class has a total of five endings, depending on the player’s action throughout the game. This aspect differentiates the game from most side-scrollers, which are a one-time play. By giving it multiple endings, the game makes the replayability go up.
Solid artwork saves the day
The Coma: Cutting Class employs a method that does nothing to reinvent the side-scroller horror genre. However, the charm of the game does not lie there. It is in the game’s top-notch artwork. It is beautiful and highly detailed; it is almost like watching an anime. More so, the developers made good use of the eerie music that plays in the background. How the story progresses also made the difference as it encourages players to trudge on and finish the game.
