I’ll start this off by saying I’m not a horror game type. I’m a huge wimp who can’t handle even the most basic of scares, that living piano in Mario 64 was too much for me. So, when I was offered a horror title for the Switch, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was thinking…
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters is a 2.5D survival horror title with a thriller vibe. Before getting started I stared at that 2 in the title for a while realising I’d never actually heard of the first game in the series (The Come: Cutting Glass) and I hoped that wouldn’t mean I would start things off lost, luckily it seems like this is a standalone title. In Vicious Sisters you take the roll of Mina Park a student at Sehwa High. After a weird altercation with her teacher Ms. Song, Mina passes out and awakens in a hellish world, which is eerily like her own world, called The Coma. Out of god damn nowhere! Ms. Park appears as a demonic bloodthirsty version of herself and chases poor little Mina down looking to give her a good shanking. Later we learn that Song is being controlled by the titular Vicious Sister, some kind of demonic spirit that just want’s everyone in it’s path dead.
Gameplay feels very like point and click adventures of old as Mina makes her way across the upside-down version of the city and normally before you can progress to a new area you’ll need to find an item to get out of the current one. As usual with a 2D environment the most you can do is pop in and out of doorways and alleys to end up in a similarly 2d area to explore further. Constantly going back and forwards between areas can slowly get on your nerves as things grow a little repetitive though every new place has enough to look at to still hold your attention for a while. Luckily too now and then you’ll come across side quests to create new items not needed to progress, like collecting the parts to build a jury rigged taser to fend of whatever beasties may come.
And come the beasties shall as Mina slowly walks between shops and streets you’ll be accosted by poison clouds and scratching ghosts looking to take a chunk of your health away, while most creatures can be avoided using the tried and tested Dark Souls strat of running the fuck away, you’ll still need to keep a watchful eye on your health and stamina, losing either will have Mina swallowed up by the darkness. Much like Mr X or the Nemesis in Resident Evil, Ms. Song is a constant threat and can appear just about anywhere to ruin your day, your only option is to book it in the other direction and hide under a desk or in a locker like Solid Snake till the danger passes and you complete the obligatory QTE to avoid detection, though this can be difficult as I found Song liked to appear in places where I had no hope of escape leaving me staring at a loading screen often waiting to go back to my last save point.
Overall, while The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters is a fascinating piece of K horror and looks absolutely gorgeous, I still couldn’t get rid of that niggling dislike of the entire Horror genre, If you’re looking for an interesting story and a fair few good scares in something not bogged down in the usual triple A wrapping paper then I would highly recommend this title, but if like me you don’t enjoy the feeling of being tense at all times, then this won’t exactly be the game to change your mind.
I’m giving the Coma 2: Vicious Sisters 7/10