Bad Dream: Coma
- September 3, 2017
- Desert Fox
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Bad Dream: Coma" is a dark, point-and-click adventure game where players must navigate their way through a surreal dreamworld while avoiding terrifying entities. The game features hand-drawn art and animation, and requires players to solve puzzles and uncover the mystery behind their comatose state. With multiple endings and a heavy emphasis on atmosphere, "Bad Dream: Coma" is not for the faint of heart.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- One of the best point & click games with a compelling story and multiple endings.
- The art style and atmosphere are beautifully creepy, enhancing the horror experience.
- The game features interesting puzzles that require creative thinking and exploration.
- Some puzzles can be illogical or frustrating, leading to unnecessary backtracking.
- The game lacks clear direction at times, making it easy to get stuck.
- There are minor bugs and grammatical errors that detract from the overall experience.
- story141 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its intriguing premise, emotional depth, and strong connections to previous titles in the series, offering multiple endings that enhance replayability. While some players found the narrative simplistic or lacking in coherence, many appreciated the dark themes and the impact of player choices on the storyline. Overall, the combination of compelling storytelling, unique art style, and engaging gameplay mechanics creates a memorable experience for players.
“The story is intertwined with all the previous games in the series, the art has had a significant improvement from those games, and the story is just genuinely amazing to follow along with!”
“The story is compelling and your choices matter.”
“The story is original, the horror vibe comes through just fine with simple graphics and sound, there's so much to see and do because everything is based on your choices, it's great.”
“The plot background of what is happening turned out to be unsophisticated, naive, and rather weakly connected with what is happening.”
“The story was the thing that wasn't enjoyable about the game.”
“First of all, there is no coherent story whatsoever.”
- graphics113 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn art style, which effectively creates an eerie and immersive atmosphere. Many reviewers appreciate the intricate details and the way the visuals enhance the storytelling, although some note that the minimalistic design can occasionally lead to confusion in gameplay. Overall, the combination of the art style and sound design contributes significantly to the game's haunting and surreal experience.
“Visuals - I am in love with the art style and the eerie feel it sends across. The scratchy lines over the pale paper-like background work really well, especially with neat touches like blood trailing from your cursor when you get hurt and staining the paper in drops. The artist's linework shows great skill, and I suggest you check out more of her work.”
“The graphics are surreal and complement this fascinating story perfectly.”
“I love this game so much; I love the style, the story, the interactions, the graphics, everything.”
“Ack, this game is frustrating due to the color scale, but it's part of the art style.”
“As for my complaints about the game, because of its plain pencil sketch graphics, it can be a bit dull at times with a lot of the environments not being drastically different.”
“One particular segment of a puzzle really pissed me off because it required manipulating what had only been up to that point the game's graphics.”
- atmosphere62 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, enhanced by a haunting soundtrack and unique art style that effectively convey a sense of dread and melancholy. While some players found the horror elements less impactful, the overall ambiance and surreal settings contribute to a memorable experience, making it a standout in the point-and-click genre. The game's ability to create a deeply unsettling environment, combined with its replayability and engaging story, solidifies its reputation as a compelling atmospheric adventure.
“One of the best horror point & click games I've ever played, it has a beautiful style, challenging and dark puzzles, and a creepy soundtrack that perfectly fits the atmosphere.”
“The game atmosphere is everything, and this game does it perfectly with its eerie sound design; you will be scared all the time.”
“The combination of the creepy and atmospheric music, with beautiful yet simple art, sprinkled with an intriguing story and challenging gameplay made for a very positive experience.”
“The horror part was a bit too edgy and not scary; I couldn’t feel the atmosphere of witnessing the horrors other characters and NPCs are experiencing.”
“There are much better adventure games out there, but giving credit where credit is due, Bad Dream: Coma is an alright adventure game with a dense melancholic and depressing atmosphere, and although the puzzles are sometimes a little too obtuse, the overall journey is a barely amusing one.”
“Fairly unsettling atmosphere - perhaps not scary but definitely unnerving.”
- gameplay57 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of creative mechanics and point-and-click puzzle-solving, with choices significantly impacting the experience and leading to multiple endings. While some players appreciate the challenging puzzles and atmospheric design, others find the gameplay unintuitive and occasionally frustrating due to backtracking and bugs. Overall, the game offers a unique experience with a blend of engaging story elements and varied gameplay paths, though it may not appeal to those seeking fast-paced action.
“The mechanics are very creative and really get your neurons going.”
“The atmosphere it builds is amazing, the tone of the game is great, and the gameplay is superb.”
“The story is pretty good, and you can play it in countless ways with many different endings; even the smallest things can change the entire gameplay.”
“Bad writing, clicker gameplay, nothing special but a few annoying parts that make you want to scream.”
“At times there is a lot of unintuitive gameplay.”
“Interesting, cool artwork but too many bugs spoiling the gameplay.”
- music43 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to enhance the eerie atmosphere and complement the visuals effectively. While some players find the soundtrack chilling and atmospheric, others criticize it for being repetitive or not fitting the mood of certain scenes. Overall, the music is often described as a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's horror experience, despite some opinions suggesting it could be improved.
“The combination of the creepy and atmospheric music, with beautiful yet simple art, sprinkled with intriguing story and challenging gameplay made for a very positive experience.”
“The soundtrack matches the atmosphere brilliantly and overall, it is an incredibly charming game.”
“This is achieved not only by the stunning atmosphere that is created by the intense music, the drawing style, and the various frightening details in each image.”
“One area that I did find very good is the music, but everything else feels lackluster by comparison.”
“The game uses repetitive music that doesn't always fit the mood of the room and scene.”
“The music is trying too hard to be scary; in fact, it mostly feels like stock.”
- replayability33 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, with multiple endings and choices that significantly alter the experience, encouraging players to explore different paths and scenarios. Many reviewers highlight the enjoyment of revisiting the game to uncover all possible outcomes and achievements, making it a worthwhile endeavor despite its relatively short length. Overall, the combination of engaging puzzles, a captivating story, and varied gameplay ensures that players will find plenty of reasons to replay.
“Incredibly interesting story, and replay value is incredible with many possible choices and different choice combinations.”
“I love how much replay value it has with all the different endings, and how many things hinge on a small decision.”
“The game has got a great atmosphere and a really nice art style, the story changes depending on what route you take and like I said, the game has got a ton of replay value, from one level being filled with crows if you've killed them in a previous one, to having a cyclops rampaging through the city if you poked someone's eye out.”
“The game is quite short, but there is some replay value to get different endings depending on your actions in-game.”
“There are alternate endings which adds to the replayability value or at least you'd think it would, but the game plays pretty much exactly the same except that in one playthrough you don't punch the crows, in another one you do punch the little f*ckers.”
“For a good while in my first playthrough it seemed as if there wasn't going to be a lot of replay value, and for some that might be true, but I found all three of its main ending paths (good, neutral, bad) to be worth going through to check out the differences and be challenged in a different regard.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of twisted, surreal, and dark elements, often eliciting laughter through absurd situations and running gags, such as the finger trauma joke. While some players appreciate the nostalgic, cartoonish style and fourth-wall breaking moments, others feel it could benefit from more lighthearted comedic moments. Overall, the humor complements the game's eerie atmosphere, creating a unique blend of gross imagery and comedic relief.
“Great illustrated point and click with a twisted sense of humor.”
“At least some of it is funny, like the running joke with the finger trauma your mouse cursor goes through.”
“I enjoyed the surrealism and fourth-wall breaking humor, and the music and art style beautifully complement the nightmarish mood.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a deeply unsettling and often disturbing narrative that evokes strong feelings of discomfort and sadness. Players report a mix of heartwarming and grim themes, with some experiencing profound emotional responses, including reflections on personal loss. The combination of impressive performances and sound design enhances the overall emotional impact, making it a memorable yet challenging experience.
“Disturbing, grisly, and saddening; acting as the game's character made me feel like a horrible human being.”
“The art is neat and the storyline touches on a grim but heartwarming subject depending on what ending you get.”
“If you've played the somewhat disjointed bad dream series of free games, you'll be wonderfully surprised as this ties everything together into a fairly clear-cut and heartbreaking narrative while being very disturbing and unsettling at the same time.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, often requiring significant time investment to achieve completionist goals, especially due to the secret achievements that necessitate multiple playthroughs and extensive research. While the puzzles offer some variety, the overall experience can feel slow and laborious, particularly for those not accustomed to the genre. Despite these frustrations, many still feel the game provides good value for its price.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“If you go into games as a completionist, this game is painfully slow in terms of gaining achievements since all of them are secret; you'll have to do your own research for guides or some experimentation. You have to do almost one run per achievement, and it will drag your soul through tedious and unskippable dialogues and cutscenes.”
“This feels tedious and contrived.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed; while some users report a smooth experience with no glitches, others encounter significant bugs that necessitate restarting chapters due to game-breaking errors. Overall, performance varies widely among players.
“Runs great on my computer.”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes for a smooth gaming experience.”
“But on the other hand, it's as buggy as hell, with having to restart chapters over and over due to game-breaking logic errors.”
“I haven't had any problems with glitches or bugs in this game, and the ending was somewhat satisfying but also left you wanting more.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -300 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development is characterized by simple yet effective designs that align well with their roles in the narrative, enhancing the overall storytelling experience.
“The character designs are quite simple and work well for their roles in the story.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with them.”
“I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any meaningful way.”
“The characters seem to lack motivation, which makes their development feel forced and unconvincing.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its impressive performance and elaborate sound effects, contributing to a well-optimized experience alongside its touching story.
“The game not only features a touching story, but also boasts impressive performance and elaborate sound effects.”
“The optimization in this game is top-notch, ensuring smooth gameplay even in the most intense moments.”
“I was amazed at how well the game runs on lower-end hardware, showcasing excellent optimization.”
