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
- The game features a unique hand-drawn art style that enhances the eerie atmosphere.
- It offers multiple endings based on player choices, providing high replayability.
- The puzzles are creative and challenging, encouraging players to think outside the box.
- Some puzzles can be unintuitive, leading to frustration and excessive backtracking.
- The game lacks clear direction at times, making it easy to get lost or stuck.
- There are minor grammatical errors in the dialogue that detract from the overall experience.
- story282 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is a compelling blend of horror and creativity, effectively tying together previous entries in the series while offering multiple endings influenced by player choices. Many reviewers praised its intriguing premise and emotional depth, although some noted inconsistencies and a lack of coherence in certain plot elements. Overall, the narrative is engaging and enhances the gameplay experience, making it a highlight for players who appreciate story-driven games.
“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 main issues that I had with this game first off, was its grammar in the English translation; it kind of ruined my expectations for the game's ability to narrate the story and its consensus properly later in the game.”
“Since nothing made any sense, I felt no attachment to the story (if you can call it that).”
“First of all, there is no coherent story whatsoever.”
- graphics226 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 players appreciate the intricate details and the way the visuals enhance the storytelling, although some note that the simplistic 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 the 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 up on more of her work.”
“The graphics are surreal and complement this fascinating story perfectly.”
“I was originally drawn to the unusual, sort of creepy art style - and visually, the game doesn't disappoint.”
“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.”
“Disadvantages: the graphics are built up with lines which make the game look very 'flat', like a paper.”
“This game isn't my thing, the puzzles are just tough for me to understand as the artwork for everything blends with each other, finding items is gonna be difficult as everything is sketched to the same color, causing items to stand out way less.”
- atmosphere124 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Bad Dream: Coma" is widely praised for its eerie and haunting qualities, enhanced by a compelling art style and a chilling soundtrack that immerses players in a surreal, nightmarish world. While some players found the horror elements less effective, the game's ability to evoke a constant sense of dread and melancholy, along with its engaging story and replayability, makes it a standout in the point-and-click genre. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both captivating and unsettling, contributing significantly to the game's unique experience.
“One of the best horror point & click games I've ever played, it has beautiful style, challenging and dark puzzles, and a creepy soundtrack that perfectly fits the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere it builds is amazing, the tone of the game is great, and the gameplay is superb.”
“Desert Fox should feel proud of their accomplishments in creating the deeply disturbing and uniquely hauntingly atmospheric world of Bad Dream: Coma.”
“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.”
- gameplay114 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its creative and challenging mechanics, particularly within the point-and-click genre, where player choices significantly impact the experience and outcomes. While many players appreciate the intriguing story and atmospheric visuals, some criticize the gameplay for being unintuitive and requiring excessive backtracking. Overall, the game offers a unique experience with multiple paths and endings, though it may not appeal to those seeking fast-paced action.
“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.”
“Possibly the only 'multiple endings' game I've ever played where it was actually worth playing the whole game three times, since the gameplay and puzzles change significantly.”
“Gameplay - most click and point puzzle games I've played have either been too simple for my liking or too convoluted to go through with no guide.”
“My only dislike was that a lot of items could only be interacted with at a certain point in gameplay, so I felt like I did a lot of backtracking to collect items that I had already tried to pick up earlier in the game.”
“At times there is a lot of unintuitive gameplay.”
- music86 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its eerie and atmospheric qualities that enhance the horror experience, while others criticize it for being repetitive or not fitting the mood. Overall, the soundtrack is often described as chilling and well-complemented by the game's visuals, contributing significantly to the game's unique ambiance. However, some players feel that while the music is good, it could be improved to better match the game's various scenes and moods.
“The soundtrack is really outstanding.”
“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.”
“Great terrifying soundtrack.”
“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.”
- replayability66 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % 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 users 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 elements contributes to its strong replay value.
“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.”
“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.”
“The game is quite short, but there is some replay value to get different endings depending on your actions in-game.”
- humor20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of twisted, dark, and surreal elements, often complemented by eerie yet cartoonish animations. While some players appreciate the running gags and fourth-wall breaking moments, others feel it could benefit from more lighthearted comedic elements, such as "fart moments." Overall, the humor contributes to a unique atmosphere that balances gross imagery with an odd sense of fun.
“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.”
- emotional16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its disturbing and saddening themes, which evoke strong feelings of discomfort and introspection in players. Many reviewers noted the game's ability to touch on grim yet heartwarming subjects, leading to a profound emotional experience that can be both unsettling and impactful. The narrative ties together elements of personal loss and moral dilemmas, leaving players with a lasting impression that may deter them from revisiting the game.
“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.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, particularly when pursuing achievements, as it requires multiple playthroughs and extensive research due to the secretive nature of the goals. While the puzzles offer some variety and decent difficulty, the overall experience can feel slow and contrived, especially for completionists. Despite these frustrations, many still feel the game is worth the investment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“For this game, it is painfully slow in terms of gaining the achievements since all of them are secret ones, so 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.”
- stability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is polarizing; while some players report a smooth experience with no glitches, others encounter significant bugs that necessitate restarting chapters due to game-breaking errors. Overall, user experiences vary widely, with some enjoying a stable performance and others facing frustrating issues.
“Runs great on my computer.”
“But on the other hand, it's as buggy as hell, having to restart chapters over and over due to game-breaking logic errors.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is noted for its simplicity, with designs that effectively serve their narrative roles, contributing to a cohesive storytelling experience.
- optimization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its impressive performance and elaborate sound effects, contributing to an overall positive optimization experience.
“In addition to the touching story, the game features impressive performance and elaborate sound effects.”
“The optimization of the game ensures a smooth experience, enhancing both gameplay and immersion.”
“The attention to detail in optimization allows for seamless transitions and a visually stunning environment.”
