Karma: The Dark World Review

Player(s): 1
Extra Features: N/A

Karma: The Dark World is a first-person psychological thriller developed by Pollard Studio. I play a lot of horror games and this is by far the most surreal experience I have had with a game. This game goes beyond the bounds with surreal up to the point where it is hard to tell what is going on at times. It’s hard to say whether that is good or bad. I feel it is somewhere in between, but I will definitely say that the game’s subject matter makes it incredibly unique. It’s definitely worth a try if you’re into games with a lot of symbolism.

The game takes place in an alternate East Germany timeline of 1984. The Leviathan corporation rules over the population in various ways. Players start out in the role of Daniel McGovern, a roam agent for Leviathan’s Thought Bureau. Daniel uses advanced technology to enter an accused person’s mind in order to solve crimes. Basically, you play as the accused up until the point that the crime happens. It’s not so simple as that though. You delve through their full psyche and get to experience their feelings and personal demons along the way.

The game has a fantastic premise and it does well in its overall presentation. This game turns surreal imagery up to 11. At its core, the game is a horror game and you will see some disturbing imagery at times, but sometimes the imagery is so surreal that it is hard to be frightened of it. It’s more like the game gets you into an uneasy state with the imagery it presents to you. There are no jump scares or any other usual horror tropes. The game will creep you out slowly with imagery and symbolism.

The game is highly cinematic and the graphics are fantastic. The environments are so very detailed. Character models are overall pretty good as well. The overall sound is so very fitting. The voice acting is spot on throughout the entire game. The majority of the game has your standard “walking simulator” style of gameplay - run around and perform objectives and solve a few puzzles along the way (mainly key code puzzles) to advance the story.

The game is overall very linear. It does have a few collectibles (notes and a certain other type of collectible) to find while going through its story. One thing the game does very well is put you in the shoes of each character that Daniel interrogates and ultimately dives into the head of. You really get a good feeling of each character that you dive into.

One problem that I find with this game is that it gets so wrapped up in its own symbolism and weirdness that it forgets to give us good information on the main character and his family. The story is overall decent (it’s actually hard to figure the full thing out without online help and your own reasoning) but the game’s characters come across as shallow to where I don’t care much about them. The game also gets too wrapped up in cinematics. There were times where I felt like the cinematics got in the way of gameplay way too much, especially during the final act. The final act made me wish the PS5 controller had a fast forward button.

The second act of the game is where all the gameplay is. The first and third acts are mainly cutscene-based. Thankfully, the second act is the longest however – it has two parts to it with many subsections. I feel like Daniel’s overall investigation could have been longer rather than just a few people to dive into and then an abrupt ending. The game’s subject matter had a lot of potential to be something truly great if the developers would have expanded on the mind diving a bit more.

I really want to like Karma: The Dark World more than I do, but I do respect it enough to give it a decent score. I really can’t imagine playing through it again, but its the type of game that will stick with me for a while. It’s truly unlike any other game when it comes to weirdness and the overall surreal aspect of its story. If you’re into horror games, be sure to give this one a try.

The Good:
+ Incredibly surreal images and atmosphere
+ Beautiful graphics, especially the environments
+ Good overall sound (including voice acting)

The Bad:
- The third act of the game feels rushed and unfulfilling
- Sometimes the game gets too bogged down in cutscenes and forgets the gameplay