KARMA: The Dark World is a first-person cinematic psychological thriller set in a dystopian world where the Leviathan Corporation is omnipresent. The year is 1984, the place is East Germany, and things are not quite what they seem.
Developed by: Pollard Studio
Played on: Steam
Length: 6 hours
A review key was provided by Wired Productions.
There are video games that are cinematic, and then there are video games that are cinema. Pollard Studio’s debut title falls into the latter category. KARMA: The Dark World is set in a dystopian version of East Germany, where the Leviathan Corporation is omnipresent. You play as Daniel McGovern, a Roam Agent for Leviathan’s Thought Bureau, tasked with using advanced technology to dive into the minds of crime suspects. But when you first wake up on a hospital bed alone, with tubes sticking out of your diseased arm, you don’t know who you are at all.
Right from its opening moments, the game borrows from well-worn horror genre settings and tropes. Bleak, dystopian world? Waking up with no memories? Playing as a detective? Check, check, and check. Even as I made my way through the short six-hour experience, I found it impossible to shake the feeling that I had seen all of this somewhere before. True enough, whether it was the Twin Peaks reference in the first act, or the Kojima-esque plot twist in the final act, the game is clearly a love letter to cult entertainment rendered in beautiful Unreal Engine 5.
But if you’re an avid horror gamer like I am, KARMA is not going to be anything you haven’t seen before. Looping corridors, dreamlike memories, and faceless NPCs make up the surrealist maze of our suspects’ minds, while a grim Orwellian corpocracy ruled by an artificial intelligence named Mother AI awaits us outside. These themes are relevant, albeit overly familiar at this point; although the mention of “social credit” coming from a Shanghai-based studio might be my favourite jab.
While KARMA mostly walks down well-trodden paths, there are a handful of moments when the game manages to carve out its own identity. The slow reveal in Act 2 is particularly poignant, showcasing a female perspective that we seldom get to experience in video games. This is a stark contrast to Act 1, which tells a story we’ve heard too many times to find any emotional attachment. The intrigue in its narrative comes and goes, leaving us with a mildly entertaining but ultimately forgettable experience to shelve away.
Strangely, it is the naming of the characters that breaks my immersion the most. Our first suspect is named Sean Mehndez, phonetically resembling a certain Canadian pop star, whose character, ironically, really wanted to treat his daughter better. Then our second suspect is named Rachel Weis, presumably named after the English actress, and even has an English voice actor and the looks to match. While surely these coincidences are not intentional, and definitely not a major problem for the less chronically online, it does highlight my personal disconnect with the game.
For me, a horror game is a finely tuned balancing act. You can empower the player with combat, but it reduces the overall scare factor. You can restrict the player’s range of motion, but it can only go so far before it becomes frustrating. With KARMA, it feels like the player doesn’t even need to be there. The cinematics are beautiful, and the narrative is solid enough, but the gameplay is severely lacking even by walking simulator standards. There are moments in Act 1 when it feels like you can’t go more than a few steps before a cutscene kicks in, and it takes all the way until Act 2 before this begins to improve.
If nothing else, KARMA: The Dark World is at the very least, a gorgeous experience. Pollard Studio might technically be an indie studio, but its development team includes experienced developers from EA, Virtuos, and various other studios. The result is a video game that looks and sounds like an interactive arthouse film, complete with a haunting soundscape by Geng Li, and stellar voice performances from Jack Ayres, Mark Desebrock, and Jen Austen.
Ultimately, my experience with KARMA reminds me of an unexpected title, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Both games are visually stunning, even on Performance Mode, but neither of them made me feel like an important stakeholder in the exchange. There’s something to be said about games that prioritise aesthetics over gameplay experience, and certainly both games have found enough success with the right players, but I think I’d like to play a game that justifies the need for its mixed medium.
Verdict: Made for a certain kind of player
If you’re an avid horror gamer, KARMA: The Dark World is not going to be anything you haven’t seen before. Pollard Studio presents a familiar take on surrealist horror meets Orwellian corpocracy, with outstanding cinematics and acting performances that carry the six hour experience. While there isn’t much gameplay, even by walking simulator standards, this theatrical horror game is definitely some player’s cup of tea.
Wishlist KARMA: The Dark World on Steam, and top up your Steam Wallet on Codashop to earn bonus rewards.
