Karma: The Dark World Review
Become a Thought Bureau agent in a dystopian East Germany in Karma: The Dark World.
Karma: The Dark World. Credit: Pollard Studio / Wired Productions
Karma: The Dark World is a sci-fi noir mystery and psychological thriller from Pollard Studio and Wired Productions. Its compelling— sometimes confusing—story takes place in a dystopian alternate-history East Germany in 1984, a year that’s kind of on-the-nose for some of the game’s themes and plot points. Straddling a line between walking simulator, adventure game, and survival horror, it nimbly switches things up without ever feeling jarring. Together with stellar production values, this makes Karma: The Dark World a journey worth taking.
Karma: The Dark World. Credit: Pollard Studio / Wired Productions
You are Daniel McGovern, a Roam Agent for the Thought Bureau, an enforcement branch of the Leviathan Corporation. Leviathan, a megacorporation of Soviet origin, controls your city, micromanaging its residents and always watching. You are sent to investigate a clerk accused of stealing from the Winston Research Institute, an arm of Leviathan. The case takes you to unexpected places and brings into question the reality you know. Investigating people’s memories isn’t straightforward when MOTHER, the AI that runs Leviathan, can manipulate them.
I was captivated by the game despite sometimes feeling confused about the story. Time jumps and the subjectivity of the mental spaces during the brain dives that make up so much of the playtime left me scratching my head sometimes. I’m unsure if it has to do with the quality of the plotting or if it’s just me. The writing was otherwise excellent, in terms of the dialogue. The voice cast’s excellent performances also help uplift the story, bringing life to their characters in an emotionally truthful way.
Karma: The Dark World. Credit: Pollard Studio / Wired Productions
You play in first person as you investigate crime scenes and suspects’ memories in virtual reality. Controls are straightforward; you can run, interact with objects, and are sometimes prompted to use an item from your inventory. Most of the time, you explore. At times, you must solve puzzles; inventory-based puzzles are simple, while some code-breaking puzzles are more challenging, requiring careful observations of clues. There are a handful of chases and combat encounters, though none require much dexterity. Success relies on care and your ability to find weaknesses.
Karma: The Dark World is incredibly immersive thanks to its high level of graphical polish. The game is gorgeous on my PS5, using all of Unity 5’s bells and whistles to deliver a high level of detail in its realistic and surreal environments. The environment design is superb, though it’s stronger when it feels original, whether in the game’s retro-futuristic East Germany or the recesses of a character’s mind; the reference outshines the content in a segment of the game that not-so-subtly pulls from the Black Lodge in Twin Peaks. Am I meant to believe that this suspect is simply obsessed with David Lynch? Aside from the graphics, the sound design and original soundtrack heighten the tension, spookiness, and drama. When wearing headphones, I found myself fully absorbed by the game.
Karma: The Dark World. Credit: Pollard Studio / Wired Productions
Karma: The Dark World is a truly impressive debut for Pollard Studio. Despite it sometimes leaning a little too much on genre cliches or external references, the game feels original and uses every tool at its disposal to completely captivate; those parts that aren’t original are masterfully executed. I’m excited to see what might come next from the developers, whether they decide to expand on this game’s world or do something completely new. I’d be happy to see either.
Karma: The Dark World is available now on Steam and PlayStation 5.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: PS5
