Karma: The Dark World is a psychological, dystopian masterpiece mixed with horror that will challenge your mind and your conscience.

The game echoes George Orwell's 1984 where the government rules with Totalitarianism, but here instead it is controlled by the Leviathan Corporation which keeps a EYE on you not with Big Brother but Mother. Surveillance, mind-altering drugs (bluebottle) also keeps societal control ruled with a iron fist and with this comes no free will to create a Utopia . The story effectively builds an atmosphere of paranoia and oppression, making you constantly question what is real and who can be trusted. The narrative also explores themes of privacy, control, memory, and the manipulation of perception. Even with all of this the game deeply dives into making you think in a philosophical manner which is fascinating. There's a touch of Nihilism and Existentialism.. what is your purpose in existence, individual freedom, despair and are we just a slave born in a Hive Mind System?

Story: (Something I don't want to get to much into for spoilers)
In a alternate timeline East Germany, 1976 you play as Roam Agent Daniel McGovern who works for the Leviathan Corporation’s Thought Bureau. His job is to interrogate suspect's, investigate crimes by entering the minds of these individual's and see these memories. A event occurs where he is thrown down a rabbit hole that quickly dissolves into a grotesque, fragmented landscape that mirrors Daniel's deteriorating mental state and the dark secrets of Leviathan. As you meet some of the character's like Sean and Rachel they each have a story to tell but it's all connected and emotionally devastating as you unravel the mysteries with clues.. Also Around the corner there's a freaky monster that chases after you. The story even goes as far to time and space.

Visuals: It's not just words that have power to be persuasive and change your conscience, symbolism and signs can change your perception of your entire reality. The all seeing eye is a constant reminder in this game you are being watched or there is something bigger, one eye symbolism, everyone has a tv as a head, certain numbers are shown like 33. The visual design is striking, leaning into a gritty, industrial aesthetic punctuated by disturbing gritty realism and abstract surrealism. You get this art style of David Lynch black and white stripes on walls/floors, red drapes everywhere and movie film rolls. It shows a lot of horror elements and beauty at the same time. Even more this game is trippy at times with psychedelic visuals

Gameplay: There is no per say action in this game, it is slow paced even for a very short game. You can say it is a walking simulator that focuses on puzzles which are simply not hard. A other task you can do is find memos and collectables. Yet I believe this game is for the storytelling and not gameplay.

Sound: Atmospheric noises and a outstanding soundtrack.. Play this with headphones

+
Storytelling
Visuals
Sound Design
Psychological thriller/horror elements

-
Game length is very short
Puzzles are meh
May not be every ones taste

I wish I could vote for this somewhere in the middle. I am a casual gamer who is no good at combat/fps, so I enjoy a good walking sim/point and click with some puzzles etc. While this had beautiful rendering and cinematic scenes, it really put the walking in walking sim. You just basically walk through the story, very linear, and I couldn't make a lot of sense of the story, just a vague understanding of the general idea.

It feels a bit like a knock off of Observer. Without the freedom of movement or clue collection.

It's one of those games that seems good on paper but I found it a slog by the end. I wanted to finish it, so I pushed through. There's a few out of place chase sequences. I am still not 100% sure of the plot either.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I'm writing this in the middle of like an hour long uninterruptable cutscene / occasionally walk down a hallway sequence. Turns out that was the ending of the game. Awful.

Fantastic visuals, but I gave up and just quit the game when I realized I'd put almost 3 hours into it and I literally had no idea what the hell was going on. Everything was so abstract and metaphorical that I totally lost track of who I was, who the other people where, and most importantly, why I should care about anything at all.

Just a disorganized mess and I wish I could get those 3 hours back.

A beautiful emotional story told in breathtaking art.
the credit soundtrack is something out of this world :)

I have never cried so hard on stream as I did in Act 2 & 3 of this game. Beautiful graphics, incredible story line and plot. I wish I could erase it from my brain and play it again.

good

Amazing story driven game - the actual horror is more in your head than the game being scary or tensing - any way - heavily recommended

good