Karma: The Dark World Review- Astoundingly great horror
In a totally unexpected fashion, I came across a promising looking thumbnail in my occasional Steam browse. It seemed like a story game similar to others I have played recently (such as Nobody Wants to Die), and had a reasonable price, so I went for it.
What followed was pure astonishment at how great this decision turned out to be. I will provide my usual coverage of games in this review but know this: Karma is a fantastic horror experience that strikes a great balance between cryptic story and tangible ideas, with striking graphical fidelity and great art direction. It's rare such an experience happens to draw me in so strongly, and the only excuses I can think of for you not trying this yourself is that you don't like psychological horror or need a more engaging gameplay experience. This is not a jumpscare or a gore fest, and there is very little commiting of violence, so don't worry if those things are not your usual cup of tea.
And with this disclaimer out of the way, let me actually get to the meat of this.
Story
You awaken in a strange body on a normal-looking hospital bed. Upon gaining conciousness you realize everything is rather unnatural, including your own person. It's as if things are custom-made for you to be there, and you have no context as to why this is.
Things happen (including the most fun take on setting up brightness, FOV and sound settings), and you find yourself inside a virtual world that presents a very austhere society. Everything seemingly revolves around feeding the corporate machine that is called Leviathan. Your goal is to figure out what the hell is going on.
On a more vague note, the story has plenty of twists and turns, plenty of strong imagery and psychological intrigue, but tends to obfuscate a little the meaning behind certain events. I am usually a fan of symbolizm but I struggled a little bit with this one, especially towards the end, where the game pulls a little "I am your father" moment and continues hiding its hand until the very end.
It's important to mention that part of my game-playing arsenal is to not get overly upset when I don't quite get every single nuance in a story. I was therefore not particularly bothered by the occasional confusion moment, but it needs to be said that others may not view this as kind-heartedly.
Gameplay
This is quite simply an immersive walking simulator (which isnt a bad thing!). I find this to be the best genre for good storytelling, as things are less likely to be slowed down by having to mow down hoards of enemies.
That being said, it is very important that potential players know what to expect, as many people look more towards gameplay for their enjoyment of games, and for those kind of people this game will almost certainly fall flat.
Most of your time will be spent mouth-agape watching this, that or the other. Karma: The Dark Worlds presents incredible art direction and outstanding graphical fidelity, so much so that most of my time was spent with my fingers on the screenshot button, always ready to capture that next banger... you could say this is part of the gameplay experience :D
I think words can never begin to describe powerful imagery, so I will reserve the rest of the paragaph to a gallery of pictures.
Conclusion
Karma: The Dark World came as an surprising triumph in my eyes. Seemingly out of nowehere and away from the fanfare produced by most other games of this quality, Pollard delivered a game of outstanding quality, and I would urge any psychological horror fans to check it out, so that we may get more such experiences in the future. It is this kind of thrilling experience that continously rekindles my love of gaming.