Shanghai-based development studio, Pollard Studio LLC and publishing companies, Wired Productions and Gamera Games have brought the latest in first-person cinematic, psychological thriller games. We were lucky enough to check out the demo for ‘Karma: The Dark World’ a few months ago and now we have to check out the full release and needless to say, I was super excited to get straight into this.

Set in 1984, East Germany, you step into the shoes of Daniel McGovern, a roaming agent for the ‘Thought Bureau’ who has been sent to Leviathan Corp to find out what is going on behind closed doors and once you enter those doors, there is more to the company than you could ever imagine.

Taking you on an adventure around fragmented memories of 1966 to the current day, you get to meet people along the way and you can choose whether you believe them or not in your investigations of crimes through memories.  Be careful though or you might get caught up in all the deceit and manipulation yourself.

I loved every minute of this game from start to finish. Nothing is direct in Karma: The Dark World, the narrative is loose enough to be very intriguing but not enough to leave you scratching your head. There was some great puzzle gameplay along the way that really needed to make you think. Whether you be pulling apart a photo or listening to a certain pattern for a password, they were brilliant.

I needed to get a hand with one of them from the ‘MKAU boss’ helping me to look outside the box and from another perspective making me feel like an idiot afterwards. The puzzles aren’t terribly difficult but are definitely a bit less lateral thinking. It is all very engaging.

With simplistic controls, the developers stuck to the basics with standard W, A, S, and D for movement. If you wanted to sprint or more likely needed to sprint you would be smashing down on that shift button. Interactions are all made simple with on-screen prompts.

Doors were one minor frustration that I kept running into though. You needed to click down the door handle and then move your mouse up or down depending on how the door is hinged to open it and sometimes I found myself having to re-adjust and try again as it was not working. It’s a minor thing but it was something that I kept finding myself getting frustrated with. The game also has controller support which works flawlessly if you are more into using controllers and not keyboards for your gaming.

I was truly impressed with how flawlessly the game could change art styles, adapting seamlessly to the emotional tone and progression of the storyline. You are thrown into a gritty, realistic world with dark ominous, grungy textures adding to the overall atmosphere and experience.

In total contrast, there were scenes where it would turn into a full cartoon scene where the colours were super bright and vibrant, which really suited the situation and took away from the realism you got used to with the rest of the game. I fell in love with the almost cinematic cutscenes and how emotionally impactful they would get between the characters.

The sound design in this game is truly next-level from start to finish. You have environmental sounds from the rain outside to the muffled sound as you shuffle around in dark areas or you get a chill up your spine as you hear the loud stomping of a monster stalking you down the hallways. Everything was done so exceptionally well but the thing that stood out the most to me was the voice acting.

The dialogue is so well delivered from character to character that you would have expected a high-production movie from Hollywood. You could hear the overwhelming joy but also the terror in the characters’ voices as they moved through a range of emotions in the intricate dialogue moments. I felt a massive bond with all the characters, developing such an experience where the audience is drawn into the narrative and deeply thought-provoking themes.

KARMA: The Dark World is the perfect game for you to sit down and get dragged into a twisted tale of control and illusion. The developers did a fantastic job creating something where you never quite know fully what is going on but just when you think you are on the straight and narrow it throws a curve ball and makes you start second-guessing everything. The visuals were absolutely stunning and the sounds kept you wanting more. This is one eerie but mesmerising game.

Written by: Hayden Nelson