KARMA: The Dark World
Review
Big Brother Is Getting Weird With It
by Quinn Levandoski
reviewed on PC
Twists On Common Themes
Look, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a banger of a novel. George Orwell's iconic sci-fi story undoubtedly deserves a spot on the theoretical Mount Rushmore of science fiction literature, and it's only gotten scarier over time as a greater number of the book's predictions have become more science and less fiction. That being said, its popularity means that its specific style of social commentary is everywhere. Orwell doesn't hold the exclusive rights to the themes of surveillance and technology, but if you ask me, some of the specific iconography and story beats have become a bit of a crutch for people wanting to make a "government and technology bad" story.
With that in mind, here's KARMA: The Dark World, a new game from developer Pollard Studio LLC. In this narrative thriller, players step into East Germany in 1984. In this alternate history, a mega-corp called Leviathan Corporation runs the show with an incredible surveillance network and widespread use of mind-altering drugs (some Brave New World is always a good way to spice up the recipe). Protagonist Daniel McGovern is an agent for Leviathan Corporation's "Thought Bureau," which means he's got direct insight into people's thoughts, ideas, and memories.
You may be thinking that this comparative opening is all to prep for a long, damning review of KARMA: The Dark World, but that is not the case. No, I bring up the potential banality of 1984-influenced media to stress how incredible it is when something can stand out from what's been done before and enthrall me. KARMA: The Dark World is an absolute blast.
A Strange New World
To put things bluntly, KARMA is absolutely wild. It feels like a drug-addled fever dream that is part David Lynch and part Inception, all wearing Nineteen Eighty-Four's clothes. And it doesn't waste any time getting there. Players awake in a strange hospital room without any idea who or where they are, and signs and PA system announcements tell them where to go. It's unsettlingly off, and things only get stranger as protagonist Daniel McGovern starts experiencing visual glitches and a room full of bloodied, discarded bodies in plastic-sealed tubs. A strange conversation with a scientist results in Daniel being strapped to a chair and dunked underwater, only to pop out in a retro-futuristic Germany.
This isn't to say that nothing isn't a bit on the nose. Messages like "Remember, company above all else!" and "Ignorance is strength" aren’t exactly subtle, and while the ever-raging battle between work and life is poignant, the extremes to which the messaging and iconography vault past clever and into the absurd grew a bit banal over time. However, that's a minor nitpick, and overall, the vibes are exquisitely built.
Putting players in the body of someone working for the omniscient corporate surveillance corporation is a welcome change to the usual protagonist in this sort of story, though being on the side of the powerful certainly doesn't make the experience any less tense. Like the player, Daniel has no idea what's happening to him, and one of KARMA's biggest victories is that it strikes the right balance between asking more questions as the game continues and answering them. Nothing seemed like a rabbit hole of mystery just for mystery's sake, and I was genuinely engaged to find out what would happen next.
Playing Detective
In terms of gameplay, KARMA has players using the tools available to Leviathan Corporation's Reach Agents to investigate crimes, both in the physical world and by diving into the memories of suspects. The major cases in the game do blur the lines, though, mixing environmental puzzle solving with twisting, nightmarish journeys through the mind, and it's not always clear which is which.
I'll be up front that I'm not always the biggest detective gameplay fan, because not only is it tough to make clues interesting, but it's harder to present them in a way that really takes advantage of the medium. However, KARMA strikes a nice balance. Players explore the locale, find locks, find objects or riddles to open those locks, watch video monitors, read memos to piece together events, etc. That familiarity isn't bad, though, and this investigative portion of KARMA is well-written and designed. Puzzles aren't too tricky, but they're clever enough that I felt smart for figuring them out, and general environmental design sells what's happening.
It's the other half of the game that's the real winner, though. Memories play out as a montage-style thrill ride through the suspect's memories that are part horror, part thriller, part action-movie, part I-don't-even-know-what. This is where the pathos is, and the mini-narratives presented non-linearly and with incredible flourish took me from interested to deeply committed to my time in the game.
Looking Good
All this is complemented by the fact that KARMA is drop-dead gorgeous, both in terms of technical detail and artistic direction. The 80s-inspired Berlin drips with a paranoid sense of claustrophobia, but the memory dives genuinely feel like an experience. Environments feel lived-in, and the trippy, dream-like, nightmarish memory dives and hallucinations are beyond cinematic. The music is also enthralling and ties together the whole experience. KARMA recommends playing with headphones on, and I couldn't agree more. Spatial sound does a lot to build atmosphere, and atmosphere is the name of the game here.
KARMA: The Dark World is some of the most fun I've had with a game this year. It takes a potentially tired setting and injects artistry and life into it, delivering a compelling package that's thrilling, terrifying, emotive, and satisfying. For these reasons, it's an easy game to recommend not only for those inherently interested in the genre but for anyone looking for an enthralling jaunt.
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9.0
fun score
Pros
Engaging story, stunning visuals and music, satisfying gameplay mechanics.
Cons
Not every piece of symbolism completely lands.
