Karma: The Dark World
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Critic Reviews for Karma: The Dark World
An horror adventure with a strong cinematic flavour, with aesthetics and themes reminiscent of the works of Lynch, Cronenberg and Nolan. The gameplay is reduced to a minimum and there are a few too many bugs, which however do not compromise the enjoyment of an extremely 'atmospheric' experience with adult content.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Karma: The Dark World is a compilation of popular movies and games, which in its desire to copy got too carried away, losing its own identity.
Review in Russian | Read full review
A beautifully rendered but ultimately familiar adventure game, Karma: The Dark World is neither scary nor thrilling. Meticulously build and gorgeous to look at, the gameplay is nonetheless a slow roll through a pre-rendered Kafka-inspired story, with little in the way of interaction beyond some environmental puzzle solving. I can appreciate the artistry at work here, if not the final product.
Despite an obtuse overarching narrative and minimal gameplay, Karma: The Dark World continually swings for the fences. Pollard Studio's debut heavily leans on artistic direction that will linger with the player long after the story fades from memory.
Karma: The Dark World is a fun interactive story that has you explore the darkest reaches of the human psyche with excellent surreal horror and an interesting story to uncover.
KARMA: The Dark World cannot be called a masterpiece: the gameplay is uneven, and the metaphorical plot is interrupted quite suddenly, as if the story is not told to the end. But it is definitely a worthy psychological thriller, which keeps you in suspense until the very end and cleverly plays with emotions, so much so that you get an uncomfortable feeling of being in this monstrous dystopia.
This kind of came out of nowhere for me but it's really right up my alley. A dystopian world with a well developed story… a splash of sci-fi and stunning visuals. A very tolerable amount of horror (don't get me wrong… some of those moments if played in VR would probably require a pants change)… puzzles that are a challenge but manageable. Not to mention a moving soundtrack (even if I did have trouble making out what the words were in the song near the start of the game). Highly recommended for anyone who likes things a bit weird and thought provoking!
The stylistic choices and the intention to offer a game that challenges the conventions of the sci-fi horror genre are commendable, but the overall feeling is one of a missed opportunity. If you're a fan of the genre and looking for an experience that challenges your perceptions, KARMA: The Dark World is still a title worth exploring, but with the awareness that it never fully reaches the potential greatness it could have.
Review in Italian | Read full review
