Thanks to the teams over at POLLARD STUDIO LLC and Wired Productions, I got to have a sneaky pre-release play of the Karma: The Dark World’s demo. Set in a 1980s dystopian Germany, a corporation known as Leviathan, looks to be running the show, but not everything appears as it seems. Whilst there isn’t a release date available yet, you can Wishlist the game on Steam now.
The mind is a funny thing.
Gameplay
In this first-person cinematic psychological thriller we play as Daniel. Loading up the demo we awaken in a medical room with no memory of who we are and why we are there. I began navigating through various rooms, which in turn calibrated my game. For example, brightness, FOV (Field of View) and audio. This feature is a really cool part of the gameplay and not just a quick flash of setting. Yes, adjusting settings yourself may have been easier, but that wouldn’t have immersed you into the dystopian world quite as well.
Without wanting to give too much away, I mainly spent my time with the Karma: The Dark World’s demo walking from point A to B. Periodically picking up some notes. There were some segments that carried the game plot. For example at one point I was required to sit at a desk, stamping papers to approve them. Although my boss didn’t seem to be happy with my work!
There is a monster present in the demo. It appears that it might be the main villain so far but I’m not entirely sure as my time interacting with them was limited. Aside from two scripted chase scenes, I didn’t have to actually avoid it. I’ll be honest I found this demo really light on actual gameplay. However what it does really well, is setting the tone and atmosphere of the game.
Graphics & Audio
Karma: The Dark World looks pretty impressive. The overall textures and lighting are good, and I like the design of the monster. Animations are smooth and I thought the voice acting was well done. The music is a welcome addition to the scenes it accompanies. With the grungy environments, trippy scenes and twisted world, it has great potential to bring out the unsettling and confusing memories you must navigate.
Final Thoughts
Karma: The Dark World looks as if it’s going to be a hell of a trip. The game sets up the tone well, but plot wise, I honestly didn’t get it. I’m left conflicted. I want to see what the full game has in store. Whilst I also feel Karma: The Dark World might the type of game that leaves you with more questions than answers. Which can be equal parts enjoyable and annoying. Having gone off and read more into the game, it looks like in the full release we’ll dive into other memories to see from their perspective. And not simply us playing as Daniel invading memories. Similar to What Remains of Edith Finch, but hopefully with a lot more horror elements.
The demo itself doesn’t have many puzzles. I interacted with a few items and read some notes which added a little story. But not enough to say what’s going on. All in all this demo is more of an interactive world building experience, rather than an early gameplay demo. However, I did enjoy my time with it and it’s definitely piqued my interest!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview.
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