KARMA: The Dark World

About

KARMA: The Dark World is a single player role playing game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by POLLARD STUDIO LLC and was released on March 27, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Karma: The Dark World's Deluxe Edition contains the following : - Full game of KARMA: The Dark World - The 58 Track Original Soundtrack - The 5 Track 'Into the Mist' EP - The 138 Page Artbook

Skip User Reviews

90%Audience ScoreBased on 890 reviews

story264 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

Stunning and immersive visuals with unique art direction and well-crafted environments.
Emotionally engaging and thought-provoking story with complex psychological and dystopian themes.
High-quality voice acting, soundtrack, and sound design that deepen atmosphere and storytelling.
Well-balanced puzzles that are challenging but not frustrating, enhancing immersion.
The game length and pacing keep players engaged without overstaying its welcome.
Strong environmental storytelling and cinematic presentation create a memorable interactive experience.

The story can be confusing and convoluted, requiring close attention or external explanations to fully grasp.
The gameplay is minimal, often feeling like a walking simulator with limited interactivity.
Some players find the ending rushed, ambiguous, or unsatisfying with unresolved plot elements.
Voice acting occasionally feels overacted or emotionally exaggerated, breaking immersion for some.
Certain puzzles, especially collectible ones, can be obscure or difficult to solve without guides.
Technical issues reported include occasional crashes, audio glitches, lack of ultrawide support, and no customizable keybindings.

story
662 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
54%
6%
The story of "Karma: The Dark World" is widely praised for its emotional depth, atmospheric and cinematic storytelling, and complex, layered narrative that blends dystopian sci-fi with psychological thriller elements. However, many players find it confusing, fragmented, and difficult to follow without careful attention or external explanation, with some noting a disjointed or rushed ending. Overall, it is regarded as a compelling and haunting experience that rewards patient, thoughtful engagement, though its unconventional and abstract narrative style may not appeal to all.
- “Hauntingly beautiful game with phenomenal storytelling, sound design, strong voice acting, ominous feelings, anxiety inducing moments, tear-jerkers, stunning visuals; the list goes on.”
- “Karma: the dark world has all the key elements of what makes a video game good: an emotionally impactful story, beautiful cinematography, dreary environment, brain-itching yet optional puzzles and relatable characters.”
- “The game constantly keeps you on edge, building tension through its pacing, sound design, and storytelling rather than relying on cheap scares.”
- “The story is a confusing jumbled mess.”
- “The story, while being fuller with holes than a Swiss cheese and less likely than winning the lottery, would stand fine on its own in any other format – if there was meaningful gameplay, this game would have been fun as hell, but as it stands, it just struggles, and I feel like especially in the latter half the devs knew it and decided to pivot to just making you watch nonsense.”
- “The final hour of the game is one massive lore dump delivered with poor voice acting to create a messy plot that left me rather unsatisfied.”
graphics
200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
38%
2%
The game's graphics receive widespread acclaim for their stunning, surreal, and hauntingly beautiful visuals that effectively enhance the dystopian atmosphere and narrative. Detailed environments, unique art styles, and excellent optimization contribute to an immersive experience praised by many as a standout in visual storytelling. Some minor critiques note occasional lighting bugs or repetitive enclosed spaces, but overall, the graphics are a major highlight and integral to the game's aesthetic success.
- “Hauntingly beautiful game with phenomenal storytelling, sound design, strong voice acting, anxiety-inducing moments, tear-jerkers, and stunning visuals.”
- “The graphics are top-tier, bringing the game’s unsettling world to life with intricate detail and an oppressive color palette that enhances the feeling of unease.”
- “The game presents an impressive array of jawdropping visuals, great attention to detail, and overall spectacular creativity.”
- “Not even the visuals could help as most environments felt too surreal and backroomey, which is a trope I genuinely dislike.”
- “I managed to get past that crash by using the -dx11 command in the launch options— I think it's not very well optimized or something didn't mesh with my AMD graphics card driver.”
- “Some bad graphical effects in places but you may not really notice them against the lovely looking environments unless you were really looking like me and my chat were.”
gameplay
181 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
4%
The gameplay is primarily a slow-paced, narrative-driven walking simulator with limited mechanics, featuring occasional light puzzles, exploration, and symbolic or atmospheric segments. While some find it minimal and repetitive, others appreciate its seamless blend of storytelling and gameplay, noting it suits those who favor immersive, cinematic experiences over action or complex mechanics. Overall, the gameplay supports the game's strong narrative and mood, though it may disappoint players seeking more traditional or varied interactive elements.
- “Despite primarily being a linear walking simulator, there are a few fascinating, even surprising gameplay sections rich in symbolism and deeply fitting for an immersive horror game that tugs at your heart.”
- “Though essentially a narrative-driven walking simulator, the studio’s efforts to diversify gameplay are genuinely surprising.”
- “The gameplay feels smooth and polished, with just enough puzzles and exploration to stay engaging.”
- “There is almost no gameplay - you hold walking forward, click on things you are supposed to click on, now and then there is maybe some chase scene where you again, walk forward.”
- “The story was presented in a sequence of disconnected scenes that made no sense, and when things settled I realized there was barely any gameplay beyond walking, reading notes, and solving an easy puzzle to progress.”
- “Of 6 hours of gameplay, I’d estimate it was about 5 hours of cutscenes and about 1 hour of real gameplay.”
music
131 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
35%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised as hauntingly beautiful, emotionally compelling, and integral to the overall atmosphere and storytelling, often described as a standout soundtrack that enhances immersion and mood. Composed by Geng Li, the score is noted for its eerie, cinematic quality and memorable emotional impact, with many reviewers highlighting it as one of the best in recent games. Some minor criticisms include occasional overbearing use or less memorable pieces, but overall the soundtrack is considered exceptional and a key strength of the experience.
- “Just wanted to update this as I have also found myself coming back to the soundtrack - Geng Li has done a phenomenal job in crafting an eerie but beautiful set of songs that add so much to the storytelling and atmosphere.”
- “The musical score shifts subtly to mirror your descent into deeper layers of memory, often disappearing entirely at key moments to leave you isolated with only ambient noise.”
- “The final twist genuinely threw me, and the soundtrack carried every moment with haunting beauty.”
- “Music was fine but not memorable and sound effects weren't as good as serious horror games demand.”
- “Edit: just remembered the comedically awful songs over the end credits (which seem to transition to a resolution that I assume is VGA, on account of how illegible they become).”
- “There's just this one song in there where the dude that's singing it sounds like he's trying to whisper you a secret while trying to drop the biggest crap through the tiniest hole after running a marathon and having a heart attack.”
emotional
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Karma: The Dark World delivers a deeply emotional and haunting narrative praised for its touching story, powerful voice acting, and atmospheric music, often leaving players moved to tears. While some found the storytelling complex or rushed, the game’s blend of psychological depth, relatable characters, and evocative moments creates a unique, immersive experience that resonates long after gameplay ends.
- “Karma: The Dark World has all the key elements of what makes a video game good: an emotionally impactful story, beautiful cinematography, dreary environment, brain-itching yet optional puzzles and relatable characters.”
- “I am usually not at a loss for words but this game has genuinely left me speechless... all I can say is play the game, and maybe prepare some tissues because it's an emotional roller coaster, in the best way.”
- “The connection I built with Daniel only made the late-game reveals even more heartbreaking — discovering that you're just a copy, and realizing you took the family photo from the hospital scene, hit harder than I ever expected.”
atmosphere
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
43%
3%
Karma: The Dark World is widely praised for its meticulously crafted, immersive atmosphere that blends psychological horror with dystopian, eerie, and emotional tones. The game's visuals, sound design, and soundtrack work harmoniously to create a haunting, tension-filled experience that captivates players without relying heavily on jump scares. Overall, its rich, evocative atmosphere is considered a standout feature that deeply enhances storytelling and player immersion.
- “Karma: The Dark World is a visually stunning dive into a dystopian nightmare, blending psychological horror with an eerie, almost hypnotic atmosphere.”
- “Every frame looks like it belongs in an arthouse horror film—drenched in atmosphere, beautifully twisted, and full of hidden meaning.”
- “Easily up on the shelf along with Kentucky Route Zero, Bad Day on the Midway, and Crawling Angels in how deftly it uses basic, essential interactivity to create a series of experiential moods and atmospheres by allowing the player to move through and immerse themselves within finely tuned set-pieces.”
- “It literally becomes some weird love story completely irrelevant to the game and main plot and is so jarring to the atmosphere the game has built up it took me out of it.”
- “❌ Minor visual glitches – occasional rendering issues pop up, which stand out against the game’s generally polished atmosphere.”
- “This game is definitely not for everyone nor is it a life-changing experience, but I would still recommend it; it is a nice game to play despite its dark and sad atmosphere and the price is decent for the experience it provides.”
optimization
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
39%
9%
Optimization is generally praised, with many users reporting smooth performance, stable frame rates, and impressive visuals even on older hardware, highlighting effective use of Unreal Engine 5. However, some players have encountered crashes or compatibility issues, particularly related to AMD graphics cards, indicating room for improvement. Overall, the game performs well technically, balancing strong graphics with solid optimization for a first-time developer.
- “Beautiful and unsettling liminal experience that has you questioning every small detail, the optimization in this is wild and my PC had zero struggle keeping up with the game, I fell in love with the short but impactful story :)”
- “Performance-wise the game runs great on quality settings and looks stunning.”
- “Very little performance issues, they did very well with optimizing the game.”
- “The optimization is not good, and the puzzles are not for me.”
- “Visually the game is incredible, which some tweaking I had to do for the performance.”
- “It had its issues with performances but all in all a pretty solid UE5 game for a first-time game from the developers.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Replayability is limited in this game, as it offers little incentive to revisit beyond minor collectibles, leading to a mostly linear experience that ends once completed. Players suggest improvements like interactive cutscenes, varied mechanics, multiple characters, and enriched storytelling to enhance replay value.
- “☐ infinite replayability”
- “Add multiple choice dialogues; add more playable flashbacks; enrich the interactions with NPCs; let players embody different characters.”
- “Revisit value comes from minor collectibles, providing some incentive to replay.”
- “I might have given it an 8, except from my perspective it doesn't have much replayability—once you're done, it's pretty much game over.”
- “It lacks conventional thrills, has little replay value in the traditional sense, and demands patience and attention.”
- “Replayability is limited, with minor collectibles being the only incentive to revisit.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Character development in the game is generally praised for its vivid and interesting aspects, with standout character designs and a resonant ensemble cast. However, some players found the development underwhelming overall, despite appreciating the story and art style.
- “Some cool character development aspects.”
- “Character development - as I said, some aspects were interesting but overall wasn't too fond of any of them.”
- “Some aspects of character development were interesting, but overall I wasn't too fond of any of them.”
- “Even though I liked the story, character design, music, and graphics, the lack of controller dexterity and the frustration that comes from it negates the ups.”
- “Yet for a debut indie title, even without leniency, it delivers a profoundly resonant story within its constraints, alongside remarkably vivid ensemble character development.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is often unintentional, with certain scenes provoking laughter instead of the intended emotional response, adding a unique and engaging charm. Additionally, playful elements like an unusual 2% sale and the communal puzzle-solving experience contribute lighthearted and enjoyable moments.
- “There were at least a couple scenes which were clearly intended to elicit an emotional reaction, which didn't land for me the way the director intended, and often had me laughing instead.”
- “It was funny - and in its own way, engaging.”
- “Jokes aside, the only reason I even looked at this game was because it had a 2% sale, which seemed funny to me—since I've never seen a 2% sale on a game before.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding in the game somewhat tedious and repetitive, though not overwhelmingly so. While a few moments require extra effort, they are generally forgettable, but some users suggest needing additional resources or lives to handle the grinding effectively.
- “The opposite was the requirement for repetition - I understand the first one (stamping) made thematic sense, the others just get tedious.”
- “There were a couple of moments that were a bit tedious, but I've honestly forgotten them already.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game runs smoothly with strong performance and polished visuals, though it experiences minor issues such as occasional audio delays in cut scenes and rare visual glitches. Overall, stability is solid with no major bugs affecting gameplay.
- “Performance-wise, the game runs great on quality settings and looks stunning.”
- “However, it is a little buggy with the audio delay in the cut scenes.”
- “Minor visual glitches – occasional rendering issues pop up, which stand out against the game’s generally polished atmosphere.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization is praised for not feeling like a cash grab or nostalgia exploit, but rather a genuine tribute to classic mystery games.

Skip Game Offers

Buy KARMA: The Dark World

5h Median play time

6h Average play time

4-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like KARMA: The Dark World

81%4.9kreviews

The Medium

2021

Simulation

77%458reviews

REVEIL

2024

Simulation

79%3.6kreviews

Nobody Wants to Die

2024

Role Playing

71%3kreviews

Observer

2017

Survival Simulation

94%18.4kreviews

What Remains of Edith Finch

2017

Simulation

+15

70%767reviews

Layers of Fear 2

2019

Casual Simulation

83%606reviews

Luto

2025

Simulation

83%7kreviews

Still Wakes the Deep

2024

Simulation

85%5.7kreviews

Deliver Us The Moon

2019

Survival Simulation

78%9.6kreviews

Layers of Fear

2016

Survival Simulation

+16

More games like KARMA: The Dark World

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

KARMA: The Dark World is a role playing game with horror and science fiction themes.

KARMA: The Dark World is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing KARMA: The Dark World.

KARMA: The Dark World was released on March 27, 2025.

KARMA: The Dark World was developed by POLLARD STUDIO LLC.

KARMA: The Dark World has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked KARMA: The Dark World for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

KARMA: The Dark World is a single player game.

Similar games include The Medium, REVEIL, Nobody Wants to Die, Observer, What Remains of Edith Finch and others.

KARMA: The Dark World

Platforms

story

graphics

gameplay

music

emotional

atmosphere

optimization

replayability

character development

humor

grinding

stability

monetization

Buy KARMA: The Dark World