KARMA: The Dark World on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
KARMA: The Dark World is a first-person cinematic psychological thriller set in a dystopian world where the Leviathan Corporation is omnipresent. The year is 1984, the place is East Germany, and things are not quite what they seem.
KARMA: The Dark World is a walking simulator, psychological horror and first-person game
developed by POLLARD STUDIO LLC
and published by Wired Productions and Gamirror Games.
Released on March 27th 2025 is available only on Windows
in 12 languages: English, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Polish and Portuguese - Brazil.
It has received 2,835 reviews of which 2,615 were positive and 220 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 24.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for 17.21€ on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified KARMA: The Dark World into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at KARMA: The Dark World through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel ARC A580, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 30 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Highly Recommended. Produces 1080p @ 30 FPS. Enable DLSS (NVIDIA) / FSR (AMD) / XeSS (Intel) for better performance. Does not support ultrawide monitors.
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
KARMA: The Dark World I love this type of game — you don’t expect much from it, and it rarely disappoints. It’s a thriller-horror with an arthouse vibe (or maybe it is arthouse), probably in the B-movie category. There’s a decent story (for a game of this tier) short runtime, solid visuals, and some actual gameplay - even though it’s a walking simulator, there’s still something to do. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3486454740 What surprised me were the puzzles specifically the ones for collectibles, since the story-related ones are fairly simple. Honestly, I don’t remember seeing that kind of thing in other games. I rarely play puzzle games (not that smart), and I even gathered a Discord council of friends who helped me solve them via stream. It was funny - and in its own way, engaging. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3486725637 As for the ending, they overthought it, as usual. They aimed for a powerful story with a surprise twist, but ended up with the classic arthouse mess - throwing in a bunch of stuff all at once right before the finale. It’s a good game. It doesn’t try to be a masterpiece, but I still enjoyed it. Personally, it reminded me of Observer, which I liked back in the day.
Expand the review
Karma is not an easy game to describe nor to address. As a narrative-heavy experience, it feels almost immaculate in its refusal to yield to articulate, spoiler-free critique. You play as Daniel McGovern, a roam agent for the Thought Bureau, a department under Leviathan Corp. in an alternate 1984 where Germany remains divided. Leviathan is, of course, a direct allusion to Thomas Hobbes, though it also evokes Lovecraftian undertones an association the game never fully embraces, much to its detriment I believe because it would so fucking fit in. I remain convinced that had Kardema flirted more boldly with cosmic horror, it might have reached greater heights. But there’s little merit in demanding a work conform to desires it never claimed it was intended to fulfill. It's just me and my little fantasy. The Leviathan’s omnipresent overseer, MOTHER, functions as this world’s Big Brother. Your task is to "dive" into suspects' minds, reliving their memories as a form of interrogation. Act 1 excels at propelling the player seamlessly between story beats. You unravel a suspect’s motivations through environmental details and texts —in this case, a daughter’s diary— slowly piecing together their humanity while questioning your own role in the system. Realizing you might have done more harm than good along the way. Act 2 takes a sharper yet more intimate turn, delving into the trauma of a suspect abused by their parents. What initially begins as classic psychological horror morphs into something grittier, sadder, and yet strangely hopeful and humane. The art direction and the gameplay shifts dramatically: at one point, you bloom flowers in the suspect’s memory, evoking ''Flower'', or soar through the air clutching a lover’s ribbon as if you meant to play ''Entwined''. Some may find this tonal detour jarring, but for me, it worked. A bold, if not entirely cohesive, reinvention. Karma understands horror as an internal phenomenon, a malignancy of the mind shaped by external control. It grasps, however incompletely, the invasive reach of the state (or corporate if you will) into private lives. And then just as these themes crystallize, Act 3 unravels them with what can only be described as anime-tier bullshit. Yet, I suspect this was always the intent. Contrary to what some reviewers claim, the game doesn’t leave you bewildered. You’ll grasp the what and why of its climax, even if the how feels rushed (let's say you'll need to come terms with how things should end up because you were said so). Those craving deeper worldbuilding or a more nuanced exploration of identity and control may walk away disappointed. Still, there’s something refreshing in its emotional audacity, even when execution falters. That also has something to do with the plot taking a ''Stranger Things'' turn meaning there are experiments and some sorts of unknown perhaps paranatural substance that drives those experiments. The matter in question is called ''Dasein'' of all words (I really don't know why) and is indeed physical. It has an ability to reduce entropy. You know that much but it really doesn't mean shit. It's more used as a Deus X Machina where it serves as a copout. "If you're trapped in the dream of the Other, you're fucked!" This quote of Deleuze's (one so decontextualized even Žižek got lost), is the one you'd see before (or after, memories are fragile things, I forgot) an act and feels deliberately placed. In psychoanalysis, the Other is the vast web of language, desire, and norms that shape an individual. In Karma, you are ensnared in MOTHER’s framework, a structure that colonizes Daniel’s unconscious. The game’s core lies in his struggle to unearth the "secret" buried in his repressed memories through a journey to his unconscious. The true horror here is the dream itself, replicating hidden mechanisms of control. A worker may obey outwardly while their unconscious rebels or vice versa. As dreams are capable of replicating the means of oppression we'd also, very broadly put, consider what regiments the behavior. And that is, what would Deleuze say, ''order-words''. Ideas might not be inherently oppresive even if they seemingly are radical or disruptive but how it structurilized in language does matter. You'll see a bunch of them in Karma, to a point where workers' leisure time also becomes a work time. Toying with such concepts and feeling like you have something to say is often a nasty yet incredibly easy trap to fall into. As far as my reading allows me, I feel like Karma (and hopefully neither do I) doesn’t exactly suffer from this. As an artsy experiment, Karma thrives on intentional obscurity. Environments are meticulously crafted; every NPC wears a TV for a head, while key figures appear as ordinary humans. The game never explains why, but the consistency sells the illusion. Its aesthetic is equal parts Lynchian surrealism and Hitchcockian voyeurism: you invade minds, inhabiting memories rather than passively observing and consuming them (the closest example I can give is Remember Me's memory remixes). Reside in a place where you don't belong to. You tapping into minds also means their struggles are your struggles, their horrors are your horrors. Reality crumbles beneath you, you are reshaped, and the art direction sells this disintegration masterfully. The minutiae is not only an important aspect of the narrative but also the art itself. The puzzles are serviceable but unremarkable: book riddles (SH3 anyone?), clock puzzles, loops... Nothing groundbreaking, but satisfying in their execution. There’s no combat, and fail states are rare, though the chase sequences feel half-baked they nevertheless feel tense. The main puzzles are forgiving, but the optional MENSA-esque challenges? Some of them are quite tripping. I completely suck at those types of puzzles and immediately feel pressure of getting lost in unnecessary detail compared to getting the bigger picture however since there is no timer you are in good hands. They are one-shot puzzles meaning if you fail them your only chance is to reload a previous save. Voice acting is phenomenal. Sean, in particular, delivers a standout performance. The soundscape keeps tension coiled throughout. That said, gameplay is too basic and watered down for a mystery thriller. Objectives rarely overlap; solutions often present themselves and you rarely keep one item at a time. It’s also paradoxical as the game leaves many questions unanswered, yet it tells more than it shows, violating the sacred "show, don’t tell" rule to ensure you grasp its core truths. But I would say it's better than leaving empty handed. I suspect the heavy inspiration from Observer as soon as I compare and contrast any two screenshots of these games, though lacking firsthand experience of Observer, I can’t really compare. Psychological horror still struggles to produce strong, unpretentious entries, and Karma occasionally stumbles into indulgence. Yet for a debut title, this is an admirable effort. Flawed but ambitious, and lingering in the mind like a half-remembered dream. A game that tries to figure out its own identity and comes up with something. I guess. ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/theDeusExFox/curation] Please take a moment to check out my curator for more in-depth reviews
Expand the review
The way this game does science-fiction horror is extremely interesting for me, I was glued to my screen from the beginning. Knowing how short these walking-sims can be I put the game off a couple of times as I didn't want it to end in one sitting. Those ending scenes especially were so tragic and so beautiful at the same time.
Expand the review
The game plays a little like Still Wakes The Deep, and the story is absolutely incredible! Got stuck on a puzzle, and unfortunately had to use a guide for the clock puzzle, but then I felt like an idiot after it was explained in the video what I did wrong lol. Still an absolutely incredible story and the message will hands down fly over many people's heads lol
Expand the review
这不是一部恐怖游戏，如果想要恐怖游戏请不要买 This is not a horror game, don't buy it if you are looking for scares and monsters 首先说明，这游戏绝不是什么“恐怖游戏”，我不知道为什么所有的宣发（包括B站很多安利UP的前瞻评测）都把这个游戏称为恐怖游戏，这是彻头彻尾的宣发失败，而且会让很多潜在玩家望而却步。Steam页面简介写的非常明确，这是一部“电影式心理惊悚游戏”，又或者说其实就是一部“以步行模拟玩法为主，基于反乌托邦背景的，科幻悬疑作品”。硬要说的话这部作品和之前推荐的无人愿死（Nobody Wants to Die）属于同一范畴，不过后者在玩法里将悬疑要素贯彻的更为彻底。 Let me clarify upfront: this game is absolutely NOT a "horror game." I have no idea why all promotional materials—including preview reviews from many Bilibili content creators—keep labeling it as such. This is a complete misrepresentation that risks alienating potential players. As clearly stated on its Store page, this is a "cinematic psychological thriller"—or more accurately, a "walking simulator-driven sci-fi mystery set in a dystopian world." If I had to compare it, it falls into the same category as Nobody Wants to Die (which I’ve recommended before), though the latter executes its mystery elements far more cohesively through gameplay. 绝对优秀的美术 The solid artwork 游戏的美术可以说是近年来，或者说从绿美迪（Remedy）的控制（Control）之后少见的具有独特风格的艺术品，这段时间内的另一个典型代表是无人愿死（疯狂安利）。从很多关卡的设计中能窥见好多在一段时间内讨论度超高的作品的影子，比如：控制、观察者（>observer_）、蔑视（Scorn）、艾迪芬奇的奇幻记忆（What Remains of Edith Finch）、史丹利的寓言（The Stanley Parable）后室（Backroom）、超阈限空间（Superliminal）、黑色洛城（LA Noire），如果我有遗漏欢迎补充。而技术设定上则很像盗梦空间（Inception），甚至后面演都不演的，查重率99%的脑控介入设备和时延场景直接拿来就用了（高情商：致敬）。 The game’s art direction stands as one of the most distinctive achievements in recent years—arguably since Remedy’s Control —with Nobody Wants to Die (which I’ll shamelessly plug again) being another standout example. Its environments evoke clear inspirations from several zeitgeist-defining works: Control , Outlast , Observer , Scorn , What Remains of Edith Finch , The Stanley Parable , Backrooms , Superliminal , and L.A. Noire (if I’ve missed any obvious influences, feel free to chime in!). On the technical side, the game borrows heavily from Inception —so much so that it barely bothers to disguise its “homages.” The brain-interface devices and time-dilated dreamscapes feel lifted straight from Nolan’s playbook (to put it generously: let’s call them “tributes” with 99% similarity). 剧情上的争议 An arguing script 剧情上我能理解为什么很多评论区的玩家认为这游戏不够完整，毕竟从“反乌托邦”这个定义来说，结尾好像才刚刚有点触到“反”的边缘。而事实上是，对于一部独立游戏处女作来说，即便不给予过多宽容，其在有限的框架下也已经呈现了一段足够令人感触颇深的故事，更别提还完成了非常鲜活多元的群像塑造，从叙事上来说这个剧本是成功的，绝对不是像某些人说的“平庸、陈旧、缺乏深度”。而至于对还需努力的“抗争（Revolution）”，好多人在评论中希望看到的是游戏内主角像2077的V在“残躯化烈火”线中一样轰轰烈烈的大干一场，或者像另一位V（V字仇杀队）一样来一场悲壮的“谢幕演出”。对于此我只能说别太理想化，而且恕直言，这种流于表面的抗争才是最肤浅和缺乏逻辑的。在因与果的世界观下，掌握意识潜入技术的主角完全不需要这种暴力冲突就能改变很多事情，故事的结尾也说明了这一点。更别提制作组其实已经在他们现实中所属的这个特殊的社会大背景下努力呈现出了好多极具讽刺意味的暗喻意象，其中最具代表的就是这个叫“Rule’s Follower”的解密盒子，我看好多人在评论区骂说这东西不就是行测题么，所以你品，你细品。同时你还能看到更多：逐利的父母用所谓的爱当成绳索捆绑住自己的孩子，反手将其作为商品任人宰割；利己的雇员图谋陷害同事不成半身不遂，反而将自己包装成受害者，用妻子孩子博取陌生人同情，等等。 对比来看，整部作品最科幻的部分莫过于，一位两鬓斑白的父亲像向自己的儿子道歉，恳请其原谅自己没有尽到一名合格的父亲的职责。不过这段还是挺催泪的，因为这位父亲说的话远不止道歉。 I understand why some players criticize the game’s narrative as "incomplete"—its dystopian themes only graze the surface of systemic critique by the ending. Yet for a debut indie title, even without leniency, it delivers a profoundly resonant story within its constraints, alongside remarkably vivid ensemble character development. To dismiss its writing as "clichéd, shallow, or mediocre" is unfair. As for the demands for a "grand revolution" in the plot: many clamor for protagonist heroics akin to Cyberpunk 2077 ’s "Don't Fear the Ripper" ending or V for Vendetta ’s explosive finale. Frankly, such bombastic rebellion would feel hollow here. In a world governed by causal logic, a protagonist wielding consciousness-hacking technology doesn’t need brute force to enact change—a truth the ending elegantly demonstrates. Moreover, the developers have embedded razor-sharp societal satire within their socio-political context. Take the Rule’s Follower puzzle box, derided in comments as "civil service exam questions" (exactly the point—it’s a scathing jab at institutional rigidity). Other highlights include: Profit-driven parents using "love" as chains to commodify their children; A scheming employee who frames a colleague, becomes paralyzed, then rebrands himself as a victim using his family for public sympathy. Ironically, the game’s most "sci-fi" moment isn’t tech-driven: it’s a gray-haired father apologizing to his son for failing as a parent. Heart-wrenching? Absolutely—because his words transcend mere remorse, exposing generational cycles of emotional neglect. 说点题外话，不切实际的期望 A side note: hope against hope 虽然理智告诉我这游戏可能不太可能会有续作，但还是抱有一丝期待。毕竟在这片特殊的土壤下能成长出这样的作品，实在太不容易，而有了第一个，也一定会有第二个。 对于剧情，为了不剧透，就引用这句话吧，基本上是本作的核心精神了： 克雷蒂先生，在这张面具下不仅是肉体，还有思想。而思想是不怕子弹的。 Logically, I know this game likely won’t get a sequel—but a stubborn part of me still hopes. In this unique cultural climate, where censorship and creative constraints loom large, the mere fact that a work like this sprouted at all feels miraculous. And where one blooms, others will follow. As for the story (no spoilers), let me borrow this iconic quote that encapsulates its ethos: "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof." 一句话推荐 TL;DR Recommendation 不能说是神作，不过9/10的素质是有的，和无人愿死一样，是茫茫砂砾中的钻石。 Not quite a masterpiece, but a solid 9/10—a rare gem in the desert of mediocrity, much like Nobody Wants to Die .
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
Layers of Fear (2016)
Layers of Fear is a first-person psychedelic horror game with a heavy focus on story and exploration. Players take control of a painter whose sole purpose is to finish his Magnum Opus. The player must navigate a constantly changing Victorian-era mansion and ghastly visions of the painter’s psyche.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dear Esther comes a new first-person horrorgame that will drag you to the depths of greed, power and madness. It will bury its snout into your ribs and it will eat your heart.
The Moon Sliver
You are on a bleak, cold, windy island. And you seem to be alone... but fires and candles still burn. As you explore, a story of guilt, loneliness, and faith begins to take shape. And it becomes obvious that something is hunting you...
Welcome to Kowloon
This is an indie horror from the first person, in which you find yourself in an area called Kowloon in search of cheap housing. The inhabitants of this place only at first glance seem to be ordinary people, but if we dig deeper, we will see their real faces.
Abandoned Souls
Abandoned Souls is a horror game, shown through a GoPro lens. You play as a vlogger who specializes in urban exploration.
God's Basement
God's Basement is a first-person, narrative-driven, single player horror game. Uncover the secrets of an afterlife shrouded in mystery, as an entity known as "The Operator" leads you deeper into the fringes of a seemingly eternal purgatory.
Chasing Static
A psychological horror short story. Explore the untouched wilderness of rural Wales as you uncover the forgotten remains of a mysterious facility and find the truth behind the missing villagers of Hearth.
Uninvited Guest
Uninvited Guest is a first-person psychological horror game set in 1930. You play as a villager who was destined to end up in an old mansion.
The Exit 8
You are trapped in an endless underground passageway. Observe your surroundings carefully to reach "The Exit 8".
The Boba Teashop
A cozy horror game where you own and manage a boba tea shop. Prepare boba teas, serve customers, and expand your menu to grow your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
KARMA: The Dark World is currently priced at 24.99€ on Steam.
KARMA: The Dark World is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 24.99€ on Steam.
KARMA: The Dark World received 2,615 positive votes out of a total of 2,835 achieving a rating of 8.84.
😎
KARMA: The Dark World was developed by POLLARD STUDIO LLC and published by Wired Productions and Gamirror Games.
KARMA: The Dark World is playable and fully supported on Windows.
KARMA: The Dark World is not playable on MacOS.
KARMA: The Dark World is not playable on Linux.
KARMA: The Dark World is a single-player game.
There are 3 DLCs available for KARMA: The Dark World. Explore additional content available for KARMA: The Dark World on Steam.
KARMA: The Dark World does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
KARMA: The Dark World does not support Steam Remote Play.
KARMA: The Dark World is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for KARMA: The Dark World.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 04 June 2025 13:06 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 07 June 2025 20:53 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2025 20:35 |
| Steam reviews | 12 June 2025 07:58 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about KARMA: The Dark World, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about KARMA: The Dark World
- SteamCharts - Analysis of KARMA: The Dark World concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck KARMA: The Dark World compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
17
Developer
POLLARD STUDIO LLC
Publisher
Wired Productions,
Gamirror Games
Release
27 Mar 2025
Platforms
By clicking on any of the links on this page and making a purchase,
you may help us earn a commission that supports the maintenance of our services.