KARMA: The Dark World

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Dive into the minds of the accused in a dystopian 1984.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (91% of about 4,600 reviews)
Players: 1
Made by: Pollard Studio
Released: 2025

Get it on Steam GOG PlayStation Store (PS5)Xbox (Series X|S)

What frightens As an agent of the Leviathan Corporation's Thought Bureau in an alternate 1984 East Germany, you dive into the minds of the accused, where twisted memories hide horrors and the line between reality and the surreal blurs until you cannot trust what you see.
Content: violence, blood, drug use.

KARMA: The Dark World is a first-person cinematic psychological thriller by Pollard Studio, set in an alternate 1984 East Germany ruled by the Leviathan Corporation. As Thought Bureau agent Daniel McGovern you enter suspects' memories to investigate them, and the surreal horrors inside start to test your own sanity.

About KARMA: The Dark World

KARMA: The Dark World is a first-person psychological thriller by Pollard Studio, published by Wired Productions. It came out in March 2025 on PC and PlayStation 5, and on Xbox Series X|S that September. It is built in Unreal Engine 5 with motion-captured acting.

The setting is an alternate 1984 in East Germany. The Leviathan Corporation rules through mass surveillance, social class rules, mind-altering drugs and the promise that the gates of Utopia will open to those who serve. You are Daniel McGovern, a Roam Agent of Leviathan's Thought Bureau, who uses advanced technology to dive into the minds of the accused.

Each case mixes crime-scene investigation, interviews with suspects and long walks through their memories, which you retrace to piece together what happened and then report back to Leviathan. Puzzles stand between you and the truth.

The fear comes from inside those minds. The memories are twisted places with horrors in their corners, the store warns that emotion, will and desire hold power there, and as the boundary between reality and the surreal comes apart you have to ask whether you can trust what you see. The story is about family, love, loss and control, and a simple investigation that turns into espionage and betrayal.

It suits players who like story-heavy first-person horror built on investigation, such as Observer: System Redux, and do not need monsters to fight.

How to play KARMA: The Dark World

Buy it on Steam or GOG for Windows, or on the PlayStation Store or Xbox store for PS5 or Xbox Series X|S.
Investigate each crime scene as Daniel McGovern.
Interview the suspects.
Dive into their memories and retrace their steps.
Solve the puzzles you meet and report your findings to Leviathan.

Screenshots

A lone figure stands before a glowing white monolith between two giant black hands rising from water

A huge red fleshy mass hanging from cables in the middle of a circular atrium

A crowd of people with television screens for heads gathered in a rainy square before a Leviathan tower

A children's bedroom with bunk beds and toys scattered on the carpet, part of a remembered home

Tips

Look closely at objects and documents in each scene; the investigation builds on what you find.
Expect long cinematic scenes: the store calls it an interactive story first.
Play with good headphones; the soundtrack and sound are a large part of the mood.

Questions

Is KARMA: The Dark World a horror game?

Its makers call it a psychological thriller; you explore the twisted memories of suspects, with horrors in them and a growing doubt about what is real.

Is KARMA: The Dark World on PS5 and Xbox?

Yes. It is on the PlayStation Store for PS5 and the Xbox store for Xbox Series X|S, as well as Steam and GOG on PC.

Where is KARMA: The Dark World set?

In an alternate 1984 East Germany ruled by the Leviathan Corporation.