A new horror game on Steam and for the PS5 has already captivated many players – and it didn’t even require endless, groundbreaking gameplay. It convinces with its dark atmosphere, the dystopian story, and a lot of feeling.
What kind of game is this? “KARMA: The Dark World” by POLLARD STUDIO was released on March 27, 2025, for PC and PS5. It is a walking simulator packed with small puzzles and riddles. In this game, the story and atmosphere are primarily in the foreground.
The story takes place in 1984 in East Germany under the rule of the Leviathan Corporation, which controls the population through surveillance, class systems, and consciousness-altering drugs. As espionage agent Daniel McGovern, you penetrate the thoughts of suspects using modern technology and navigate through their disturbing inner worlds. But the deeper you go, the more reality and delusion blur – until you no longer know if you can trust Daniel’s mind.
Here you can see the trailer for KARMA: The Dark World:
A story about family, love, and control
How is KARMA received by players? Currently, KARMA: The Dark World has a very positive rating on Steam (92% of 2,091 user reviews) and 4.3 out of 5 possible stars (from 1,161 ratings) in the PlayStation Store.
Players particularly highlight the narrative elements through the storytelling, the mystery, and the timing, which understandably take center stage in a walking simulator more than the gameplay. Another plus is the horror elements that resonate with the emotions of the story.
Some flaws include difficult puzzle elements and a mixed perception of the ending, but based on the reviews and ratings, the overall mood is very positive.
What do the reviews say?
- TreeTrunk comments: “I was glued to the screen from the very beginning. Knowing how short these walking sims can be, I paused the game a few times because I didn’t want it to end in one sitting.”
- ElitestNoobs writes: “An absolutely surreal adventure, in a good way. The artistic design was amazing, and the symbolism was so balanced that it gave just enough to form theories, but not enough to grasp the whole picture immediately. (…) It draws inspiration from some of the best surreal and dystopian stories (Twin Peaks, Death Stranding, 1984, Brave New World, etc etc). If that’s your thing, you’re going to love this game.”
- gradcristi writes: “A fantastic experience that I would highly recommend to fans of psychological horror and those who don’t mind ‘walking simulators’. The game offers an impressive array of stunning visuals, a great love for detail, and overall spectacular creativity. The story gets a bit convoluted at times (maybe that’s just me), but I found that it provided a satisfying experience overall. It’s the kind of thrilling experience that rekindles my love for gaming time and again, and I hope we get more games like this in the future.”
On Steam, you can see more reviews for KARMA.
If you’re fans of the horror genre but a bit too afraid to walk through hell alone, there are also some games where you can face the horror together with others. Here on MeinMMO, we present some of the best horror games in multiplayer: The 6 best horror games in multiplayer for PC, PS5, and Xbox
