Note: this review is currently in progress and will be updated when Karmaflow's second act is released.

To say that Karmaflow’s launch has been a mess would be putting it lightly.

Having missed its original release date by a few days, over which it was announced the game had been unexpectedly split into two parts (the second of which is coming sometime in April), it arrived in a technical state that would make most early access games blush. Game breaking glitches, audio desynchronization, video corruption, horrendous performance, and persistent crashes (once shutting my PC down entirely) caused the game to be unplayable for months after release.

Even now, it’s hard to say the game is in a playable state. Even though I was able to complete the first act I ran into numerous errors which ranged from absent audio to breaking certain mechanics. Having spent a generous amount of time on the Steam forums it would appear my issues are by no means unique (outside of being one of Karmaflow’s many unique flavors of glitch), and each new patch only seems to open new holes needing to be filled in.

With all that being said it almost seems pointless to even discuss what the game underneath the bugs is like, given it’s impossible for me to recommend something so crippled by malfunctioning programming. But maybe that’s in part because I don’t want to accept that Karmaflow isn’t worth the trouble it’s given me. That it’s an ambitious but incapable experience, that even when working as intended fails to capture the brilliance of its concept as an interactive rock opera.

It at once tries to do too much while expanding on little, being mechanically shallow and unpolished even as it continues to add on new ideas throughout the game. The act of infusing and draining karma (basically the life source of Karmaflow’s world) at first appears a key feature, but in practice is used sparingly and with no room for user expirementation. The rest of the time you’re pushed through tedious platforming sections, playing as a character with poor control over their body movement in an environment they’re constantly slipping off of. Karmaflow is also likely owner of the worst camera of any game I’ve played in the last decade, commonly drifting off into random directions to focus on anything but your character and clipping on invisible walls that erupt from every corner.

Karmaflow seems obsessed with making sure you never do anything it hasn’t expressly planned for you to do. It wants to be in control so its levels are designed like small cages, letting you roam around in so far as you never try to stray out of the immediate area. Sure, you can look all you want at the world off in the distance, but should you try to actually visit it a metaphorical and sometimes physical hand will descend from the heavens to pick you up and put you back where you belong. As an advocate for focused game design, Karmaflow was agonizingly restrictive and made me long for even a small amount of freedom to escape it’s uninspired linearity.

Finally, and most saddening, Karmaflow’s soundtrack is so bad as to be almost painful. Though tastes may vary, there was something intensely unpleasant to me about every single track Karmaflow managed to play properly (which to be fair was likely only half, the rest having self destructed in a glitchy fit). The compositions are bizarre in ways that feel uncertain about themselves, as if the composer is holding back for fear of becoming to esoteric but ending up sounding exceptionally dull in the process. Lyrics feel forced and equally strange, never deciding between attempting to flow melodically, or forego any musical sensibility for the sake of telling an uninteresting narrative that I found impossible to follow.

At this point I don’t think there’s any hope in saving Karmaflow’s first act. I feel safe in saying it’s become a self-perpetuating train wreck that is beyond the ability of the developer to rectify. I can only pray that the second act will manage to not fall prey to the same disastrous problems, but I’d be lying if I said I’m actually confident it’s not going to.

You can read more of my writing on Kritiqal.

Before making this review, I kept a few things in consideration:

1. It's a completely crowdfunded game. They did NOT make full fuding, yet they DID finish working on the game.
2. It's not a big company with 100 people working on one game. This means that if there are bugs, I don't expect them to be patched out twenty times a week.



PRO:
- Artstyle
- Music
- Story seems interesting
- Native controller support
- Rather unique game in the whole "music based" games
- No "go here now" kind of hints! Look around, jump. Maybe you CAN make that jump. Maybe you CAN'T make that jump. Maybe you shouldn't even go that way in the first place. Where am I? Am I supposed to be here?
You play the game, rather than the game plays you (quicktime events, aarg)

CON:
- Bugs. It's day one, what do you expect? Even bigger games come out completely bugged nowadays (skyrim or asscreed anyone?)
- *** PATCHED *** (Subtitles would be nice, as some of the grunting lines were unclear to me, making me feel less involved in what's going on in the game)
- Pausing during a "cutscene" (characters are singing the story to you), pauses the game but not the audio. Hence, after unpausing, lipsync is off.


Who should buy this game:
- People who like metal music
- People who like platform puzzle games, like Papo & Yo, Ico, Fez, The Swapper, Giani Sisters, etc.
- People who visited the karmaflow rock opera in Den Bosch
- Parents who want their children to play something without shooting, violence, etc.


Who should not buy this game:
- People expecting a finished game
- People who are looking for a game to put 50+ hours in & replay the same game over & over.


Recommended: YES, taking all things said above in consideration.
It's a small studio, it's day one, they decided to release without having all the funds, give them some time :)

EDIT 1: Removed a con: subtitles have been added in today's update

Note: Still busy with the game

I'll just start with the bad things to get it out of the way. The first release of this game was clearly rushed. Music tends to get out of sync when you pause the game, the menus are very bland and when you use the controller in the menus it works as a mouse pointer.
To top it off, I had to use "continue" to start the game instead of "New Game" which would take me right back to the menu. This is made even stranger when I finished the first part of Act 1, because after a long loading time I was put back into the main menu and had to choose "Continue".
Collision detection in the game is a bit shabby now and then as well. As a last minor point it would've been nice if the game had subtitles for the vocals, eventhough they are pretty clear. So far none of it has been gamebreaking though.

So much for the bad stuff, onwards to the good stuff!
The game looks great! The art design is beautiful and the choice of colours is perfect, giving the areas either a very 'warm' or 'cold' look. The music is pretty awesome as well, but since there is a lot of metal it has to be your kind of thing to enjoy. Especially when you've got some growling vocals.
Every once in a while you'll have a scene where people sing, making it feel like you're playing a Disney movie. And it is great.
The gameplay is pretty simple and intuitive. You get a few pointers on what to do and then you'll figure out most of it yourself. So far the puzzles haven't been too hard, but then again I don't play it for the challenge, I play it for the great music and superb visuals.

Bottomline; the game needs some more polishing up, but since none of it was gamebreaking I really enjoyed playing through the interesting world. It looks great and it sounds great and movement is pretty fun.

Karmaflow is a masterful blend of music, art, and gameplay. It's had a bit of a bumpy launch, but team Karmaflow rallied together and patched most of the issues by the end of Day 1. Very rarely have I seen a team work that fast at fixing bugs. This is even more impressive when you consider this is a new studio who crowdfunded the game on Indiegogo (they didn't reach their full goal) and are new to the game development world.

Seeing all the complaints of bugs on Steam, I waited until the first wave of patches before playing the game. I am happy to report that I ran into ZERO game breaking bugs and I really enjoyed my time with the game (played with a controller). NOTE: There are still some minor bugs being worked on, but what game doesn't have those?

This game is all about the music. If you don't like symphonic metal then you're probably not going to like the game, but what did you expect out of a game calling itself a Rock Opera? If you do like the genre, then you are in for a real treat. The orchestral performances of some of Metal's most recognized icons (seriously, look at the cast for this game) was spot-on and combined with the game's unique visual style, created a deep atmosphere that really drew me in.

Without going into too many details, the story follows the Karma Keeper as it travels from world to world restoring balance after the mysterious "Dissonance" has wreaked havoc. It is presented, as you would expect, in rock opera fashion by having the characters sing/scream their parts to tell their tales. There are shards scattered around the worlds that present Karmaflow's backstory, and really solidify the atmosphere of the game. The addition of subtitles (see! They were listening to the community and added this in the first string of patches!) really helped me keep track of Karmaflow's story.

While the designers are new, they did a fantastic job of using subtle visual cues to keep players on the right path. There are no direct hints to solving the puzzles, meaning if you get stuck, you will have to look around the environment and experiment with different approaches to find your way out. I love this approach because it keeps you in the game instead of constantly waiting for a hint.

The ambient sounds in the game could be better. Like when a boulder hits the ground, it would be nice to hear a solid crash instead of an odd crunching sound. I wasn't too fond of the thudding sound the Karma Keeper made when it landed after jumping, but that's just personal preference. There lots of little instances like these where I wished the ambient sounds were a bit better, but hey, this was a crowdfunded game from Indiegogo with a killer soundtrack and vocal cast, I'm not complaining too much.

Lastly, while I really enjoyed the puzzles within the game, there were no consequences for failing or dying. If the Karma Keeper dies in the game, you respawn close by and continue where you left off. There's no reset or anything. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does remove any sense of urgency or fear from the boss "fights"/"puzzles" (I'm honestly not sure what to call them). But again, this game is all about delivering a killer Rock Opera experience, and it does that with gusto.

Overall, I would give Karmaflow a 4 out of 5 as I sit and wait for Act 2 to be released later this year!

Pros:
- Soundtrack
- Music
- Epic musical solos (noticing a trend)
- Solid puzzle mechanics
- Atmosphere
- Solid Rock Opera style story and presentation
- Game includes soundtrack (To be released with Act 2 later this year)

Cons:
- Ambient sounds could be improved
- No consequences for failing
- Act 1 is very short (roughly 3 - 3.5 hours)

Better than i expected. There are some minor bugs, but the developers are constantly patching the game.
If you like rock opera's or symphonic metal, you probably already bought the game.
Simply put it's a story driven, music, puzzle, platformer :)

EDIT: The game is being fixed very quickly! Once all the performance errors are fixed, I'll happily change this to YES! :D As of right now, subtitles and most errors are fixed along with it being made more balanced!

Original Review:
I'm going to be blunt, I'm running a decent rig with a 780ti and i5 4670k and was unable to run this at a stable fps on ANY graphic settings which makes me super sad because there was so much hype for this game, at least from me who LOVES this genre of music. That being said, the game play I did experience was a bit buggy with some sounds being unnaturally loud and the lack of subtitles but besides that, this a beautiful game and VERY fun to play!

Overally, I'm saying No until the game is optimized a little more to the point of 100% enjoyable play. Hopefully we can see a nice update before Act II drops in April! :D

Before I will share my view on this game I'm inclined to state where I got my information from. All you will read below has been gathered from the Karmaflow website, Facebook, Twitter, contact with the developer, bugtesting sessions and the game itself.

I am quite puzzled to see some people denounce this game in the way they do. Let's be real here: Basecamp Games is a studio that started out as a student graduation project, they are new to all this. Anyone expecting a fledgling studio selling a 15 euro game to deliver a flawless experience should get their heads out of their pretentious asses.

Had the game cost 4 times the amount, or if the developer created a plethora of games before this, then I might have reconsidered as well. It surprises me how dedicated Basecamp is as a studio, as they have patched some major problems out already and are (probably) doing so as we speak.

Now then, onto the game. What is Karmaflow?

In short, Karmaflow is a 3d platformer that let's you play as the Karmakeeper, a little guy who travels across the lands to try and fix an imbalance that is tearing these lands apart. There's more to it but I don't want to spoil anything for you. Much of the narrative is brought to you in song and acted out in cutscenes. The gameplay itself is fairly straightforward, and should not be too challenging for too many.

This game stands on it's graphical style and stellar music. It's not hard to find a list of all the talented musicians that helped to compose this beautiful soundtrack, and it can be seen that the creative director is in fact a composer. During the game itself, you can find instruments that will add their sounds to the ambiant music, enahncing your experience.

Now, I do have some smallgripes with this game. The camera can be a bit weird at times, which is detrimental to your jumping & gliding abilities. The camera moves when it wishes to show you something, but it can really mess up your jumps or your sense of direction. I did not yet encounter a problem with checkpoints, but I see others have. Karmaflow runs fine on my average PC, but it stutters for a slight second every time you reach a checkpoint (as a statue of you is suddenly spawned from various shards) this game also does not tell you where to go at every point, so make sure to get your bearings when you can. I tend to get lost at times, poor me.

If you see other reviews stating there are no subtitles and the music goes out of sync if you pause during cutscenes, that has all been taken care of. Basecamp is a developer that evidently listens and strives to give you the best.

The game is rather short at this time of writing, but anyone who purchases Act 1 will receive Act 2 later free of charge as an update to the game.

Bottom line:

Buy This --> If you like games that are more about the experience and easthetic than actual gameplay, and you like the style (both music and on-screen)

Don't buy this --> If you only want gameplay, or a game that just tells you what to do at every turn, and you get easily annoyed if some things work less than perfect sometimes. If you have a MAC, wait until you are sure it works (watch the updates)

I am enjoying this experience very much, I hope you will too!

Never before have I wanted to like a game so much, actually liked the game, and had to write a negative review anyway.

First, the basic idea is fantastic. However, "Rock Opera" means what would normally be voice acting is sung. There is far too much lull in between to string it together as an opera.

The atmosphere and the surrealism is fantastic, and obviously required a lot of imagination. However, it's perhaps *too* surreal...The story and bizarre characters aren't explained worth a ♥♥♥♥.

Evidently "Dissonance" is probably a character or the overall evil, but if I had to hear it one mor time in the first 5 minutes, I'm sure I would hurt somebody.

The reason this review is negative is because there are just too many problems with this game, no matter how great the idea. Don't believe me? Read the announcements about all the bug fixes and what they are. Including recommendations such as deleting your save and starting over. Then consider even with these fixes, there are still too many problems to enjoy the game.

The game didn't crash, I'll give it that. But the controls are clunky, and it becomes a problem when the level design requires precison. The mechanics overall just plain suck. There is a lot of clipping, camera fighting (mostly when there's wind), and the there are clear design flaws. At one point I couldn't proceed because the game was clearly intending for you to do one thing, but you are unable to do it if you have to much "karma" (powerup) which you can't get rid of.

*Sadly*, I was actually able to pass this area by going UNDER that portion of the level. Yes, you heard me right. I went across an area that was clearly never intended ito be traversed in order to pass an impassable spot. Used a bug to workaround a bug. Nice.

At one point, I fell (it's to the death, like many games)...I fell for almost a MINUTE before I actually died.

But the final straw was the complete lack of direction. I got to a "boss fight" and it was pretty clear what to do...there were dangling thing to hit. BUT, you can't hit them. You just can't. I spent half an hour trying eveything I could think of, and finally turned it off.

I wanted to like it, I really did. I don't call it quits easily, but this game left me no choice.

I give it a 5/10 just because the art and surrealism and idea are great. If the GLARING problems were fixed I'd be happy with this game and give it a solid 8/10.

That said, in hindsight, I wouldn't pay $5 for this game (75% off), because it still wouldn't be fair...bcause you won't even get to play through more than 25% of the game.

Go ahead, buy it anyway. When you get stuck double jumping for half an hour trying to hit dangling purple tentacles, and you're ready to break your controller, come back here and admit I told you so.

I am not going to waste your time or mine so i'm telling you from the start that this game is not finished and has major issues.

But first...what i do like :
-Graphical style is charming and fresh
-The mood the game sets...somehow trying to mirror Journey
-The few but nice narrative music solos

And the issues :
-Mouse lag in the menus and no support for keyboard navigation
-You can not overwrite a already in progress game
-Some puzzles bug-out and stop working
-No subtitles so you may or may not understand what is going on
-Frames locked at 60
-Main menu looks and is underwhelming.
-Crashes

Overall there is no doubt this game is rushed and un-optimized.
It is simply another case of a great idea full of potential that is trashed by rushing a unfinished product to market...Why you ask ? I'm guessing the usual reason.
I can not recommend such a game to anyone...shame... i was looking forward to this.
You can check out my first impressions video for a clearer view :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E50rtbvwOTQ&list=PLPu1MBLqtny7rnijEzJ3bPSEMepog_rOK

Day 1 review:
Well as one of the very first funders of this small project I sort of watched the developers through their journey developing this game.
First thing - the project leader on this game is a music composer. He gathered a sort of young team around him to produce this game, with a budget that was smaller than intended since they didn't reach their goal with their campaign.
Since the project leader is clearly a professional in music expect that the most stunning part will be the soundtrack. Also consider watching the pretty big list of artist featured in the soundtrack - which is a major selling point of this game.

Now back to the game:

Pro:
+Great design
+Beautiful world
+Sort of a different approach in the jump and run genre
+Choices in cutscenes (not sure yet how they affect the story or music)
+Incredibly good soundtrack (given you like rock and metal mixed with orchestra)
+It's like a playable musical
+controller support

Cons:
-Day 1 bugs including(which will be most likely fixed soon):
laggy menu
short freezes when reaching a checkpoint
cutscene music keeps playing on pause which makes cutscenes out of sync
couldn't start second level due to a bug where i kept dying at the respawn point (doesnt affect everyone)
soundeffect controls didn't seem to work (soundeffects where a bit harsh and loud compared to the music)
problems with collission detection (sometimes can walk through objects, sometimes must jump over a small edge on the ground)

-Menu could use a slight redesign since it's quite plain looking compared to the rest of the game.

Well and that's it for me with the cons. Be really prepared that the soundtrack will in fact be the major selling point and the best thing about this game.
BUT: I think this game might become really good once the day 1 bugs (which make most cons) are corrected.

I really love this game :)

I have been following this game for long time and I love the cast of singers they brought to this game. It's dark it's moody and brings a lot to the atmosphere. I like all the different techniques and moves you can do. The biggest thing that I'm impressed with atm is music! I can't wait to own the soundtrack because this is amazing! :D

After seeing the live concert I was really looking forward to finally play the game. I must say I was not dissapointed at all! The game is a great experience consisting exploring a magical world with a relaxing flow of movement and platforming, some light platforming puzzles with the use of the essence floating through the world and awesome vocal battles between the acts' main characters with snaring guitars in the background. I finished the two worlds of Act I in about 4 hours and I play quite slow and just looking around a lot. So if Act 2 brings another 4 hours of gameplay it's totally worth it's money in my opinion. Besides that I totally advise everyone to play this game with a controller.

Even though there are still some bugs here and there and some performance issues I really enjoyed it. The team is still working hard on the game and having played the Gamescom demo last year I can assure everyone the best has yet to come!

Although the checkpoint bugs make playing Karmaflow difficult sometimes, it is VERY MUCH worth playing. (also, I’m told those bugs are being fixed as we speak)
The implied narrative that lies in the extracting and infusing mechanic seeps in slowly to a point where you know you have to use those powers *I will not spoil* but you REALLY don’t want to.
This is not a game about music, like for instance brutal legend, this game IS music. The music seeps out and leaves you with goosebumps behind your desk. The talent of the people who helped creating this game by giving their voice, instruments and skills is incredible.

This game is fun and that is what I look for in a game.

The game is a fantastic immersive experience that hits multiple artistic sensors. The narrative being told via a rock opera and the sound track as a whole are great. I do wish there was subtitles. The 3D world and colors go perfectly with the story and set the mood the game wants to portray. Keep in mind it's a platformer set in a partially dark world. You will get lost at times if you are not paying attention like me. I kept wanting to explore every corner which led to me trying to jump up to places I shouldn't have been. But, that is part of what a game should do and this one nails it.

Remeber buying now will also get you access to Act 2 when it is made available.

For a game made on an under-funded kickstater, It is well made. Definately not perfect but with patches and fixes being promised it should help a lot with the bugs. Not to mention that the soundtrack is amazing!!! It has a great line-up of metal artist including Simone Simons and Mark Jansen from Epica and Elize Ryd from Amaranthe just to name a few. The whole story and overall premis of the game is quite interesting as well, Definatley recommend it but maybe wait until the bugs have been ironed out if things like that irritate you.

Since Basecamp Games is a small (starting) studio, I think they did an amazing job by leveling the look & feel, gameplay and animation of well known platformer games. Especially since they are just starting out. They even had to create this game with maybe half of their 'indiegogo' desired funding goal.

Having this said, the game is pretty enjoyable. Even for people who are not really into the 'metal/rock opera'. Certain moments even slightly feel like a "Disney" movie/story.

I have seen a few bugs, but nothing serious to witheld buying this game now. The Development team is extremely supportive and I think they work hours to fix everything our hearts desire.

If you like a journey through a rock metal world full of famous singers, and enjoy some beautiful environments. Go buy this game, because it will restore your karma by supporting these guys!

Make this simple. (Video Review Below)
If you are annoyed by things not being optimized or having a couple of bugs.
Wait a few patches then decide if you want to purchase.
If you will enjoy the themes and gameplay and don't mind some weird bugs and waiting for the game to be optimized.
Karmaflow is an excellent title and unique experience. This is what Indie Games are all about right here.

EDIT: The developer directly replied to my video and according to recent patch notes. All the issues found in my video have been corrected. This is the type of quick reponse I love to see from developers. They care about their game and they are listening!

I made a video review to show off some of the features and gameplay of this game!
http://youtu.be/C3Ncn3KOkiA
I hope you enjoy!
Martyr

Well after some time for the team to fix stuff , the game is just flat out good to me. I will have to say the music is a good blend and the first act is very made. If there still some flaw they will iron it all in due time. This game i would say is worth buying for a indie game. There is a good amount to replay this game. If you are worried about any issues with the game then keep an eye on their social media, and voice any bugs to them.

If you do find spelling mistakes then; Sorry? English is not my best front.

As a game, yes, there are certain things that are wrong with it in the version I've played. But as a first game from an indie dev I don't really see a problem with that. The problems aren't huge and as long as these problems are being fixed in a timely manner, the end result will be a very enjoyable game for gamers and symphonic metal fans alike.

This first act should be finishable in about 3 hours. Add an act 2 of the same size to that and I think you'll be getting your moneys worth in the end. The puzzles and platforming are pretty well done, albeit not all that hard most of the time. But the musical storytelling and atmosphere make up for that in my opinion. This game is an excercise in something new and fresh in the way the story is told and and the way the gameplay is represented in its setting. The gameplay occasionally reminded me of games like Darksiders or Zelda, albeit simpler, but which is still a good thing!

Yes, the controls are a bit clunky sometimes, the menus look pretty bland and are weird to navigate with a controller, the performance drops sometimes in certain scenes, but none of these things have been gamebreaking to me. Also I presume these problems will be patched out ASAP. There are some genuine lovable moments in this game and I'm very curious to see where Act 2 is going to take the game in April.

The devs have been active in support, which is a good thing too!


All in all I'd recommend this game to anyone who is in for an original adventure with a nice story and great music!

I wanted really badly to like this game just based on the strength of the idea. A rock opera videogame? Take my money! Unfortunately while it started off pretty strong, past the first storyline it falls flat on its face and can't get up again. The linearity of the first section gives way to wider choice in objectives (the point where you have to gather in three other tribesthings to do a ceremony) and this combined with confusing environment design (in the form of large sections of terrain you have to move about) led me to hit a wall and lose interest. I got to that point in a lot of puzzle games where you're just randomly poking things to see if anything will do what you need it to, and I really feel like that's death for this game concept. If things aren't clicking along, or you don't have an obvious objective immediately available, it just loses all its energy. And it is supposed to be a ROCK OPERA. Energy and pacing should be the WHOLE POINT.

Pros:
* I really liked the Conductor and Muse story (the first one). Both the framing of the story, and the level design, seemed to come together to keep things ticking over. If only the whole game could have been like this.
* I can't overstate how much I liked the first story. But twice will do for review purposes.
* The design of the Karmakeeper is pretty neat. If your character is going to be a mute cypher, then why not go all the way and make them some kind of magical totem thing. The mechanics of how the Karmakeeper's powers worked were all easily understandable and fun to use.

Cons:
* There as a lot of "oh no, my worst enemy... stairs" problems where the character just seemed to get hung up on terrain with no visible reason why. This happened a lot on the Village level near the end of Conductor&Muse. I assume this will eventually get polished up.
* Orchestra vs Death Metal Screaming Guy? Really? That's not where I figured the music was going to go with this.
* The aforementioned problems with level design/pacing in the second story.
* Didn't credit achievement progress for whatever reason.

tl;dr: Great as part of a bundle, worth playing at bundle pricing just for the first segment alone, sadly not worth Tier A game pricing.