It’s been hours since the Credits rolled on Martha is Dead, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. It feels like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Martha is Dead is undoubtedly one of the best games of the year, but it’s not for everyone.
The game opens with a trigger warning that it features some heavy themes and incredibly dark scenes and is for adults only. This isn’t some Capcom style ‘violence and gore’ warning to be ignored. Martha is Dead is possibly one of the most hard going games I have ever played.
Considering developer LKA’S last game was the similarly depressing The Town of Light, it’s not surprising. However, while most of Town of Light’s most horrific scenes were found in documents or left to your imagination, Martha is Dead places its most disturbing scenes front and centre, to an almost gratuitous degree.
Some of the fun themes you can look forward to exploring throughout Matha is Dead include; child abuse, suicide, self-harm, depression, the holocaust, and the horrors of war.
It’s a grim rabbit hole to dive down, but one that, if you feel you’re up for it, I would thoroughly recommend diving down, as it’s one of the most impactful, memorable and haunting games I’ve ever played.
Players take on the role of Giulia, the daughter of a German general, living in rural Tuscany during the final year of the second world war. After her twin sister Martha drowns in the nearby lake, Giulia makes it her mission to uncover the truth about her sister’s death.
As the Allies continue their advance across the region and the horrors of war begin to creep ever closer, Giulia’s once idyllic life unravels as she discovers the truth about her sister’s death and the tragic circumstances that lead to it.
Martha is Dead is basically a slightly less linear walking sim. Although the main story is still a linear affair, several side quests also run throughout the game. These all have a minor impact on the main narrative and help to enrich an already compelling tale.
The Tuscan chateau, where most of the game is set, is recreated in exacting detail to the point that it feels like a real place. Each room is meticulously designed, and the graphics border on photo-realistic at times. As a result, by the end of the game, you know the house and the surrounding woods inside and out.
This is backed by an outstanding soundtrack comprised of music from the period and an off-kilter contemporary score used to ratchet up the tension in Martha is Dead’s more extreme moments.
To say Martha is Dead takes a turn is an understatement. In an early dream sequence, you are tasked with cutting a corpse’s face off and putting it on your own. If you think this is grim, you sweet summer child, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. I would go into more detail, but it would also spoil the plot.
The best way to describe it stylistically is that Martha is Dead is the game equivalent of a Giallo movie. Much like the famous Italian horror genre, it contains numerous unflinching depictions of extreme violence and mutilation. However, unlike a film, you are an active participant.
Some scenes in Martha is Dead are so uncomfortable, disturbing, and gratuitous that Sony decided to take control away from the player during these scenes and offered a censored version of the game that removes its more extreme moments in the Playstation versions of the game.
The game is a slow burn, to the point of plodding at times. It doesn’t help that Giulia moves around the house and nearby forest at a snail’s pace.
However, the game’s quieter moments are also some of its best. Giulia is a keen photographer, and you can use her period-specific camera to take photos around the house and in the forest and then go back to a darkroom in the basement and develop them.
Each step is surprisingly deliberate and somewhat mesmerising. There’s a genuine sense of anticipation as the image is slowly revealed, and you become one step closer to uncovering the truth about Martha’s death, or it’s just a pretty flower.
The slow pace also helps build tension. Although the game doesn’t resort to jump scares, the increasingly oppressive atmosphere helps make the game’s shocking moments land with even more impact.
It’s been a while since a game has lingered in my memory as much as Martha is Dead. I’m still trying to parse what I’ve just seen, let alone figure out what happened.
If nothing else, LKA should be commended for attempting to tackle sensitive subjects and create a game that has something to say and could spurn proper discussions about the text, which seems to be an increasingly rare thing these days.
Martha is Dead is an absorbing and atmospheric adventure that will haunt you long after the credits roll, and if you have the stomach for it, a trip well worth taking.
