Martha is Dead

However, slight technical issues aside I feel confident in saying that Martha is Dead is one of the best titles I’ve played this year. Its gameplay mechanics are simple but put to use effectively, but it’s the narrative, themes, and the way this is all tied together that really stand out. It’s gruesome, grim, and will be hard to stomach for some people, but if you’re up for a truly gripping and thrilling tale, then Martha is Dead is a must play.

Martha is Dead is a brilliant era-based thriller. The headlines will focus on the sections that have been censored by Playstation, but that would be a shame because there is so much more to this game than those moments. Experience Martha is Dead and it will stay with you for some time to come.

Martha Is Dead proves that an independent studio has the ability to develop a video game with the same graphics as a AAA with an excellent detail line. This is an intense journey while Giulia navigates through the topic of mental health, putting everything in perspective during an extremely heavy psychological drama. Martha Is Dead is not a game for those looking for a horror experience focused on jump scares, massacres or horror/spiritual activities; nor is it for those who want to see a finite outcome. Martha Is Dead requires an open mind, a strong stomach and a mighty power of reflection.

Martha is Dead is a game that looks to throw you off balance at every turn, to seduce you with picturesque scenes before forcing you to witness Hell on earth. Aside from its 4K/30fps performance, Martha is Dead is a well-polished and appealing ride from start to finish, offering those looking for a dark thriller game filled with rich details an entertaining ride. Horror fans looking for an adrenaline rush, though, won't find anything here to sate their appetites, unfortunately, but some fairly gruesome scenes certainly lean into the psychological horror tropes, and never cheap out on the gory details.

As long as you can withstand its often extremely disturbing content, Martha is Dead is a absorbing and atmospheric adventure with a brilliantly realised setting and a beautifully haunting soundtrack. We can’t stress enough that it won’t suit all tastes, however.

Martha is Dead is a walking simulator with touches of psychological horror that manages to turn its most controversial section into an element capable of enhancing what it intends to show, although there are times when it unnecessarily overdoes it. Although it has a somewhat clumsy gameplay and a deficient technical section, the story of Giulia is worth living.

Martha is Dead has scenes that will stick with you long after you turn off the game making it a very memorable experience.

Martha is Dead is a solid choice for horror fans… as long as they’re happy with some disgusting moments.

Martha is Dead is a complex first-person narrative adventure, a story of traumatic experiences that could upset the sensitivity of those who play. Anyway LKA depicted in a brilliant and compelling way the discomfort of the main character, even if sometimes narration lingers in the spectacularization of the most gory elements. The Italian studio did a great job creating an accurate historical stage, but technically the game has significant ups and dawns, which, anyway, don't undermine too much the overall experience.

LKA has created an initially very solid mystery that gradually sinks into incomparable morbidity and an unfortunately more dispersed conclusion.

Martha is Dead deals with losing loved ones and losing your own self through a powerful narrative that can be quite uncomfortable at times.

Martha is Dead is one of those stories that will leave its mark on you. A few performance issues do hinder the experience a bit, but it's still a highly recommended game.

Martha Is Dead is definitely an improvement over LKA’s previous game. Giulia’s fragile character provides an interesting protagonist and the story gripped us from the first minutes. Unfortunately, the last part of the game isn’t as strong and culminates in a somewhat predictable way.

A highly original, dark gothic thriller whose lack of compromises will restrict its audience but are hard not to admire.

Martha is Dead has an interesting idea, but not enough to be considered a great game in spite of its flaws. If you're a fan of thrillers or the setting of Martha is Dead appeals to you, it is worth a check. It's not a life-changing horror game, but it's immersive enough to keep you hooked for a while.

Martha is Dead tells a deeply personal and complex story that strikes at some complex issues that are only held back from greatness due to technical struggles.

Martha is Dead is far from what I thought It’d be, and even though it begins strong, things start to fall short and end in total disappointment.

If only Dalcò, rather than honouring his heroine by smothering her search for truth in confounding gloom, had abided by her love of illumination.

Martha is Dead is best appreciated from a distance, because while its narrative premise and setting are certainly impressive, the game itself is slow as molasses and frustratingly clunky.

LKA made the best recreation of an Italian setting I’ve ever seen in a game and I wanted nothing more than to enjoy it. However, LKA’s love of Italy is the only warmth I felt in Martha is Dead. The rest left me feeling as cold as Giulia’s dead sister.

This game is not terrible, however, it is not fantastic. This genre has to have a strong story to be remembered due to the lack of action, thrills, and spills. Martha is Dead just lacks that spark to make it great. The ending of the game is fairly predictable, and it was not the most enjoyable journey to get there. Unfortunately, it falls short of its peers but is still worthy of your time.

The development team has to be applauded for pushing the boundary of the horror industry with its ideas. It’s just a shame that it stumbles so heavily when it comes to the execution and dilutes its strongest element with generic, repetitive gameplay.

This miserable wallow in the psyche of a traumatised young woman isn't so much horrifying, then, as simply unpleasant. [Issue#370, p.112]

While I enjoyed a fraction of my time exploring Martha is Dead's gorgeous Tuscan farmlands, the thing I'm most thankful for is how mercifully short the game is. The closing credits shocked me back into coherence like a bolt out of the blue to cap off what is—and I'm being generous—an interestingly imperfect experience.

Martha is Dead wants to send a big important message, but the way it’s delivered is terrifyingly bad, not only in it’s writing but also in the shoddy gameplay.

Shocking, controversial, technically broken, brutally forward with its presentation, and forwardly present in its mechanics, Martha is Dead wants nothing but a shocked gasp and an article made about its material. Mission accomplished, but at the cost of integrity.