MARTHA IS DEAD REVIEW – A DISTURBING PSYCHOLOGICAL FOLKLORE. (PS5)

Martha Is Dead, and the controversial psychological horror video game, has finally been released. Despite the bugs and censorship, this title is definitely worth your attention if you love horror or mystery games. LLet’ssee, why this is in the Martha, Is Dead Review.

Martha is Dead by Developer LKA is a brand new indie horror title. Due to the controversial censorship of PlayStation, the game was recently in the news. However, the censorship did not affect my enjoyment of this game as it was a minor scene. This Martha is Dead review will not reveal what was changed.

I was unsure what to expect when I entered Martha is Dead. Although iit’snot a scary horror movie, it does contain some disturbing moments. To captivate players, it heavily relies on its narrative. It is a psychological horror film that puts you in the head of the character. I enjoyed Martha is Dead. However, people expecting a scare or a survival horror might be disappointed.

STORY – A MYSTERIOUS DEATH

Martha is Dead appears to have a simple storyline. It is set in 1944, Italy, during the Second World War. Martha is, as the title suggests, dead. We follow Giulia, her sister, as she experiences that loss. Giulia is unsure of the cause of her ssister’sdeath and sets out to find it. She travels to strange and frightening places. This story is more mystery-like than horror. The way you feel about the story will determine whether or not you like it. The story was fascinating, and I enjoyed learning more about the world. To understand more about what was going on, I interacted with each object I could find.

It starts with a basic premise but quickly devolves into madness. Although there is only one main story, it felt like I was following 10. Martha Is Dead is a psychological horror video game with many surprises throughout its running time. Some of these surprises were unexpected, while others I knew were coming. The story was great, but there were wwtheirtany surprises.

Martha is Dead is written in the first person and narrated primarily by Giulia. She admits to being a somewhat unreliable narrator, sometimes losing track of her time and memories. We are trying to unravel the mystery surrounding MMartha’sdeath and determine what is true and false. This is an odd fact. I ddidn’tfind it annoying. Due to her performance, I enjoyed GGiulia’scharacter. Part of the game was played with an Italian voice-over and a component with English. GGiulia’sacting was flawless in both cases. She spoke with sincerity and intrigue, evident in every word she said.

WHAT GIULIA SEES

Martha is Dead loves to experiment with the way it tells its stories. Although most of the story is experienced firsthand, there are times when flashbacks, dreams, or puppet shows are used to recreate parts of the narrative. One segment is repeated quite a few times, which I did not understand at fiit’sIt’sa dream sequence in which Giulia runs through the woods, and players are forced to choose a path. The path with the word Martha might be the one that is chosen, while the other may have the word Giulia. Once the course has been selected, another set of words will appear. They make a sentence at the end. Although it’s a great way to express GGiulia’semotions or thoughts, it can be a little confusing initially.

Martha is Dead has many fantastic narrative options such as this. Puppetry is another stylistic choice. Giulia used to have a dollhouse in which she played with puppets. Giulia sometimes recreates past scenes to provide information to players. These different approaches to storytelling add variety, which I love. They were interactive cinematics, and they were all engaging and well done.

GAMEPLAY – PHOTOGRAPHS OF ITALY

I was unaware of Martha is Dead and was amazed at the sheer size of the world. Although this is not an open-world title like AAssassin’sCreed, it was still fun to explore. Giulia is an amateur photographer who takes images of events. These images can contain clues that may help solve the mystery of Martha. Optional photos can also be taken by players, and the game encourages them to do so. Martha is Dead explains how to use the camera and create images. It’s a minigame, and while it iisn’tthis e most exciting gameplay element I have ever played through, it never bore me.

You can also have a day or night, but you ddon’tmove between them by simply moving through the story. The mornings were very relaxing, and I often forgot that I was playing horror games. The day will usually include a few tasks that require light exploration and the use of the camera. While some errands can be completed at your discretion, they will provide more context for the story and the events during this time.

Things get darker when night falls. Even though I wwasn’tafraid to move like Outlast horror titles, the night brought with it a feeling of dread. The night was filled with creepy visuals and sound design. The players can explore the forest and its surroundings without being assigned any tasks. There are many things to see. However, there is not enough work. Due to story progress being blocked from critical points, the world felt less complete than I expected.

STABILITY AND TRANSVERSING

Although Martha is Dead was a fun game, it wwasn’tvery stable. I experienced at least 15 freezes during my seven-hour playthrough. This sometimes happened when I searched an area for interactable items. Sometimes it felt random. Although I ddidn’tlose more than 10 minutes, the autosave feature ensured that I did not lose any time. However, it does add up after 15 freezes. I was able to play the game on PlayStation 5, so I ccan’tcomment on how it runs on other platforms.

Besides freezes, the collision was a problem where my character would become stuck or fall from the world. Although players can explore the world, some areas appear to be a missing collision. Sometimes I got stuck or dropped into a room a roomdn’tleave. I recommend that you wait before buying this game to have often the patience to deal with these issues. IIt’spossible that I would have waited until a patch was available if I hhadn’twritten a Martha Is Dead Review.

The transitions felt rough around the edges. IIt’spossible that this is due to a collision. Although iit’snot horrible, it wwasn’tsmooth. GGiulia’sankles felt like something was holding it. Giulia has a bike that players can use to travel faster (but it ccan’tbe taken into the woods), but it was challenging to control. This could have been intentional, as the grwasn’tn’tas was smooth back then, and bikes were not as good as they are today. However, it wasn’t easy to turn the bike around or move in general. Although this is not a problem, iit’ssomething I feel could be improved.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO – BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE

The photorealistic graphics made it a visual delight to explore this world. It felt more natural. I found it easier to identify different areas in the woods and around my house when I went out into the woods. This is partly due to the large world, but art direction should also be praised. Although iit’seasy to have a general aesthetic for woods in a videogame, the graphics and movement created a unique area.

Bugs were the only thing that made things go south visually. Although it wwasn’toften, some issues could have muddied textures. The quality of imagery in the background is also not as high. Although this is expected, it was immediately evident and a sharp drop in the rest.

Martha is Dead excels in audio. Giulia is our only companion. Things pick up only at night. Many nighttime noises can be heard that make me wonder what will happen. Sometimes, the audio sounded like broken instruments or mechanical objects. These strange sounds were a distraction from the chaos and disturbing moments. The music gets dramatic when there are moments of revelation. It is haunting and mysterious. I was not scared by the music. It was almost as if it was there to support the story. It was always saying something.