Info

Developed By: LKA.

Published By: Wired Productions.

Platforms Available On: PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X - a code was very kindly supplied for the purpose of this review.

Overview

Martha Is Dead is a dark first-person psychological thriller, set in 1944 Italy, that blurs the lines between reality, superstition and the tragedy of war. As conflict intensifies between German and Allied forces, the desecrated body of a woman is found drowned… Martha!

Martha is dead, and her twin sister Giulia, the young daughter of a German soldier, must alone deal with the acute trauma of loss and the fallout from her murder. The hunt for the truth is shrouded by mysterious folklore and the extreme horror of war that draws ever closer.

Gameplay

Now what I like about reviewing and I think I've said this before is that I get to try out many different genres that I probably wouldn't have normally, one genre in particular that I've had the pleasure of diving into is horror as it seems to be the popular genre for game developers at the moment.

One particular game that I've been looking forward to play was Martha is Dead, a game which has received press with it's shall we say graphic content, but that didn't put me off and to be honest kind of made me want to play it more as when something gets banned or censored you need to see why, I think it's just human nature.

As with other Wired Productions titles I've previously come across Martha is Dead is an extremely immersive game but with it being a horror title it does make the hairs on the back of your neck stick on end. It's probably the most atmospheric game I've played and got into the story pretty quickly as I found the story telling with it being a mixture of cutscenes and gameplay was easy enough to follow and the cutscenes themselves looked really good in parts felt like I was watching a film - albeit the most part was behind a pillow. I particularly liked the part where they tell the story using old style puppets thought that was a unique touch.

The game isn't about jump scares it's more a psychological thriller that gets into your head and makes you think. As you explore the game, as Martha's twin sister Giulia, you take on the role of Martha to cover her death - similar in storyline to the I Know What You Did Last Summer series I recently watched on Prime Video - you need to explore the family home to discover clues and unravel the mysteries that surround your sisters death.

The intriguing thing about Martha is Dead is that not only do you have the horrific main story you also have the story of the father who just happens to be part of the bad side of the war push. At parts I found the story kind of lost itself a bit but on the whole I enjoyed the game and found the whole chilling experience good.

There has been comments online that perhaps the game is a little too much in the shock gore aspect but I personally found that it ran well with the story. Overall I found the game to be an immersive but chilling experience and found the gameplay had a unique feel to it.

Graphics and Sound

There's no doubt that Martha is Dead is a visually stunning game and to be fair this is a running trend with Wired Productions as I've not yet come across a bad looking game they've brought out. The game really makes use of the next gen power and in some aspects I believe it pushes the power limits too, yes the content is graphic but you kind of knew what you were letting yourself in for and in my opinion it us done in a tasteful way, although at times the characters feel slightly robotic.

The soundtrack of the game is very atmospheric and runs well with the overall theme of the game. The voice acting is well done and adds to the cinematic feel.

Summary

To summarise my thoughts on Martha is Dead, a decent horror title that focuses more on the psychological side of horror rather than the hack and slash. Good storytelling, graphic in parts butcall makes sense together, a recommend to any horror fan.

Verdict-Out of 5🌟

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Good

I give Martha is Dead a solid 4🌟 a decent horror game with plenty of graphic parts.

Grab your copy of Martha is Dead on Xbox now click here