Martha is Dead: Controversial, tormenting and in very bad taste [Review]

Martha is Dead became a controversial title even before its release. With the public being informed about a censorship by Sony, a lot of discussion was started on the internet, which automatically increases the popularity of the game among the public.

As a horror title that doesn't fit the triple A standard, the truth is that Martha is Dead caught the attention of the most attentive fans of the genre, promising to deliver a journey with a lot of tension, violence and tormenting moments. A tormenting journey was indeed delivered, but slips compromise an experience marked by the evident attempt to shock, without worrying about losing the hand and committing unnecessary exaggerations in my view.

I must say here that the warnings before the start of the game are no exaggeration. Martha is Dead is a title that tackles controversial subjects in a very aggressive way. For more sensitive people, especially those who are experiencing problems (mainly psychological), the game can have a negative impact and is not recommended.

It's also important to say that the game hasn't been completely censored on PlayStation. This means that there is censorship, but it is optional. I even chose to play with everything the title has to show and the controversial scene - which caused the censorship - was shown in full.

Before we continue, I would like to say here that I am passionate about horror, being one of my favorite genres. Scenes of pure violence, psychological horror and other elements are common to me, but I accept them when well explained and well used. I must also say that I was excited for Martha is Dead, even considering it one of the most promising horror titles of 2022.

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tormenting plot

The plot of Martha is Dead is tantalizing. At different times, even being a big fan of horror, I felt great discomfort when playing the title. The big point is that here this discomfort is caused by the approach of very sensitive subjects, with completely violent scenes.

Here fear is not caused, most of the time, by being chased by a villain like in Resident Evil, for example, much less by any other element that is more characteristic in horror games. Here the feeling of discomfort is conveyed by a very personal plot, full of twists and situations that are not what they actually seem to be, with the title presenting a very strong dramatic plot.

At various times the game exposes where a human being can get and what our mind is capable of, such as what traps and nightmares it can create. However, when trying to shock, the game's plot is also lost in delivering moments that I consider in extreme bad taste, even more so when we don't realize that enough time is offered to digest certain stages. In the quest to convey important messages, the title seems to exaggerate much more than it should in the absurdly bizarre scenes and events, also appearing to boast about themes and situations in a somewhat sadistic way.

The game also takes advantage of extremely violent scenes, which can be considered in bad taste, without seeming to give a plausible explanation for many of them. The gore and violence in many moments seem just thrown on the screen, without much preparation or reason, with the only sense of impact. This weighs negatively.

Horror is monotonous

I must also say that the horror of Martha is Dead is extremely still. With the game being able to be considered a walking simulator, at least at various times, much of the game comes down to walking around a small map and accomplishing objectives that don't require much of you.

With some of these objectives being secondary, the title tries to offer some freedom to carry out more activities, but I felt that such objectives are completely unnecessary and contribute very little to the game. In this walking simulator footprint, in its first part, we can say, Martha is Dead is competent in delivering a terrifying horror, which puts the player to explore areas capable of arousing fear. However, not long after, the title seemed to me to completely put such a proposal aside.

From a certain point on, the frightening exploration and the intimidating moments give space only to situations in which the discomfort is caused by the plot, with doubts from the protagonist and the aforementioned exaggerations. That is, if you expect an exciting horror title, with sequences to run away from enemies, face dangers or any similar element, Martha is Dead is not an option. The general proposal becomes another.

Gameplay bureaucracy has gone too far

With a fairly still gameplay, Martha is Dead takes the "bureaucracy" to a very unsatisfactory level. I'm not exaggerating when I say that, at a certain point in the game, it is necessary to communicate by morse code via a telegraph. Now, understand that the game even tries to teach the player how to do this, but in a very shallow way, which makes the task a bit complicated. I confess that I had to google to be able to move forward, which seemed to me to be completely unnecessary and absurdly discouraging.

In addition, there are also other moments of a lot of "bureaucracy", such as parts where you need to develop photos, for example. In my opinion, the developers also lost their hand in this regard, offering a journey with many moments and mechanics that discourage the player, making the pace extremely slow and boring.

Dualsense is right

Among so many problems, the use of dualsense is a hit in Martha is Dead. I have to say that I was really impressed with the way the controller was taken advantage of by the developers, as it is even above the use of Dualsense in several bigger games, including major PlayStation exclusives.

Whether in sensations or sounds, control is extremely important to convey a good immersion in the title. In your hands, you feel different movements in different ways, which end up adding a lot to the gameplay, which helps to make something that doesn't have many elements to please more interesting.

Quietly bizarre atmosphere

Another hit of the game is the quietly bizarre atmosphere. Since the title offers a journey in which the biggest torments are really presented by the plot, the attempt to offer some tranquility to the player works.

Whether due to the absence of many sounds, the great feeling of loneliness at different times and even the many goals that are like day-to-day activities, the title manages to deliver a bizarrely peaceful journey, always conveying the feeling that there is something sinister there, yet somehow everything seems strangely calm.

Martha is Dead: The Verdict

Martha is Dead is sluggish and unnecessarily bureaucratic. For many moments it drags on longer than it should and several times it ends up causing the player to feel tired.

There is also a great need to shock, which leads the plot to approach sensitive topics in a somewhat strange way, as if it wanted to brag about them. At the very least, there's the feeling that the game didn't know the right way to approach certain plot elements, delivering them in a very raw and unacceptable way.

Extremely uncomfortable and quite tormenting, the title is an impactful journey, but unfortunately that weighs more on the negative side. The game is certainly controversial and may be considered unnecessary by many players. The truth is that Martha is Dead seems to be a game in very bad taste.

A digital copy of the game was kindly provided by Wired Productions. Analysis made on PlayStation 5*

Martha is dead

6.0 Pros

• Sinister tranquility is intimidating
• The beginning has a good scary atmosphere
• Dualsense very well used

Cons

• extremely still
• Too much bureaucracy in gameplay
• Drags longer than it should at different times
• tiring mechanics
• It is wrong to want to shock too much and not do it in an interesting way
• Violence and gore thrown on the screen, no need, just to make an impact