Martha Is Dead

76%
Game Brain Score Based on 879 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Martha Is Dead Game Cover
Martha is Dead meets every expectation and exceeds most of them. It is a true ghost story, perfectly designed to demand you keep playing while making you want to stop. Its near-flawless design sets a new benchmark in the quietly, weirdly, horrible.
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Martha Is Dead is a dark, psychological thriller set in 1940s Tuscany. The game follows the story of Martha, a young woman dealing with the horrors of war and the mysterious death of her twin sister. Players will explore a detailed, atmospheric world, make choices that impact the story, and uncover the disturbing secrets of Martha's past.

  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

76%
Audience ScoreBased on 879 reviews
story285 positive mentions
optimization42 negative mentions
  • Martha is Dead features a powerful and engaging story that explores deep themes of mental health and trauma.
  • The game boasts stunning graphics and a beautifully crafted atmosphere that immerses players in its historical setting.
  • The unique photography mechanics add an interesting layer to the gameplay, allowing players to interact with the environment in a meaningful way.
  • The game suffers from significant performance issues, including frame drops and crashes, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • Many players found the pacing to be slow and tedious, with long cutscenes and repetitive tasks that can lead to boredom.
  • The story's reliance on graphic and disturbing imagery may not be suitable for all players, potentially alienating those sensitive to such content.
  • story845 mentions

    The story of "Martha is Dead" is a deeply engaging and disturbing narrative that explores themes of mental health, trauma, and the impact of war, set against the backdrop of WWII in Italy. Players navigate the complex and often unsettling journey of Giulia, who grapples with her twin sister's death and her own psychological struggles, leading to unexpected twists and a haunting atmosphere. While the storytelling is praised for its depth and emotional resonance, some players find the pacing slow and the gameplay mechanics cumbersome, which can detract from the overall experience.

    • “Martha is Dead tells a powerful story, revolving around mental health, and the journey is just incredible.”
    • “The plot is really dark, heavy and reaches into the deepest, darkest parts of our minds making us wonder what's real and what's not.”
    • “The story is rich and the game kept me immersed and interested the whole time I played.”
    • “The story is poorly developed and depressing.”
    • “The game itself doesn't really have much in the way of 'solve the puzzle and win' mechanics, so if you want to get the most out of this game, you have to try and figure stuff out in your own mind, progress the story and see if you were right.”
    • “The story never drew me in.”
  • graphics256 mentions

    The graphics of "Martha is Dead" are widely praised for their stunning detail and immersive atmosphere, effectively capturing the game's historical setting. However, many players report significant optimization issues, including stuttering, frame rate drops, and bugs that detract from the overall experience, particularly on lower-end hardware. While the visuals are a highlight, the technical performance challenges have left some players frustrated, impacting their enjoyment of the game.

    • “As for the technical stuff – 'Martha is Dead' looks stunning, especially on the ultra graphic settings: the textures are razor sharp, the lights and shadows work just like they should, and some of the views are simply gorgeous.”
    • “The attention to detail in the graphics is stunning, with every shadow, every flickering light, and every decaying object contributing to the game's eerie ambiance.”
    • “The graphics are absolutely stunning; the physical gameplay is more like a walking simulator, but it will dive into some pretty dark areas.”
    • “It was kind of frustrating and honestly I hate that I had to write this review, but for me it's hard to forgive optimization issues and bugs in such hyper-realistic graphics, because it ruins the whole point of the art style in my opinion.”
    • “To add insult to injury, the game is technically not playable for everyone: it is bugged, crashes are common, graphics lag even on strong hardware, and most of the dialogues and cutscenes are unskippable.”
    • “The game drops from 60 to lower than 10 fps on average; I've put it on SSD for the second install but alas, it didn't help at all. By the way, the graphics were the lowest possible, with and without DLSS.”
  • gameplay184 mentions

    The gameplay of "Martha is Dead" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its narrative-driven focus and atmospheric visuals, likening it to a walking simulator with minimal interactive elements. While some appreciated the unique photography mechanics and engaging puzzles, others criticized the clunky controls, repetitive tasks, and overall lack of substantial gameplay, leading to a tedious experience. Ultimately, the game is seen as more of an interactive story than a traditional game, appealing primarily to those who prioritize narrative over gameplay complexity.

    • “Moreover, the atmosphere throughout the entire gameplay is simply incredible, because developers are revealing the next layers of the story in a very smart way and we know something unexpected is going to happen sooner or later.”
    • “From investigating crime scenes to solving cryptic riddles, each gameplay element feels seamlessly integrated into the narrative, encouraging players to explore every corner of the game world in search of answers.”
    • “The awesome game mechanics do a great job at keeping you involved in the story progression and wanting to explore a world that is bigger than it seems at first glance.”
    • “I wanted to like this game, but several repetitive and frustrating game mechanics made it impossible.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly boring and after a while the story just wasn't interesting and I couldn't wait for it to end.”
    • “The clunky gameplay also gets in the way of the story to the point where by the end of it, I just wanted the story to be over.”
  • optimization136 mentions

    The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with players reporting frequent stuttering, frame drops, and crashes, even on high-end systems. Many users noted that despite the game's beautiful graphics and engaging story, the performance issues significantly detracted from the overall experience, leading to frustration and immersion-breaking moments. While some players found temporary solutions by adjusting settings, the consensus is that the game requires substantial optimization improvements to be fully enjoyable.

    • “The graphics are great, but not enough optimized if you want to try DLSS or ray tracing (I turned off those options and played at max settings with 60fps).”
    • “The visuals, atmosphere, and music are strong highlights that enhance the experience, although some optimization issues occasionally break the immersion.”
    • “Martha is dead is not yet 100% perfect, but the gain in performance is certainly big enough to make the game enjoyable.”
    • “Regardless of the graphic settings and DirectX version (we can choose between DX11 or DX12), I was experiencing constant stuttering, freezes, FPS drops, texture pop-ups, and a whole bunch of other problems, such as camera jumps, crashes, or the fact that sometimes after closing the game it turned out that I have to manually kill the process in the task manager because it was still running in the background.”
    • “Visually, this game is stunning, but it is very poorly optimized (and I'm running an i9 12900H with an RTX 3070 Ti and 32 GB of 3200 MHz RAM) and would drop to 5 FPS for large chunks of time.”
    • “The performance issues are incredibly frustrating, and made me take several long breaks because I kept crashing over and over again.”
  • music90 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its haunting beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, effectively complementing the visuals and narrative. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, noting its role in creating tension and immersion, while some mention occasional issues with ambient music stopping unexpectedly. Overall, the sound design and music contribute significantly to the game's emotional depth and eerie ambiance, making it a memorable experience for players.

    • “The game's haunting soundtrack sets the perfect tone for each scene, heightening the tension and immersing players even further into the game's nightmarish world.”
    • “The impeccable sound design and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the eerie and tense atmosphere, immersing players in a world filled with dread and unease.”
    • “Now, this game has some incredible graphics, an unbelievably realistic art style, and one of the most hauntingly beautiful soundtracks that I've heard in a video game.”
    • “Sometimes during exploration, the ambient music just stops and only restarts after saving and reloading the game.”
    • “The music being intense at all times kind of took away from the big moments.”
    • “The music in this game tries way too hard.”
  • atmosphere65 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, combining stunning visuals, meticulous sound design, and a gripping narrative that evokes a sense of dread and unease. Players appreciate the way the atmosphere enhances the storytelling, with many noting its ability to build tension without relying on jump scares. Overall, the game is recognized for creating a captivating and emotionally charged environment that leaves a lasting impression.

    • “Moreover, the atmosphere throughout the entire gameplay is simply incredible, because developers are revealing the next layers of the story in a very smart way and we know something unexpected is going to happen sooner or later.”
    • “From the moment you step into the game, you're enveloped in an atmosphere dripping with dread and unease.”
    • “The impeccable sound design and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the eerie and tense atmosphere, immersing players in a world filled with dread and unease.”
    • “This would be fine if the game spent that long, ponderous, middle section actively building tension or atmosphere, but it simply does not.”
    • “The music is also alluring and the atmosphere overall is okay, sometimes though the game is just way too quiet like I could hear my button inputs over my headphones, not good.”
    • “Atmosphere is fine which is the idea of the game, the storytelling is so boring especially when you can't skip or see visuals at least during storytelling; in the future if they fix all bugs I would try it again and recommend it but at the moment I don't recommend it to be honest.”
  • grinding50 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, with many tasks feeling like unnecessary padding that detracts from the overall experience. The slow pacing, clunky controls, and unskippable dialogue contribute to a sense of frustration, making exploration and gameplay feel like a slog rather than an engaging journey. While some appreciate the story and visuals, the overwhelming sentiment is that the tedious mechanics significantly hinder enjoyment.

    • “The midgame seemed so tedious for no reason at the time, without much story related happening.”
    • “The story involved in the game is interesting, but progressing through the game is extremely tedious and boring.”
    • “Everything is very slow and tedious, you crawl around at a snail's pace and there just isn't much there from a gameplay mechanics perspective.”
  • emotional30 mentions

    The game is widely praised for its deeply emotional narrative, with many players reporting that it evoked strong feelings, including tears and heartbreak. The journey through the protagonist's emotional struggles, set against the contrasting beauty of Tuscany and the grim realities of war, creates a powerful and resonant experience. However, some critiques mention pacing issues and a lack of emotional impact in certain story beats, though the overall emotional depth and atmosphere are considered compelling and unforgettable.

    • “The game takes players on a journey through Giulia's eyes, experiencing her emotional vulnerability, resilience, and determination as she seeks to uncover what happened to her sister.”
    • “The ending was so heartbreaking and shocking it left me speechless, and only a few games can achieve that!”
    • “I've enjoyed the story and loved every twist and emotion, every gruesome scene that I had to endure in order to see and understand... the best game that I have ever played... truly unforgettable and deeply touching.”
  • stability29 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with players reporting frequent lags, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder the immersive experience. While some users noted minor issues and found workarounds, many described the game as "buggy" and "poorly optimized," leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, the stability issues detract from the otherwise appealing graphics and narrative.

    • “But it's hard to play an immersive game when you face constant lags, glitches, pop-ups, FPS drops, etc.”
    • “Regardless of the graphic settings and DirectX version (we can choose between DX11 or DX12), I was experiencing constant stuttering, freezes, FPS drops, texture pop-ups, and a whole bunch of other problems, such as camera jumps, crashes, or the fact that sometimes after closing the game it turned out that I have to manually kill the process in the task manager because it was still running in the background.”
    • “The most buggy, laggy game in existence.”
  • replayability7 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability due to its hidden content, side quests, and multiple paths to explore, allowing players to uncover different aspects of the story. However, some users feel that while the replay value is strong, it could be enhanced further, especially considering its price point. Overall, it is regarded as underrated in terms of replay potential.

    • “There is an extreme amount of replay value from the hidden things you can find and pieces of the full story you can unfold.”
    • “I would personally recommend it on sale, as for 30 dollars, I wish there was a bit more replayability.”
    • “The game has some replayability by choosing a different path in some parts.”
    • “This game is entirely underrated and has so much replayability.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as both bizarre and engaging, with elements like a detailed camera simulator and moments of player frustration leading to comedic situations. Players find amusement in the game's unapologetic delivery of uncensored content, while also appreciating the option to censor it later. Overall, the humor is characterized by its absurdity and the unexpected reactions it elicits from players.

    • “There's also a weirdly (kind of hilariously) detailed camera simulator for some reason, which the developers take great pains to explain is similar to, but not exactly like, the way a real camera works.”
    • “I got lost in the freaking forest bumping into the trees because of a ghost, streaming this to my friend and he was laughing at how nervous I was, thinking I couldn't move, even though I actually could.”
    • “It's funny... the game is unapologetically vivid in delivering uncensored content... but gives you the option to censor stuff at the end of the game (that is exponentially milder compared to earlier scenes).”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development is criticized for being inconsistent and lacking depth, leading to a lack of emotional investment in the characters and their journeys.

    • “In addition to the story being very slow, the character development is spotty, and I never quite got to the point of feeling invested in what happens to any of them.”
    • “The characters feel one-dimensional, and their growth throughout the game is minimal, making it hard to care about their journeys.”
    • “I found the character arcs to be predictable and lacking depth, which made it difficult to connect with them on any meaningful level.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The review does not directly address the monetization aspect of the game, focusing instead on gameplay experiences and challenges. Therefore, no specific insights about monetization can be drawn from this text.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

63% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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