Martha Is Dead

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.

70%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

optimization, grinding

79% User Score Based on 1,742 reviews

Critic Score 63%Based on 43 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $6.10

Buy NowGet on Steam$29.99

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Buy NowGet on Epic Games Store

Buy NowGet on PS Store$14.99

About

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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+18

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,785 reviews

story569 positive mentions

optimization81 negative mentions

The game features a captivating and deeply emotional story that keeps players engaged throughout.
Visually stunning graphics and a haunting soundtrack enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.
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 rate drops and crashes, making it frustrating to play.
Gameplay can feel tedious and slow, with many players finding the pacing too drawn out and lacking in meaningful interactions.
Some players felt that the handling of sensitive topics related to mental health was done insensitively, leading to mixed feelings about the overall narrative.

story
1,683 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
61%
5%
The story of "Martha is Dead" is a complex and dark narrative set against the backdrop of WWII Italy, exploring themes of trauma, mental illness, and the impact of war on personal lives. While many players found the storytelling immersive and engaging, with significant emotional depth and unexpected twists, others criticized its pacing, clunky gameplay, and lack of coherent direction, leading to a mixed reception. Overall, the game is recognized for its rich narrative and atmospheric presentation, though it may not appeal to those seeking traditional gameplay mechanics or a straightforward plot.
- “Taken as a whole, everything serves to move the story forward, or immerse you in the narrative until you feel as one with the protagonist.”
- “This game has a lot of potential - it's high on atmosphere, the world is visually stunning, and the story is intriguing.”
- “The story is very interesting and unraveling the mysteries was so much fun.”
- “Clunky gameplay, a story that goes nowhere.”
- “The game itself doesn't know its own story, letting it end on the player to choose what was reality and what was fiction.”
- “Obviously being a story-driven piece, Martha is Dead fails to deliver a coherent and relatable story.”
graphics
513 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
43%
1%
The graphics in "Martha is Dead" are widely praised for their stunning detail and atmospheric immersion, effectively capturing the eerie ambiance of its WWII Italian setting. However, many players report significant optimization issues, including frequent glitches and performance drops, which detract from the overall experience. While the visuals are a highlight, they require powerful hardware to run smoothly, leading to frustration for those with less capable systems.
- “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 soundtrack is haunting and beautiful, and the photography mechanic is extremely fun to play around with.”
- “The graphic is just phenomenal, each scene is aesthetically designed and full of details, plus I read somewhere that the game environment is historically accurate, showing that the developers have put a lot of time and effort into making it.”
- “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.”
- “Huge disappointment from it, graphics looked like a mobile game, barely moving from 30 fps at lowest, inside and outside the house.”
- “The game drops from 60 to lower than 10 fps on average; I've put it on SSD the second install but alas, it didn't help at all, by the way, the graphics were the lowest possible, with and without DLSS.”
gameplay
390 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
59%
15%
The gameplay of "Martha is Dead" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics and slow pacing, which detract from the overall experience. While the photography and some unique gameplay elements are praised, they often feel underdeveloped and repetitive, leading to a sense of tedium. Ultimately, the game is seen more as a narrative-driven experience rather than a traditional game, with many players feeling that the story is compelling enough to overlook its gameplay shortcomings.
- “While 'Martha is Dead' is primarily a narrative-driven experience, it also offers engaging gameplay mechanics and challenging puzzles that complement the story perfectly.”
- “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.”
- “From its stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere to its gripping narrative and engaging gameplay, it's a game that leaves a lasting impression long after the credits roll.”
- “I wanted to like this game, but several repetitive and frustrating game mechanics made it impossible.”
- “This game was carried by its story but was a mechanical nightmare.”
- “The gameplay is mostly boring and after a while the story just wasn't interesting and I couldn't wait for it to end.”
optimization
268 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
55%
30%
The optimization of "Martha is Dead" has been widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While the game's graphics and story are praised, the overall experience is marred by these technical shortcomings, leading many to recommend waiting for patches to improve performance before playing. Despite some players managing to achieve better performance through adjustments, the consensus remains that the game is poorly optimized and requires further development to enhance stability and playability.
- “The graphics are honestly really beautiful, and I would have loved to spend time admiring the clear-like fields if my experience wasn't affected by a few performance issues.”
- “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.”
- “The performance issues are incredibly frustrating, and made me take several long breaks because I kept crashing over and over again.”
- “Visually, this game is stunning, but it is very poorly optimized (and I'm running an i9 12900h with an RTX 3070ti and 32 GB of 3200 MHz RAM) and would drop to 5 fps for large chunks of time.”
- “Martha is dead is a beautifully horribly optimized game with tedious and boring gameplay mechanics and excessive gore for shock value.”
music
177 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
40%
2%
The music in the game has been widely praised for its haunting and atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in its dark narrative. Reviewers noted the soundtrack's ability to complement the game's visuals and storytelling, creating a rich and unsettling ambiance that heightens tension without relying on cheap jump scares. While some found the intensity of the music overwhelming at times, the consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's emotional depth and immersive quality.
- “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.”
- “When it comes to scary parts, I have to lower the music sound to 20% and play EDM music in the background to help me play this 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.”
atmosphere
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
33%
2%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, featuring meticulous sound design, stunning visuals, and a gripping narrative that evokes feelings of dread and unease. Players appreciate the game's ability to create a chilling environment without relying on jump scares, instead building tension through its rich storytelling and atmospheric elements. Despite some minor technical issues, the overall experience leaves a lasting impression, making it a standout in the psychological horror genre.
- “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.”
- “The story, the atmosphere, the overwhelming dread of it all surrounds you in such a way that is both immersive and terrifying.”
- “This would be fine if the game spent that long, ponderous, middle section actively building tension or atmosphere, but it simply does not.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
grinding
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight a pervasive sense of tedium throughout the game, with many players finding the gameplay mechanics, such as walking, dialogue, and various tasks, to be excessively slow and repetitive. While some appreciated the story and graphics, the overall experience was often marred by clunky controls and unengaging tasks, leading to frustration and a feeling of being bogged down. Many reviewers expressed a desire for a more streamlined experience, suggesting that the game could benefit from cutting out unnecessary elements that detract from immersion and 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.”
emotional
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its deeply emotional narrative, with many players reporting that it made them cry and left a lasting impact. The story, told through the eyes of the protagonist Giulia, explores themes of vulnerability, resilience, and grief against a backdrop of beautiful yet haunting landscapes. While some critiques mention pacing issues and subpar voice acting, the overall emotional weight and compelling storytelling resonate strongly with players, making it a memorable experience.
- “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.”
stability
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely reported to be plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including camera issues, freezing, and performance drops, which significantly impact gameplay. While some players have managed to enjoy the narrative and visuals despite these technical problems, many find the overall stability lacking, with frequent reloading and workarounds necessary to progress. Overall, the game's stability is considered poor, with optimization issues further complicating the experience.
- “Freezes and lags may escort you through the whole game.”
- “Regardless of the graphic settings and DirectX version, I was experiencing constant stuttering, freezes, FPS drops, texture pop-ups, and a whole bunch of other problems, such as camera jumps and crashes.”
- “Buggy as hell in its current state, but if you can get past that, this game has some insanely profound and effective writing, graphics, and storytelling within.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
The game is praised for its high replayability, offering numerous hidden elements and side quests that encourage exploration and story unfolding. However, some players feel that while it has replay value, it could benefit from additional content to justify its price. Overall, players appreciate the option to choose different paths, enhancing the replay experience.
- “This game is entirely underrated and has so much replayability.”
- “Filled with plenty of side quests that give it great replayability.”
- “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.”
- “There is an extreme amount of replay value from the hidden things you can find and pieces of the full story you can unfold.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by its absurdity and self-awareness, featuring a detailed camera simulator that players find amusingly unnecessary. Players also share funny moments, such as getting lost in the game and experiencing nervousness, which adds to the comedic experience. Additionally, the juxtaposition of uncensored content with optional censorship provides a humorous contrast that players appreciate.
- “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 that I thought I couldn't move, even though I actually could move.”
- “It's funny... the game is unapologetically vivid in delivering uncensored content... but gives you the option to censor stuff in the end of the game (that is exponentially mild compared to earlier scenes).”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is criticized for being inconsistent and lacking depth, leading to a lack of emotional investment in the characters' journeys. The slow pacing of the story further exacerbates this issue, making it difficult for players to connect with the characters.
- “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.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not provide specific insights into the monetization aspect of the game, focusing instead on gameplay experiences and challenges. There is no mention of in-game purchases, pricing, or any monetization strategies, leaving this aspect unaddressed in the feedback.