Martha Is Dead

I normally avoid writing reviews, but this time I felt it was unfair for such an interesting game to only get two pages of reviews. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. In the game, we get to experience day-to-day life in the Tuscan countryside towards the end of WWII, and that is probably the game's greatest strength: it truly captures the look and feel of central Italy avoiding an excess of 'postcard-likeness' (the house is full of objects you can only find in old Italian houses!), which lends the overall unoriginal story a bit more personality. The gameplay is essentially that of a 'walking simulator', with some activities to do and a few minor choices to take. We can take pictures, but outside of story objectives it feels like something added in the hopes of making the game a bit longer. Similarly, there are skins for our camera hidden around the game, which somewhat kills immersion. As mentioned, the story is not particularly original, but the way it is conveyed is effective. The way nightmares and reality progressively blend together is clever - although I can't say there were any particularly terrifying moments. I especially wish the game did not take us away from first person view in a couple scenes that would probably have been scarier had we experienced them through Giulia's eyes. Also, the devs were clearly unhappy with their rendering of human beings so the game is almost comical in the way it always finds a pretext not to show us people speaking in front of our eyes. Also, despite the many content warnings (I was also annoyed that one appears during the game itself). I didn't find the game particularly disturbing from the visual standpoint. The soundtrack is excellent but the Italian acting is often weak and ruins more than one scene. All in all, Martha is imperfect, but it is honest, authentic, and promising - I will be looking forward for LKA's future projects.

What an incredibly good game. Yes, it's short with about 10 hours of gameplay, but the story and how the character develops over time is just awesome. The soundtrack was also extremely well done for the game and underscores the mood just perfectly. Sry for my German School English;)

"How long will it take to get home?" The game's last seconds fade to black. Against my better judgement, I'm shaken to the bone. Giulia's vacant eyes might just haunt me forever. A familiar ping alerts me that I've unlocked a new camera skin. MID is tough to review. The premise is thrilling, and each individual element of the game is done really well. For instance, taking pictures and making prints feels great, hitting the sweet spot between simulation and story device. Also, the way the camera oscillates between truth machine and divining rod as Giulia's reality starts to come apart is real food for thought. But even here, you'll likely collect more camera attachments than you will take pictures. You get a tinted lens for snow photos- the game is set in July! Should I mention you can go on a treasure hunt using infrared film? There's a smidgeon of lore there once you make it past the first half dozen pics, but it's just so wildly implausible, and of course you need to abandon the story to scour the map for clues. Clearly, LKA strove to build and improve on the rough, almost accidental brilliance of TTOL (2016). They again tackle hard hitting topics, emphasise historical accuracy, plus MID is a polished experience, with amazing visuals and a soundtrack you really may want to buy separately. It's also trying way too hard to be a game. In the middle of everything Giulia can become a spy for the Resistenza, sneak through a Nazi bunker complex and telegraph coded massages to her fellow partisants- okay. But why are my dreams a minigame? What are those Tarot divinations meant to tell me? Near the end, Giulia uses a puppet theatre to work through her childhood memories- it's a genuine highlight aesthetically, but at this point it was hard not to think: Not another mechanic! At its best, MID is rich with harrowing intensity. All too often, however, its narrative momentum gets bogged down by the game trying to make sure people won't call it a walking sim.

Do you like lots of soft-focus walking from place to place as your framerate chugs and barely anything scary happens? Then boy do I have the game for you! It's not like I don't appreciate a good slow-burn horror, but Martha is Dead refuses to decide what genre it wants to be. Is it historical fiction? Psychological horror? Supernatural horror? Is it a series of brief minigames or a few dedicated mechanics? Why is there so much effort put into photography but actual worldbuilding is a scattered mess? Is it not supposed to be obvious that no characters are shown on-screen so that the developers can get around lacking lip sync for the NPCs? Every hour you spend with Martha is Dead is an exercise in tedious frustration. It also has some pretty poor accessibility options, particularly with the Morse Code minigame that can be hard to see if you're playing at any distance from the TV. There are better slow-burn horror games. Don't force this slog on yourself.

Masterpiece. Despite the indie level it's very exciting, dramatic, soulful, atmospheric, smart, psychological horror thriller game with historical - 1944y touch, asmr effect, very nice voice acting, soundtracks, in short everything. The indie level has benefited the game. Despite the horror thing it's sunny and beautiful, comfortable, not dark big part of the plot, not scary game but there are moments with shock content. An atmosphere of mysticism and mystery that you really want to unravel. The partisans mission with telegraph very exciting but it's pity that the developers did not include a normal list of the Morse code, it would better than hints. The list in the game, some letters doesn't make sense and without a normal list you will not understand this list, even those letters that have logic, the majority.. The bicycle, the motor boat, it's so terrible but for some reason very immersive and EXCITING. I didn't feel monotony or boredom. It's a tragic story as you can see it from the name of the game, not my taste but implemented smartly and correctly. Very interesting photo-camera, etc. Soundtracks very special. Special and smart game. It just needs to be a little clearer so that the plot and the ending are simpler. The idea is perfectly implemented without overpricing. Unlike all sorts of AAA AAAAA garbage. No shooting or combat but very interesting ideas.