Unlike some of the better Studio Ghibli films set during conflicts, like Howl's Moving Castle, Martha is Dead doesn't actually have much to say about war-it's just kind of there. Ideas of revolution are floated however the threads don't really serve the sisters' plot at all and feel sort of inconsequential even as a subplot.
Despite the intention to do this, it's difficult to know whether this game says anything worthwhile about mental health. There are red herrings aplenty even though our true actions hanging around are spurious at best, but in the jump, I felt like Giulia's perceived doings-and motives-were wholly irredeemable. Perhaps the effort to demonise Giulia ended up being to serve the game's commentary concerning the public perception of mental health, however it seemed lost in translation. Martha is Dead ultimately feels more pointlessly disturbing of computer does cerebrally challenging-to say the face-flaying scene is one of the least fucked up scenes should say plenty.
The plot might be a bit of a hot mess, but the most frustrating a part of Martha is Dead is when confused it is about how it is attempting to be. It's a psychological horror game with a number of challenging scenes peppered between 4 hours of wandering about an admittedly stunning Tuscan countryside taking photographs. If you aren't developing photos in the darkroom-a surprisingly cathartic experience which does lead to some of the game's more unintentionally chilling moments-you might find yourself vexed decoding rebel telegraphs, an honorary doctorate from Samuel Morse at hand. It's such an unfocused onslaught of mechanics, I'd have sooner hoped for an all-out 'walking simulator' because wandering the villa and sightseeing and tour is really when Martha is Dead feels most confident.
I took problem with a lot of the game's control scheme, some items asked for a single button input while other actions required a held input, which led to a bit of indecision each time a prompt would appear on the watch's screen during events. Similarly, sightseeing in this small slice of Tuscany felt arduous. With an above average patch of woods separating the villa from the lake, there's a little bit of ground to pay for in Martha is Dead and, sadly, Giulia isn't exactly fleet of foot. I'd sooner walk from one end of Italy to the other than ride her bloody treadly, though. Besides the map not necessarily being large enough to warrant a faster mode of transport, I'm glad we were spared frequent on-bike jaunts since the one forced upon us within the game's finale was egregious enough.
For our disappointment using the story Martha is Dead tries to tell and how flat the gameplay falls, it really is quite a nice-looking video game. With the exception of if this booted back up out of rest, where it'd stutter and struggle as it were, it performed well. Together with your time divided between a stunningly recreated villa-full towards the brim of lived-in detail-and the equally arresting Tuscan acreage. I expect a few Martha is Dead's scenes particularly to shock its audience, but those buying into the experience expecting probably the most confronting, interactive scenes put to screen will not be dissatisfied. The soundtrack might be cautious throughout the remainder of Martha is Dead however the cacophonous scratching and scraping of strings punctuate these troubling, bone-chilling moments to make them easily the most memorable from the game's 4 hours.
For an authentic experience, I acquired through Martha is Dead using subtitles using the Italian performance. As the English dub pales in comparison more often than not to some game's native language, I believe there's quality towards the dub that's otherwise missing within the original voice-over. Coupled with the truth that dialogue was constantly obscured by achievements-a customisable feature inside the console's UX-opting for English from the beginning, I feel, is a safe bet.
Martha is Dead seems like a case of missed potential. What at first glance is a collection of novel and creatively potent ideas, it executes many of them so poorly it’s hard to recommend it even going to people who’ll enjoy the body horror that rears its head every so often to shock you out of the malaise the sport puts you in.
