Martha Is Dead Is the Darkest and Most Beautiful Game I’ve Ever Played

Player be warned

Martha Is Dead is a (very) dark first-person psychological thriller set in 1944 Italy. A lot of what I like to write is dark, psychological horror, so I thought this would be perfect for some story ideas.

I came across this game by accident when searching for new indie horror games to play that would help give me ideas for new stories. I went into it not knowing what it was about at all, and I was surprised at what it turned out to be. It’s got a mix of everything, and it ends in a place much different from where it begins.

I won’t reveal too much about the game in this post, because it’s best to go into it not knowing what it’s going to turn out to be — similar to Ari Aster’s two great works: Hereditary and Midsommar (this game ultimately gave me the same sort of feeling after finishing it that Midsommar had given me back when I had watched that; if you enjoyed Midsommar, you might enjoy this game as well). Similar to Midsommar, more that 50% of the game is set in a beautiful, sunny unassuming landscape, which is what makes it all the more haunting. And the graphics are the purest I have ever seen so far in a game. The disturbing elements of the story really pick up about two-thirds into the game, and the last third is just absolutely shocking. The game does provide trigger warnings ahead of time, but still. Even the implications of what’s going on is a lot to handle for many.

This game is beautiful and terrible at the same time, and very well-done considering it was only created by a team of ten people. I recommend it if you can stomach it, and if you love psychological stories.

Would you, or have you, tried playing through this game? Were you as shook as I was for the entire last third of the game? Let me know about your experiences in the comments!

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