What is this new video game that will disturb and shock even the hardiest?

Gaming News What is this new video game that will disturb and shock even the most die-hard?

Although it’s February 25th and Elden Ring leaves most players speechless, this isn’t FromSoftware’s latest game, it’s Martha is Dead. Developed by LKA and published by Wired Production, the psychological thriller has been in the news for about ten days. We come back to everything there is to know about this case in three points.

Martha is Dead: a game with very disturbing scenes

First of all, it’s good to remember what the game Martha is Dead is. It is set in Tuscany in 1944, right in the middle of the Second World War. While photographing a lake, the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi soldier discovers the lifeless body of her twin sister. Giula will then attempt to explain the causes of death. Then follows an investigation that borders on the supernatural, blurring the lines between historical reality and the paranormal. All wrapped in a touch of gore to destabilize the fans.

A necessary touch for Luca Dalco, the artistic director of Marta is dead. A few weeks ago he stated that he “loves horror when it’s trying to do more than scare with sights and sounds“. And in general, one has to acknowledge that the title is frightening. Face mutilation, abuse of one’s children… Martha is Dead is full of situations more disturbing than the others, the ones quoted here not being the worst: The developers aim to disrupt the player by imposing unsustainable and spooky situations that many might not anticipate. This is what Tiraxa mentioned in our columns during his test:

Martha is Dead forces the unthinkable in very intimate spheres and provokes genuinely moving sequences. After six hours bathing in a sea of ​​abominations that undeniably serve the purpose, it’s difficult to complete the experience without being deeply disturbed by our misdeeds.

Martha is Dead censored by Sony, an unjustified decision

A moving, traumatic game that Wired Production has never shied away from. The publisher has always pointed out that Martha is Dead isn’t for everyone. In our preview of the title at the end of January, the first images that appear on screen are informational messages: Wired Production warns of scenes involving human blood, dismemberment, nudity or even mutilation. Despite these numerous warnings aimed at excluding the most sensitive audiences, the game is still censored ten days before its release on PlayStation. It’s always Wired Production speaking on this subject:

Unfortunately we had to change the experience for the PS4 and PS5 versions as some elements are no longer playable. After more than four years of passion and hard work, LKA needs extra time to make these unplanned changes.

The LKA developers must therefore adapt their game to PlayStation requirements and delay the release of the physical version of the game. And Sony’s decision is debatable: why demand a censored version when the Martha is Dead teams have warned time and time again that the game wasn’t for everyone? An initiative that makes all the more questionable that the game, which was also released on PC and Xbox consoles, was not the subject of such a sanction. Therefore, Sony is accused of censorship that a majority of gamers do not understand. Other solutions could have been made, such as the possibility of censoring disturbing scenes: this is already the case in the PC version (for a single scene, but the option is understood). A decision that is all the more incomprehensible as the manufacturer has still not justified its decision.

Martha is Dead is not a dry run

If Martha is Dead literally and figuratively cuts, it’s not a first try for LKA’s developers. Almost six years to the day, they released The Town of Light video game. Still based in Tuscany, the title picks up on the history of the Volterra asylum. An asylum dedicated to the reception of the sick but closed in the 1970s for its directed practices”too cruel“: Patients who have been abused, placed in a coma, or placed in ice tanks… Here is the City of Light. The player embodies Renée, a 16-year-old young woman in 1938 who is about to uncover her past by returning to the institute and witnessing despicable events.

Even then, Luca Dalco introduced “The psychological adventure“his work offered more than the horrific side. An ideology he has retained after watching many horror films”very far from Hollywood standards“. According to him, a promising new subgenre is emerging in terms of horror movies and he hopes that the same will happen in video games. In any case, one thing is certain: the games developed by the LKA are far removed from current video game standards.

Martha is Dead will be available on February 24th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series. LKA developers’ previous title, The Town of Light, was released on February 26, 2016 for PC. It then appeared on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Pre-order Martha is Dead from $24 at E.Leclerc