M is for... Martha is Dead

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Game Information

Developer:	LKA	Date Started:	31/01/2025
Platform:	GoG	Fresh Play / Continuation:	Fresh Play
Genre:	Adventure	Time Played:	6hrs
Theme:	Psychological Thriller	Date Finished:	05/02/2025
Difficulty Rating:	Casual	Recommendation:	Yes but not for everyone

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Where do I begin...

I cannot even remember what made me get this game. I think I saw an article about it online and the little I read - to avoid spoilers - intrigued me enough to get a copy. But I didn't play it until afterward. In fact, it's been sitting in my library for quite a while.

But, when planning out my second A to Z run, I remembered it, so I set it aside for the letter M.

At the start of the game, things started off innocent enough. A young child; an old legend; a warm home... but it wasn't long before the tempo changed. Soon enough, the namesake of the game occurs, and the mystery begins.

You know it's not going to be a typical investigation very early on. You know that something is not 'right'. The game has its share of jarring scenes which really tested my stomach. I'm not usually squeamish when it comes to blood in video games, but there were a few scenes that challenged me. It even made it a little worse by having button prompts that you had to respond to.

As soon as I saw these scenes I knew I could only play this game when my daughter was not around, especially since it wasn't always obvious that one of these scenes was coming up. One example - which I will refrain from spoiling too much - comes after a puppet scene. I was looking at it play out and was saying, 'Odd, that's not what happened?' and then the scene ended and I was slapped with a grisly scene straight away. So, definitely grateful I played this when I knew for a fact that she couldn't accidentally walk in on me playing it.

Originally, when I started playing, I first tried to play it with English voiceovers - considering it's my first language. But, the quality of the English voice acting was rather disappointing. It felt stiff and didn't feel like it matched with what was happening in the scenes. So much so, in the end, I switched to the Italian voice acting, and it was a lot better. I did need the English subtitles to know what was going on, but in doing so, sometimes I missed out on details in the scene itself because I was paying attention to the text. Thankfully, the more important details were never lost.

The story was gripping, and as I made my way through the chapters, I was intrigued by what was happening. I thought I knew what direction the story was heading in, but everything changed in the last few chapters of the game. Even now, after watching the credits roll, I am sat wondering what happened. You need to experience the ending yourself to know what I mean, but not everything is as it seems. I have my theories on what happened, and there does seem to be some corroborating evidence to support it. But, because it is vague and left up to interpretation, there are still some unanswered questions - no matter which theory you settle on.

Overall I enjoyed the game and it was rather short in context. The only reason it took a little longer was because the pacing itself was slow. Sure you could use a bicycle to get around faster, but there were several moments in between that dragged out the pace of the game.

I also found it disappointing in two aspects. The first one was that the area was relatively empty. You only ever saw another person either in a cutscene or a scripted moment. The rest of the time, as you are exploring the area, mostly felt barren. Beautiful, but barren.

The other thing which I was disappointed in, was the camera - or rather the attachments. Throughout the game, you are required to take photos of integral objects, to progress the story. Along the way, you can find a variety of attachments to enhance the photos - fifteen in all. I only ever used three, which seemed such a waste. There was an achievement to use all the attachments, but it seemed kind of cheeky to put them there, and the only actual use was to unlock an achievement. Regardless of this, I did enjoy the game, and it's one of those games that if I learned someone played it, I would want to know their thoughts on the ending. But, I suppose, until I come across someone who has, I will have to keep my observations and interpretations to myself.

Now, I move on to N for Necromunda: Hired Gun.