Psychological thriller Martha is Dead made the headlines earlier this month after it was announced that Sony was censoring parts of the game while Xbox and PC would remain "unedited", and now we've got a bit more insight into that.
The game releases today, and the reviews have been dropping across the web, revealing what was cut out of the PlayStation version compared to Xbox. As per Video Games Chronicle, here's the full list of censored content:
Note: The following list contains graphic descriptions and spoilers for Martha is Dead:
- The face peeling scene is no longer interactive
- The scene whereby Giulia cuts open Martha’s womb is no longer interactive
- Option has been added to skip the censored scenes while they are playing
- Disclaimer text at the start of the game has been updated. It is now more sensitive, clearer and includes the warning of miscarriage references
- The Safe In Our World message which appears at the end providing a link where help can be found now also appears after the disclaimer at the start (all platforms)
- Any mention of masturbation has been totally removed during The Church chapter as VO and text
According to VGC, there's also an option in the game to skip certain distressing scenes entirely, which can be activated by a prompt when you first start it up. Again, this expanded censored mode is only available on PlayStation. Despite this, all versions including Xbox reportedly offer the ability to censor scenes relating to self-harm.
In a statement to IGN, publisher Wired Productions explained that "the changes in content were made as a result of conversations with PlayStation in the lead up to our launch," leading to a slight delay for the physical release.
As for the reviews, Martha is Dead currently has a 64 rating on Metacritic based on 8 reviews for the Xbox Series X version, and 67 based on 5 reviews for the PlayStation 5 version. Our sister site Push Square called its gameplay "such blatant artifice that it does the narrative a disservice to partake in it", giving the game a 6/10 score.
Martha Is Dead is a dark first-person psychological thriller, set in 1944 Italy, that blurs the lines between reality, superstition and the tragedy of war. As conflict intensifies between German and Allied forces, the desecrated body of a woman is found drowned… Martha!
Martha is dead, and her twin sister Giulia, the young daughter of a German soldier, must alone deal with the acute trauma of loss and the fallout from her murder. The hunt for the truth is shrouded by mysterious folklore and the extreme horror of war that draws ever closer.
Are you buying Martha is Dead this week? Let us know down in the comments below.
[source videogameschronicle.com, via ign.com]
Comments 12
Wasn't interested in this before it gained much more publicity after Sony's decision to impose 'censorship' on their platform.
If I were interested, I'd not be playing on Playstation who are happy to promote and sell very violent games (Last of Us 2) but censor others and control their 'art'.
‘Any mention of masturbation has been totally removed during The Church chapter as VO and text’
😂😂 what!?
It's a shame that adult themes for a game targeted at adults have to be censored.
While I hate "Trigger Warnings" - call me old fashioned, or close-minded, or emotionally disconnected, or whatever (I think it's okay to feel uncomfortable - it's a sign you are human) - I think THAT should be enough rather than censoring content. You ever see a Trigger Warning on a book, I know I haven't.
Plus, you know, the ESRB information (or whatever local ratings board you have) should tell you all you need to know.
We want the medium to push boundaries and go places they haven't gone before. Why are adult themes so taboo?
If people want to "think of the children", then perhaps people should pay attention to what their kids are playing rather than simply expect developers to "think of the children".
Lol at censoring any mention of touching your sausage. Plenty of that and more in GTA 5.
Wasn't overly interested in the first place. But now it went straight to 'avoid forever'. Torture scenes and mutilation are a total NOPE for me.
So the scenes haven't been removed, they are just not interactive anymore. So no loss then really what ever console you get it on
Not buying the game but if I was PS5 would be totally out of the question, censorship of an M-rated game when the developer went through all the right channels is, frankly, beyond ridiculous. I do think an option to give people the chance to skip over scenes is a good idea, or even an option just for them to be viewable but non-interactive. Forcing changes to the point where a person buying on one console can't play a scene, eventhough it's only a slight change, isn't something I'm for. More options is always better. At least from the descriptions, the game seems disturbing, but no sh*t, it's a horror game.
@Fenbops A more detailed explanation, from IGN's coverage of this (warning: it's squicky, as one should probably expect):
In terms of the removed masturbation references, Dalcò made clear there's no visualisation of masturbation or sex in the game but "it's the context that has been considered inappropriate".
That context is that the references take place while the player is in a psychiatric hospital that practices religious as well as medical treatments. Dalcò says this is based on historical fact and real-life accounts.
"These were places where patients were compulsorily admitted and where they often spent their entire lives," he explained. "They were total institutions, like prisons, restricting every facet of a person's life and, as such, masturbation was one of the few things patients were able to do.
"In terms of this specific scene in Martha is Dead, the player walks in a field dotted with huge crosses with mask-wearing dolls hanging from them. A voice-over narrates the experience of living in an asylum, commenting that 'there was this one young woman who would pleasure herself all day long... incessantly, to the point where she would bleed.'"
I'll get it on Xbox when it has a decent sale.
The Town of Light, their previous game, was merely an ok walking sim. It took place in an abandoned mental asylum, based on real life. Can't say I overly enjoyed it but the last scene was brutal.
I’m not one for censoring games. Though it sounds disturbing and I probably won’t be playing it, I think the developers should thank Sony on this one. I had not heard of the game before Sony decided to censor it. Now I’ve read about it quite a few times. It’s put the game in headlines. If it wasn’t for the censorship, I’d probably still not know about the game and I’m sure others wouldn’t have either. There’s a lot more potential buyers who will be curious what all this was about.
I notice the game when 1st trailer
Preferably, they should have applied the same censorship standards to TLoU 2. They should have censored the whole game and just never released it.
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