She is profoundly ill, and the guilt and shame are tearing her apart. You’re forced to experience Giulia’s deteriorating mental state with no buffer. There is no therapist, no listening ear, and no path towards getting better. Her parents now believe she is Martha, and thus she no longer has anyone to talk to. She is already secluded, with a lack of social interaction. Giulia is already suffering from delusions and paranoia, and the added stress of becoming Martha puts her into a downward spiral. Martha is Dead immediately sets you up in an unwinnable situation. Set against the backdrop of 1944 Italy, the death of Martha is suspected to have been an assassination, seeing as how Martha and Giulia’s father is a high-ranking German officer. This is a shocking beginning to the game. Martha was deaf, and Giulia has to take on her disabilities as she was now fully committed to being Martha. When her mother finds Giulia cradling Martha’s dead body, she immediately assumes the lesser identical twin has died. She finds Martha’s lifeless body floating in a pond near their house. Giulia is the unfavored child, shunned by her mother and doted on by her father. In the opening moments of the game, Martha actually dies. In Martha is Dead, you play as Martha…kind of. So if you’re still in for this, let’s go. I want to touch on its themes, and how they made me feel. I know I normally reserve this Thursday spot for something funny and lighthearted, but I feel like Martha is Dead is due more than a review.

It just has themes that may make some people uncomfortable, and I’d never want you to feel uncomfortable reading something I wrote. I’m not at all saying that Martha is Dead is a game you shouldn’t play. If you’ve experienced trauma, and don’t want to read this: Please don’t. The thing is, you can’t much have a conversation about Martha is Dead without talking about the underlying theme of trauma. I’m going to be talking about grief, trauma, violence, and all sorts of other squicky and uncomfortable things. I should give a warning upfront: This editorial is heavy. What Happened at The End of Martha is Dead?

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