Martha Is Dead

Photography becomes gruesome in LKA’s historical horror.

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Set in Italy during the Second World War, first-person horror story Martha Is Dead is about lifting the skin in more ways than one. As it begins, the title character is taking photographs of a lake near her home, the real-life town of San Casciano in Val di Pesa, when she stumbles on the floating body of her sister Julia. Martha dreams of her terrible discovery throughout the game: in one such vision, she carves off the dead girl’s face and drapes it across her own, such that you are made to look through the eyes of both sisters at once. Staged with jarring lack of fuss, the scene reflects not just Martha’s guilt at surviving Julia, but a kind of violence intrinsic to the otherwise familiar modelling techniques that bring the game’s wartime Italy to life.Developed by LKA – otherwise known for psychological drama The Town Of Light, which was set in a real-world abandoned asylum –