'Martha Is Dead' Looks Like Pure Next-Gen Nightmare Fuel, With Unbelievable Graphics

The first trailer for next-gen survival horror Martha Is Dead has landed, and it makes Resident Evil Village look like Teletubbies. Who knew combining photorealistic graphics with deeply disturbing images of little ghost children would make me want to sleep with the light on for the rest of my life?

First announced back in 2018, Martha Is Dead is being developed by French studio LKA, who released 2016's moody psychological horror game The Town Of Light. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the game would release on PC and PlayStation 5, but plans appear to have changed. Things have been pretty quiet for the past few months, but now LKA is back with a new trailer - and the news that the game is coming to PC and Xbox Series X in 2021.

Take a look at the trailer below.

Martha Is Dead is a first-person psychological horror set in 1944 Tuscany, Italy. Taking control of the "young daughter of a German soldier," the game revolves around the discovery of the drowned and desecrated body of the titular Martha. It'll be up to players to explore the world, solve the mystery of Martha's death, and presumably run into some spooky goings-on along the way.

"At LKA, we start with a story," Luca Dalco, Founder & Director of LKA, said in a press release. "Often it's uncomfortable, not painless and based in truth. We learned a lot with The Town of Light, and Martha Is Dead is taking everything we know, and turning it up to 10.

"Martha is Dead is set in a really interesting and distressing period of history, with Italy at this time torn between two major powers fighting for the future. Martha's brutal murder brings with it a mirrored sense of misery. This game will shock, make players question the truth and like The Town of Light, help continue a conversation around subject matters that still carry much stigma."

LKA has also spoken a lot about its ambition to really leverage next-gen technology and create a horror experience with photorealistic visuals. Martha Is Dead is being developed in Unreal Engine 4 and, going from the trailer, it seems they've had some success in bringing their ambitions to horrifying life. That's great for them, but it's creeping me the hell out.

Topics: Xbox Series X, PC