The Town of Light dev's WW2 thriller Martha is Dead will be edited on PlayStation

eurogamer.net:

Martha is Dead, the upcoming first-person psychological WW2 thriller from The Town of Light developer LKA, will require certain elements to be altered ahead of its release on PlayStation 4 and PS5, publisher Wired Productions has revealed. The PC and Xbox versions remain unaffected, however, and will release unedited at launch on 24th February.

Martha is Dead unfolds in Tuscany, 1944, against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between German and Allied forces; as its story begins, the body of a woman, Martha, is discovered by the side of a lake deep in the Italian countryside, and players — in the role of her twin sister — must deal with the repercussions of the murder, «all whilst the horror of war draws ever closer».

It's an experience that, like The Town of Light before it, seeks to ground its narrative — which LKA has previous referred to as a horror drama — using real locations and events; and also like The Town of Light, the developer is hoping to explore difficult themes with subtlety and nuance.

(WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT) Martha Is Dead — The Lake trailer.

«Martha Is Dead doesn't want to scare you as much as it wants to share its deep, painful story with you,» Eurogamer's Vikki Blake reflected after seeing a small portion of the game last year. «Yes, it's dark. Yes, it's stuffed with mature themes and some deeply unsettling imagery… But none of that is as important as the central story of love and loss — the 'serious trauma of losing someone you love' — that lies at the heart of Martha Is Dead.»

Given that goal, and the positive reception that greeted The Town of Light's exploration of mental health, it's perhaps surprising to hear the developer will be required to alter its vision for Martha Is Dead on