Censorship Details in Martha Is Dead; Masturbation and Drastic Interactive Scenes
We've learned why the game Martha Is Dead, debuting today, has been censored on PlayStation. Sony decided to make this move due to drastic scenes and references to masturbation.
Ten days ago we wrote about the censorship that was unexpectedly introduced to the game Martha Is Dead in the version dedicated to PlayStation 4 and 5. At that time we did not know the reasons that prompted Sony to make such a move. Today - on the release day - we found out that the decision of the Japanese was motivated by drastic scenes and references to masturbation appearing in the plot of the game by studio LKA.
WARNING
Be aware that the rest of this post contains minor spoilers from Martha Is Dead. It also touches on topics that may not be suitable for some people - especially minors.
What has been removed from Martha Is Dead on PS4 and PS5?
The censor's knife removed the interactive elements from the extremely drastic scenes, in which players were supposed to tear the skin off a corpse's face and slit an uterus with scissors, among other things. All themes referring to masturbation were also removed.
Importantly, it was not depicted in visual detail. Nevertheless, it was decided that even the suggestive shots of a woman - a ward of an Italian psychiatric hospital from the mid 1940s - "giving herself pleasure all day long until she started bleeding" were inappropriate for the audience. And let us recall that Martha Is Dead was rated M (for adults only).
What has been changed in Martha Is Dead on PS4 and PS5?
Moreover, an optional censorship mode has been introduced to the PlayStation version of the game, which, when enabled, completely blocks the aforementioned face and womb scenes, as well as shots depicting suicide and miscarriage. In the game - specifically in the last chapter - you can also experience brutal visuals of self-mutilation. This one can be censored by default - on PlayStation as well as PC and Xbox.
The consequences of Martha Is Dead's censorship
LKA's founder and studio head Luca Dalco assured that the modified/removed scenes represent a small portion of the game and therefore players will be able to experience the storyline of Martha Is Dead without them. The introduction of censorship, however, brings with it a few minor consequences:
- On PS4 and PS5 the title is currently only available digitally - the boxed edition has been delayed by a few weeks and as of yet we don't know when it will be released;
- Sony, who was the decision maker in this case, has kind of set a precedent - it's hard to say whether this is an isolated decision by the company or whether it will usher in a new, broader policy;
- The complete, uncensored version of Martha Is Dead is available exclusively on PC, XOne and XSX/S for the moment.
First reviews of Martha Is Dead
It's also worth mentioning that LKA's game collects quite good notes. The most reviewed PC version currently has an average of 77/100 on Metacritic (based on 14 reviews), while the XSX/S release has 67/100 (based on 13 reviews).
