PlayStation Censors Gruesome Indie Game, Martha Is Dead
PlayStation have restricted the horror indie game Martha Is Dead, forcing devs to push the game back.
14th Feb 2022 15:30
Images: LKA
PlayStation Censors Gruesome Indie Game, Martha Is Dead
PlayStation have restricted the horror indie game Martha Is Dead, forcing devs to push the game back.
14th Feb 2022 15:30
Images: LKA
You'd think that the age of video game censorship would be over by now.
Ever since the arguments over Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto, Postal and Manhunt, you'd hope that conversations around keeping players from experience games as intended would have diminished.
Video games, though the victim of a lot of finger-pointing from parents and politicians alike, are narrative vehicles as important as any novel or film, and deserve to be addressed as such, and censoring them raises a lot of eyebrows on either side of the debate - no matter how gruesome they may be. And now, the developers of an upcoming indie game has publicly stated that their game is being censored and altered for PlayStation consoles.
Martha Is Dead Is Being Censored On PlayStation
As announced by the game's development team on Twitter, the upcoming indie game Martha Is Dead has had some of its gameplay censored on PlayStation and will take away some of the game's content as a result.
The statement from Wired Productions was made to indicate that Sony has forced the modification of the game's content in order for it to be published.
"It is with regret that we have had to modify the experience on PS5 and PS4 versions, with some elements no longer playable," reads the statement. "After over four years of passion and hard work, Developer LKA now requires extra time to make these unplanned changes."
It is thought that this censorship is in reaction to one scene in the game, which (be warned, it's pretty gruesome and is a spoiler) sees the protagonist cut off their dead sister's face and wear it as a mask.
Fans React To Martha Is Dead Censorship
Fans have responded to the news that the game is set to be altered for PlayStation consoles, and as you can imagine, they're not particularly happy about it.
"As a PS fan, it is disappointing to read this kind of things [sic]," says one reply. "The experience should remain unaffected as the developer intends to be played."
"Well, I'm definitely not buying this now," says another reply. "I will not support censorship, especially while Xbox is still getting the true version. Disappointed."
It's a controversial move from Sony, especially as now on a technical level, Martha Is Dead simply won't be a complete experience on the PlayStation 4/5. This is likely to kick off a whole new week of discourse online, so take cover while you can.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
