Maid of Sker delivers a great story but gets hung up on lacklustre gameplay
I live in Wales, so I reviewing a game about a house that is about a forty-minute drive from my town was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. Set in the coastal region near Bridgend, The Maid of Sker is a haunting folkloric ghost tale taking a life of its own. Horror games don’t have to be all about blood and guts exploding over our screens, as the Maid of Sker demonstrates, sometimes it’s worth sitting back and enjoying the spooky story.
Sing the sorrow
Maid of Sker
Pros
- Engaging narrative
- Awesomely atmospheric
- Short and sweet
- Rewarding for inquisitive players
Cons
- Inconsistent scare/explore balance
- Occasionally glaring graphic inequalities
The Maid of Sker: Atmospheric and tense
Category | Spec |
---|---|
Developer | Wales Interactive |
Publisher | Wales Interactive |
Players | Single-Player |
Genre | Survival Horror |
Platforms | PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch |
Cross-play | Yes |
Age-rating | Mature |
Price | $25 |
In this game, the player controls the musician, Thomas, who has received a letter from Elisabeth begging to be rescued. Her father has locked her in the attic, and she is being forced to sing a song that makes people go crazy. He must compose a kind of counter-curse by collecting four musical cylinders from around the grounds, rescue Elisabeth, and set things right.
There is a mashing of elements in The Maid of Sker, which make it superbly rewarding as the story goes, but also a tad boring in later stages. Once you’ve passed the intro and stumbled through woods to get to Sker hotel, entering into the halls is reminiscent of the early Resident Evil games. Players who enjoy the early survival horror genre will find much to appreciate in the Maid of Sker.
Old school horror with a new age twist
Source: Wales Interactive
There’s plenty here to keep things ominous. Some doors require players to find keys corresponding to a creepy emblem to open them; of course, that entails a cautious search around the hotel. You’re suitably rewarded for poking your nose into every nook and cranny with secrets, puzzles, and collectibles. The atmospheric interior of the building breathes with its own life, creaking and settling loudly in ways which are jarring and hair-raising. Most of it comes from sneaking around, finding keys, and unlocking doors.
Periodic puzzles provide welcome pauses from stressful sneaking. They are not overly complicated; the answers are usually hidden in plain sight. It’s a matter of really taking in your surroundings. There is a constant fear that something might pop out at you from the gloom and smack you in the face. The anxiety is justified early on, as you catch glimpses of sack-cloth hood wearing men who are blind and don’t seem to like noise, and foot-steps echoing from above hint that you’re certainly not alone.
Solving the mystery
Source: Wales Interactive
Atmosphere aside, The Maid of Sker isn’t without its bursts of tension. As you start to bump into more sack-men, the very house itself seems to turn against you. Dust and pollen in the environment swirl about in thick patches, which can cause Thomas to cough or even choke. Coughing alerts them to your presence where they will find you.
To traverse these environmental hazards, you have to make him hold his breath, and there are certainly moment’s where I was holding my breath in unison. There are also very few ways to defend yourself. The only real weapon you will wield is a steampunky doo-dad called a Phonic Modulator, which emits a supersonic pulse and momentarily stuns the nearby enemies. It’s handy for buying you a couple of minutes, but with a limited cartridge supply, it is not something you’ll be using haphazardly.
The Maid of Sker: Doom and gloom
Source: Wales Interactive
The stealth element plays a big part in this game; players have to creep to make less noise and hold your breath to avoid breathing in irritating particles. But the sack-men may as well have cloth in their ears. I’m not sure if this is to do with the difficulty level, but for creatures who don’t like sounds and are supposed to be very sensitive to anything that isn’t the Silence, they don’t respond to sound often.
I walked through areas other players might have crept through, and I coughed and choked on pollen only a few feet from a sack-man who couldn’t have been less interested. Elisabeth tries to keep in contact with Thomas once he is inside, with phones which are dotted around the hotel. The shrill rings conveniently draw no attention at all from the sack-heads. Additionally, I often wished there was a more physical way to manipulate them out of the way. The main hall of the hotel has bells that draw them to another area, but it’s not entirely clear how this mechanic works. Instead, I opted for just sneaking past.
Maybe not dark enough?
Source: Wales Interative
The brightness and gamma options fail to meet a happy middle ground that doesn’t result in washing the entire screen out, so playing in a darkened room is best for the most immersive experience. The graphics are also not especially sharp. I’d even go so far as to say the graphics are a bit dull. With some graphical interlacing issues on top, this doesn’t play as cleanly as I feel it could. This game was reviewed on an Xbox One S, so players on other platforms may not experience this issue, but it certainly made a detrimental impact on my judgment.
Should you get Maid of Sker?
Overall, the Maid of Sker is a great survival horror game but suffers by trying to be too much like some games. There is a solid story behind it, almost Lovecraftian in nature, which is tantalizing, and it became the reason I wanted to keep playing more than any other appealing mechanics.
It may not “do it better” than the other games The Maid of Sker could be compared to, but for a step away from Wales Interactive’s usual FMV titles, it is an honest and effective attempt at something a bit different. You can grab this title on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, or play it on Steam right now.
Siren Song
Maid of Sker
A demented lullaby
The Maid of Sker is a tale of horror but winds up not quite being scary enough. Sker-y? Borrowing elements from other tried and true titles, there is nothing here we haven’t seen before, but exploring Sker hotel and uncovering the mystery and being taken in by the story lore was enjoyable enough.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
New and improved emoji picker, voice typing hit Windows 10 build 20206
Microsoft shipped another new build out to Windows Insiders on the Dev channel today. This week’s build number is 20206, and it brings a ton of improvements, including a new emoji picker, voice typing, a revamped touch keyboard, and more.
Dell confirms Intel’s 11th Gen chips are coming to the XPS 13 line
Dell’s XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 briefly made an appearance at Intel’s 11th Gen CPU launch event today. Now, Dell has confirmed that the laptops will get an upgrade to these chips, but there’s no timeline on a launch just yet.
Samsung first to the punch with 5G, 11th Gen Intel in new Galaxy Book Flex
Intel’s 11th Gen Core CPU lineup is finally here, and Samsung is giving it a 5G boost. The company’s new Galaxy Book Flex 5G is the first 11th Gen laptop to sport 5G connectivity.
Enhance your Xbox games with these compatible mice
With native Xbox One mouse and keyboard support, securing the right pointer could enhance your experience across a growing list of compatible titles.