Maid of Sker – Impressions

Maid of Sker is a first-person survival horror, set in a remote hotel with a macabre history from Welsh folklore. Brave the nightmares of the Quiet Men. When they arrive, do not panic — don’t even breathe.

Based on the haunting true story of Elizabeth Williams, you play as Thomas Evans, a musician who is thrust into a terrifying battle to save the woman he loves. Set in 1898 in and around Sker House, a real dwelling that still stands to this day and is said to be one the most haunted in Britain.

Expect a story of forbidden love within a family empire driven by torture, slavery, piracy and a supernatural mystery that suffocates the grounds of Sker House.

As we drudge through the dog days of summer and the horror that is 2020 as a whole, I am excited to get to “that time of year” when we get to celebrate all things creepy. Maid of Sker (pronounced scare) is very much a formulaic entry in the genre that adds a few different (to me) twists on this style of game.

The main focus of this game is stealth, you as Thomas, simply cannot compete with the Quiet Men. You must traverse the horrors of the Sker Houses tight corridors and creepy puzzles in search of your love. In a nod to Resident Evils typewriter save points, your story (and save mechanic) is done through gramophones. The environments I found to be engaging and filling you with a sense of dread, the setting and theme of the locale fits the vibe of the game.

There is a fair bit of backtracking to be done here (the whole game takes place at the hotel and grounds) but done in a decent way. The tightness of the areas don’t make it unbearable when you have to go back to unlock a room that previously you could not access. The game takes the opportunity to create some really tense moments as you have to sneak around the place littered with the enemies that are listening for your every move, you pass by a fireplace and begin to cough due to smoke or dust….you then have to hold your breath, cover your mouth and don’t move and hope they go away before ending you.

The game does feature some 3D audio that shines pretty well in headphones while playing. Character models can be a bit iffy when you see them in good lighting (which thankfully doesn’t happen much) but overall the same is serviceable on home console.

All in all Maid of Sker is a good (not great) entry in the horror genre that can serve as a good way to get you in the mood for pumpkin spice latte season.

Maid of Sker is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. A version is coming to the Nintendo Switch in the upcoming months as well.