Maid of Sker Reviews
Maid of Sker carries a proper tune in its story and setting, but faulty AI leaves much of this horror story feeling flat.
Maid of Sker is a very beautiful and interesting adventure with horror elements, which suffers from unkillable opponents and several strange design solutions. The sound and graphics create an incredible atmosphere that should please all fans of the genre.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Hotel Sker may have seen better days, but it's well worth a visit for fans of the horror genre. The hotel is interesting to explore and rewards players who take the time to unravel its secrets. You feel constantly in danger not knowing where the next threat is going to be but knowing you can't defend yourself. No, there's nothing really new here, but that doesn't matter if you just want to sneak around a Victorian hotel where the welcome is less than inviting.
Maid of Sker is a great addition to the survival horror genre and offers a wonderfully intimate and local threat that takes its influences from Welsh folktales. Eschewing the combat and weaponry of many entries into the genre, its gameplay loop of sneaking and hiding proves compelling and successfully manages to keep you feeling in danger at all times. When you add in some excellent sound design and atmosphere you have a Victorian horror that deserves a rousing reception. There may not be a welcome in these valleys but this is one vacation that genre fans should have no reservations about taking.
A beautiful looking experience, hampered only by some bizarre footwear volume issues, Maid of Sker is as every part a horror experience as its established contemporaries.
Maid of Sker is a new horror game set in an abandoned hotel. Eilish played the game and is happy to tell you what she thought of it.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
It's on its own merits the best horror game from Wales Interactive, positioning itself as an interesting and terrifying experience of Wales in the late 19th century.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Maid of Sker sadly doesn’t stand out in the crowd of other horror adventures. The story’s best moments take place in notes found and environments, but as cohesive and engaging as they are, this isn’t a technical marvel. The blending of puzzle-solving and horror-adventure just doesn’t end up working with the stealth elements, and instead makes it feel like it should have been two different games. Luckily, the experience doesn’t overstay its welcome and can be completed in around 6 hours.
Maid of Sker could have been great, but a plethora of problems ruin it.
I am a big fan of dark and creepy games. They don’t need to be horror necessarily, but that dark, melancholy atmosphere, the creaking floorboards of an old house, or the shadows moving between the trees. Then you combine that with a story based in fact on a real place and draws inspiration from several different sources.
A spectacular looking thriller, this a horror game that you must try, it presents a good challenge in the few hours it lasts, but it seems to capture your attention for the whole ride. The game flows you into the story with a very solid pace.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
That said, the atmosphere, mystery, and overall feel of the game offer enough of a reason to see things through to the end, and, though it will primarily appeal to horror fans, Maid of Sker is definitely worth checking out.
While it may not be the most exotic horror establishment out there, I could think of worse places to visit than the Sker Hotel right now.
In short, Wales Interactive really hit it out of the park with Maid Of Sker and if this game is an example of what’s to come, I, for one, absolutely can’t wait to see what they do next.
To finish I can not stop recommending the title whether you are a user of the genre or not, because it does not invent anything new in it, but it is really entertaining. If you are a lover of that exploration with puzzles that reminds of that of the old survival horror, even saving the game on gramophones, you will enjoy touring the rooms of the Sker hotel, Leaving aside its technical limitations, it is a pleasant experience, to tour the rooms in this overwhelming atmosphere, accompanied by the great sound work that they have done from Wales Interactive. As well as its soundtrack, it is one of the great atmospheres of terror of recent years in the world without a doubt.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An excellent premise, a compelling narrative, and an effective atmosphere of dread are scuppered by muddy visuals, an antiquated save system, and stilted gameplay mechanics lacking in new ideas. Multiple endings reward those who persevere though, so fans of folk-horror should sample the wares within Sker Hotel, but for most the game will feel stuck in the past.
Impressive gothic horror abounds.
Maid of Sker gives a great deal that is progressed nicely, and I will appreciate frightfulness aficionados, for example, myself. However, the hindrances, for a few, are possibly more than worth managing.
The designs of Elizabeth's family aren't so much foreshadowed as foreshouted, and the plot soon wavers off-key and winds up shipwrecked. But something about it hangs around, like the hum of an unsettling tune.
Overall if you can look past its flaws Maid of Sker provides a fun little romp through a setting haunted by the physical supernatural. Unlocking your path forward can be a rewarding experience but you may need to endure a few trial and errors to get there. The story is serviceable but predictable and is saved by the fantastic realization of the backdrop in which your playing. A serviceable game that will definitely find an audience.