Game Review: Maid of Sker

(This review includes minor spoilers.)

Inspired by an actual location with a dark history, Maid of Sker from Wales Interactive is a memorable, if imperfect, chapter in horror gaming. The player takes on the role of Thomas Evans, who has just arrived on Sker Island in search of his lover Elisabeth. Thomas soon learns that Elisabeth is being held against her will–and by her family no less–for sinister purposes that become more articulated as the game progresses.

Arriving by train as so many horror story protagonists have in the past two centuries, Thomas makes his way to the decrepit Sker Hotel, which you can probably already picture. Opulent to a degree that seems economically untenable given its remote location, the Sker Hotel has recently undergone a revival for the ages, though that has all come apart by the time Thomas reaches its doors. Inside we find creaking halls, blood-stained floors, and eventually, a nefarious cult whose origins lie at the heart of Maid of Sker’s very solid story.

At the core of Maid of Sker’s gameplay is a twist on the old formula of the defenseless protagonist: rather than having to avoid being spotted by the monsters you encounter, you must avoid being heard…which, unfortunately, is quite easy. Virtually all of the enemies in the game are blind, and you avoid them by the tried and true tactic of moving slow, low, and holding a button down to momentarily hold your breath.

This sounds much more intense in theory than it does in practice; once you learn remarkably unaware the average enemy is, all of the tension goes out of the game. I played on the normal difficulty, and as long as I didn’t run, I only had to use the breath holding mechanic on the rare occasion that I had to pass within inches of a monster in a narrow hallway. Many would-be intense encounters were merely a matter of waiting my turn to pass through a door (I actually uttered ‘pardon me’ a few times to liven up these moments).

I believe horror games have an obligation to be challenging, lest their horror elements be lost, and this is unfortunately what happens with Maid of Sker. Tension peaks early and, barring one or two small exceptions, diminishes henceforth right up to the finale.

Maid of Sker feels like a labor of love, but by the conclusion of the game, that love feels misplaced. The setting and story are smartly and intentionally crafted, sometimes so much so that it feels a walking simulator or simpler experience would have served it better than the undeveloped sneak-and-peek horror game we got.

It’s not that these elements were ineptly executed or wholesale extraneous, but simply that they break the tension created by the setting rather than enhance it. I have no doubt that the developers have great affection for the source material, but the creation of a game around such could have used more consideration. The mistakes that exist here lie in the concept.

A critical moment in Maid of Sker is a single instance where you’re confronted with a heavy-stepping pursuer who seemingly can see you. This rouses the player from their routine encounter-induced torpor, and actually feels very menacing for the few minutes that it lasts. Unfortunately, an invincible pursuer chapter in a horror game should never be the apex of a game’s tension, and for Maid of Sker, it is.

I won’t leave my criticism untempered though, as Maid of Sker does a lot of things exceptionally well, even if the core gameplay isn’t among them. The setting, sound design, pacing, and artistic direction are all top-notch, and you feel the passion this Welsh team has for their source material. The graphics are quite nice, especially for an indie developer, and area design is both believable and mechanically sound (even if the threats that populate it aren’t). In the hours I spent in Sker Hotel and surrounding grounds, I didn’t encounter a single incongruous location or something that felt like a set piece.

Beyond lackluster encounters and simple design, Maid of Sker tells a decent story through the well-worn medium of scavenged correspondence and audio recordings. The latter of these are particularly good, and the voice-acting is a notch above most indie horror games. I would have gladly explored the location and history more deeply, were they a bit livelier and less populated by non-threatening enemies.

Final Verdict:

Maid of Sker has an audience, but that audience needs to be a forgiving one that prioritizes world design and story over gameplay

Score: 5.5/10

Strengths:

Strong story and atmosphere
Exceptional sound design
Inspired by a real location

Shortcomings:

Redundant, simple encounter design
Too easy for a horror game
Unambitious gameplay elements

Reminds me of: The blind monstrosities featured in portions of Resident Evil 4 if they weren’t dangerous.

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