Maid of Sker

MonsterVineSamantha Lienhard

The story is interesting enough to push the gameplay along and has some great moments as you learn more about past events, and it comes to a satisfactory conclusion aided by its wonderful music. There are two endings, determined by a choice you make at the very end, although you’ll need certain key items for the endings as well. Since you can reload your final save to see the other ending, that doesn’t create much replayability, so the 6-hour playtime of Maid of Sker might deter some players. However, there are collectibles and multiple difficulty settings–including one that restricts you to o...

Playstation LifestyleRebecca Smith

8/10

During the summer, most people head outdoors and are determined to soak up the sun’s rays. Then there are people like me. They sit inside with the doors shut and the curtains closed, trying to play horror games in the darkest environment they can create during the longest daylight hours of the year. The latest survival horror title from Wales Interactive almost requires players to put on the headphones and hang up a “do not disturb” sign as they make their way through the ramshackle Hotel Sker.

TechRaptorTyler Chancey

7.5/10

Maid of Sker is an adaptation of influential Welsh folklore and brings its own voice to the survival horror genre. That is once it gets over stage fright.

Checkpoint GamingCharlie Kelly

7/10

I disembark the train. Now, I rest on a desolate island filled to the brim with overgrown forestry. Birds fly by. Trees whisper as the wind passes through. An old, 18th century hotel stands lays ahead of me. A siren song plays, beckoning me closer. I couldn’t be more eerily invited to Wales Interactive’s Maid of Sker. Rest assured, quite the venture awaits.

VideogamerJosh Wise

6/10

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.

GameSpewRichard Seagrave

6/10

Maid of Sker is certainly a better game now than it was a year ago, no matter what format you play it on. It’s still doesn’t quite achieve its potential though, and while there are some clear improvements on PS5, there are unfortunately more disappointments. While it’s nice to finally be able to play the game with a silky smooth frame rate and responsive controls on console, it’s a shame that to achieve that you have to opt for visuals that don’t really impress. In you’re in the mood for an atmospheric horror you’ll probably eke some enjoyment out of this improved Maid of Sker, but you’ll soon...

COGConnectedLewis Rees

59/100

Wales doesn’t get a lot of attention in the media. I know I’m speaking for a lot of Welsh people when I say that it still comes as a shock when people outside the UK recognize Wales as a country. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly proud of any part of my ancestry, Welsh or otherwise, (although my English Great Grandmother Eileen was being bullied by Margaret Thatcher in school and knocked her out, so there’s that) but I do consider myself primarily Welsh, and get a flutter of excitement to see my country portrayed in a movie or game.

Jump Dash RollJDR Staff

5/10

Simplistic and uninspired stealth gameplay spoil the mood of investigating the melody-driven mystery of the Sker hotel. Like a singer that can’t sustain a note, Maid of Sker too quickly runs out of steam.

WellPlayedZach Jackson

4.5/10

While Maid of Sker delivers in the atmosphere department, it fails to execute on any of its gameplay ideas, and it results in a game that is simply not fun to play

GameSpotAndrew King

4/10

Maid of Sker's grand reopening should be delayed indefinitely.

The big problem that Maid of Sker struggles to deal with, and ultimately fails at, is resolving the tension between the storytelling and experience, and the gameplay. They come across as very distinct elements, and the conflict between them means that, often, the gameplay really messes with the pacing and, therefore, atmosphere. Those moments where you’re skulking around, holding your breath, and creating noise distractions aren’t really scary, because they’re too blatant as arbitrary puzzles. Eventually, they make the entire setting feel less like a haunted house than an effort in level…

Analog Stick GamingJeff Young

Unscored

Maid of Sker is based on actual events, a story made popular through author R.D. Blackmore’s 1872 novel of the same name. While the game has some fantastic audio and video work to create a moody and downright eerie atmosphere, the save system and lack of being able to hide when discovered does run c