Maid Of Sker is the next game by Wales interactive and takes on British folklore in an atmospheric horror game all about sound. Your rescue missions will soon turn out to be a hellish escape room in which you need to stay quiet in order to survive.
The Lady Of Sker
Maid Of Sker is based on multiple welsh/british folklore tales but is closely tied to the song by the same name. In this song written by Thomas Evans he sings about a Lady/Maid who he loves but can’t see anymore. It turns out that lady is Elizabeth Williams and she’s held captive by her father in Sker house. With the love between the musician and the maid of Sker being denied, legend has it that she eventually died of a broken heart. It is rumored the Sker house is still being haunted by Elizabeth until this day. Next to Elizabeth’s tale, another tale is told about the Sker house, one about a ship being wrecked near Sker’s point. The captain of that ship still seems to roam the area. Wales interactive all use these stories (amongst some other inspirations) as the basis for the story of the Maid Of Sker.
Rescue the lady
The game takes place in 1898 as Elizabeth, who is presumably still alive and being held captive, writes you, Thomas Evans, to come and save her. In the letter, Elizabeth asks Thomas to write her a song and to bring it along with him, she’ll explain why once you get there. As you arrive and make your way towards the Sker Hotel, it becomes clear the hotel isn’t quite booming anymore. The place looks quite desolate and once you find your way inside you are greeted by Elizabeth via the intercom system. She barred herself from her family in one of the rooms in Sker hotel and tells you about the strange occurrences she’s noticed. Elizabeth isn’t quite sure how the mad world around her has taken shape but she knows it’s all tied to music. She found out her mother’s hymns might have an effect on her father and uncle and turned them (and the guests) mad. If Thomas can gather the music cylinders scattered around the Sker area, the curse might be overturned.
All through the Night
Since the sun was already setting when you arrived at the hotel, you are drenched in darkness once inside the hotel. With almost no visibility it’s your job to go explore the dark corridors and find out more about what happened there. While you roam around it won’t take long before you’ll encounter your first “Quiet One”. These beings look human but once you close in on them it becomes clear they have no face. Since they can’t see you, they rely purely on sound. If you happen to make a sound when they are close, they’ll pound you relentlessly until you are dead. With only the eerie soundtrack and the shuffling of the Quiet Ones coming from the speakers, you’ll get a full immersion in fear. To add even more fright into the experience, the music intensifies when the Quiet Ones are close by.
Stealth and puzzles
Thomas might be brave enough to come to save Elizabeth, he’s in no way strong enough to take on the Quiet Ones. Therefore, Thomas needs to rely on stealth to get by. Trying to make close to no sound at all might give you an opening to get by your enemies. The Maid Of Sker is all about Sound Based Survival as Wales interactive named it. This Sound Based Survival means you shouldn’t bump into things or run nearby enemies. Even breathing might tip the Quiet Ones of your presence and end your game. Therefore, holding your breath – something you might be doing anyway in real life whilst playing Maid Of Sker – will become a valuable option during the entire game. Although holding your breath for too long will make you gasp for air and when Quiet ones are close enough, you’ll know it will be game over. Thomas even starts coughing around fires and when exposed to pollen.
With many “sound hazards” around Sker Hotel, you’ll be reloading your game plenty of times. Saving in Maid Of Sker is done by activating the phonographs found around the area. Since these are quite scarce, you’ll be bummed when a Quiet One grabs you just when you’re about to reach a new area. Learning from these mistakes will give you enough edge to get by eventually. For some twisted reason, the Sker Hotel (and surroundings) is filled with puzzles that all happen to revolve around sound. Finding the solution to these will make you progress further but also attract more Quiet Ones. If all else fails you can use a weapon you’ll find in the early parts of the game. This ball-shaped weapon lets you produce sounds that irritate the Quiet Ones and make them unable to move. The ammo used in the weapon is scarce so you’ll want to be quite economical with the use of it.
White man can’t jump
For all the things great about the Maid Of Sker – and believe me, there are many, there are some caveats I had. First up is the movement of Thomas. For some reason, Thomas has to move extremely slow. Even when running – which is not a good idea around the Quiet Ones – he still moves painstakingly slow. I know this adds to the whole atmosphere thing the game is going for but I found it irritating, especially after having to reload my game and needing to go back to a certain area. The next thing I found strange was the fact, Thomas can’t jump. There were plenty of opportunities to get past the Quiet Ones where I could simply jump over a small wall but the game won’t let you. This forcing the player to take a certain path also occurs in the invisible walls of luggage (and other objects) blocking certain paths. I understand the reason for doing this but just make it a bit more believable. A grown man can pick up a suitcase to skip a whole section of bad guys…
Conclusion
The Maid Of Sker is a very nice atmospheric survival horror game with a unique Sound Based Survival system. The story unfolding while going through the horrors is captivating enough to keep you going. The puzzles were well taught off. The unsung hero in Maid Of Sker might even be the soundtrack that ties everything together to give the player a great blend of horror.
