Maid of Sker by Wales Interactive is a first-person horror that draws on Welsh folklore, bringing a story that feels like a horror ballad. In fact, the title may refer to a ballad of Celtic culture and to the three-volume novel of 1872 by Richard Doddridge Blackmore.
The premises are excellent thanks to a lore that seems to adapt very well to the genre, but will the realization also have been up to par? Find out by reading our review.
A bewitching song
Thomas Evans is on its way to Happens Iceland, an island in the Irish Sea where you can breathe in the history of your ancestors. He has received a letter from her beloved Elizabeth begging him to join her at Happens House (historical building that actually exists) from which he cannot escape due to dark forces.
The Sker House is a huge hotel that was used as a theater show for a very long time, in which both Elizabeth and her mother performed wonderful and bewitching operas. Now, however, everything is different: the air in the structure is heavy, darkness reigns supreme, and in the people who inhabit it there is very little human left.
Yes, because the hotel staff members seem subdued by an invisible force that has clouded their minds. Thomas will be called upon to discover the truth about a cult called Song that can transform anyone into Silent, aggressive and completely blind adepts, but with superfine hearing.
The story of Maid of Sker focuses on lyricism, on seductive power of music and provides a sturdy lectern on which to rest the mythical tales of which Welsh folklore is rich; the feeling, however, is that the same efforts made for the premise have not been made to build a more complex narrative structure, despite the potential of Welsh mythology, with its gods and heroes. We would have preferred a less random lore and more integrated into the narrative.
Zitto zitto…
The main mechanics of Maid of Sker are based on the blindness of the enemies, namely the need for keep silence. To achieve this, it will not be enough to squat and walk slowly (even too slowly), but it will also be necessary to limit the sound of your breath. holding his mouth in the presence of Dumbledore.
Holding our mouths for too long, of course, will run the risk of passing out, but we've noticed one good time management, which does not make Thomas' breathing skills (either one way or the other) unrealistic. When we are in the vicinity of dust or ash from a fireplace or a bonfire, Thomas he will start coughing, action that will trigger enemies like springs. Also in this case it will be enough to close the mouth until the exit from the "contaminated" area.
Not only will the noises of our footsteps alert creatures, but also those caused by thecollision with objects in the scenario, such as bottles and buckets. Adding everything together, we have a gameplay that works and that makes the experience anxious at the right point and different from the stealth present in horror in which facing enemies is equivalent to suicide.
Indeed, in Maid of Sker it will be possible to defend oneself through a spherical artifact which emits sound waves that can stun enemies, but the cartridges are very limited, so you will often prefer not to use it. The hand-to-hand defense is not contemplated in the least.
The gaps in this plant, however, can be seen and too often denote theartificiality of enemy AI and the unconvincing management of the level design. The Silent people spawn in deliberately annoying and frustrating situations, often just as you are about to open a door or turn a corner. These then yes they place in such narrow places to allow the player only one tactic, the wait.
Another sore point of Maid of Sker is the management of some puzzles that can lead to the player's death without him really being at fault: dying because the enigma requires ringing bells (which produce noise) thus attracting enemies all in one. only point, it does not seem meritocratic, considering that there are no checkpoints and Loading screens are of an exhausting length.
What if Resident Evil did it the Welsh?
Oh yes, because Maid of Sker copies Resident Evil in many things, we found four dynamics taken on an equal footing from the Capcom series.
First, the save room in which the typewriter is replaced by the phonograph. Enemies cannot enter these rooms, but we must point out a bug: if you enter a save room chased by one or more enemies, they will remain stuck in the door, preventing the exit for several seconds.
Another reference to Resident Evil is the management of the map which is completed by exploring or finding the various pieces scattered around the scenarios. On it, the explored areas will be gray, the unexplored ones black, moreover all the puzzles and areas of interest will be marked therei, even without passing by.
Maid of Sker then proposes a fairly trite exploration, with the need to find four pieces of something, four units of a given object and so on. Also, many doors are locked with emblem keys (you know, right? Spades, hearts, diamonds…). Such a structure is very nineties, even too much.
The latest dynamic taken from Resident Evil is the presence of a villain stalker, in the design very similar to Mr. X. Also on this front we have to point out some flaws, for example the omniscience of the big man who will always know where the player is, making stealth useless and stampede the only way to go.
Either all black or all white
From a technical point of view, Maid of Sker has ups and downs, but even in this case the problems arise for stylistic choices that worsen a situation that could have been better if left alone.
The atmosphere of the game is truly intriguing thanks to a decadent style in the interior and apparent tranquility on the outside (in the initial daytime sections), but the graphics and aesthetics fail to emerge due to two factors: theexcessive darkness and filmic grain.
Horror must be dark, but Maid of Sker takes advantage of it by presenting environments at the limit of visibility, if that's not enough, it also puts the grain that makes everything appear fogged up, as if the fog had descended in our rooms. While fiddling with the brightness and contrast settings, we were unable to get over it, only worsening the situation with either an all black or all white screen.
The sound is well made and presents very evocative lyrical music and environmental effects of a more than discrete level, above all we liked the rendering of the footsteps of the enemies able to put us in awe.
We managed to complete the adventure in little more than 5 hours.
Final comment
Maid of Sker had all the potential to emerge and stay afloat for a long time in the mare magnum of horror video games focused on the mechanics of escape and stealth, unfortunately it fails to stand out despite an interesting lore and the desire to represent Welsh folklore (little considered by video games). Annoying situations due to their artificiality, level design managed not very well on several occasions and too many found copied by more illustrious games are problems that cannot be overlooked.
Editor's advice
Keep the fog lights close at hand.
