Maid of Sker

About Maid of Sker

Maid of Sker was made and published by the Welsh studio Wales Interactive and released on 28 July 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the Switch version following on 26 November 2020. It later came to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS and Android. It draws on the Welsh tale of Elisabeth Williams, the Maid of Sker, on Sker House near Porthcawl and on the folk song "Y Ferch o'r Sger". Its plot was written by people who worked on SOMA, Don't Knock Twice and Battlefield 1.

You play Thomas Evans, who travels in 1898 to the Sker Hotel on the fictional Sker Island after his lover Elisabeth Williams asks him to uncover what is happening to her family. A dog leads you in. Inside, the hotel has been taken over by the Quiet Ones: hooded, blind figures who shuffle through corridors and gardens. The story of a family empire built on torture, slavery and piracy comes out in notes and recordings as you go.

The game is built on a sound-based enemy system. The Quiet Ones cannot see you but hear everything, so you walk slowly, crouch, and hold your breath when one passes close, which you can only do for so long. Bumping into objects makes noise that alerts them, and dust can make you cough. You cannot fight back at first; partway through you are given the Phonic Modulator, a device that sends out a shock wave of sound to stun enemies for a moment, with limited ammunition. Much of the work is finding keys, brass cylinders and other items across the hotel and grounds, and solving puzzles such as one at a harmonium.

There is no autosave. You save by hand at gramophones in safe rooms marked by green-tinted doors, a system critics compared to Resident Evil. HowLongToBeat lists the main story at about 4 hours, and reviewers finished it in around 5.

The mood comes from the gothic Victorian setting and the Welsh hymns Calon Lân, Suo-Gân and Ar Hyd Y Nos, sung by Tia Kalmaru. Critics compared it to Outlast, The Evil Within 2 and Silent Hill, and its reception was mixed, with praise for the look and story and criticism of the mechanics. It suits players who like sneaking past enemies they cannot kill, in a folklore setting rarely seen in games. A spiritual successor, Sker Ritual, followed in 2024.

How to play Maid of Sker

1. Buy it on Steam, GOG, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch, or download it on iOS or Android, where the full game is an in-app purchase.
2. Explore the Sker Hotel in first person and follow Elisabeth's letters and the notes you find.
3. Move slowly and crouch: the Quiet Ones hunt by sound, not sight.
4. Hold your breath when one comes close, and let it pass before you move.
5. Once you have the Phonic Modulator, use it to stun an enemy only when you are caught, then get away.
6. Collect the items the story asks for to open new parts of the hotel and grounds.

Tips

• Play with headphones so you can tell where the Quiet Ones are by their breathing and steps.
• Dust and smoke can make you cough; avoid it or hold your breath through it.
• Ammunition for the sound device is limited; save it for real emergencies.
• Save at the gramophones in the safe rooms behind green-tinted doors whenever you pass one.
• Do not brush against objects as you move; the noise of bumping into things alerts nearby enemies.
• There is no autosave, so saving at every gramophone you pass spares you from replaying long stretches.

Questions