It seems like the survival horror genre has never been more popular in the world of gaming than it is right now. Over the past couple of days, players have seen many new horror titles, likeResident Evil 8orOutlast Trials, announced for the upcoming generation of gaming. With so much competition in the space, developers really have to come up with concepts that make new ideas stand out from the pack. WithMaid of Sker, it seems that Wales Interactive has done that by steeping the game in Welsh folklore.
Wales Interactive is an independent developer and publisher based out of the United Kingdom. In the past, Wales Interactive has seen quite a bit of success, particularly with its FMV titles likeSIMULACRAandLate Shift. Now the developer is hoping to see similar success withMaid of Skerby bringing on some of the writing talent behindSOMAandBattlefield 1.
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During the Future Games Show, Wales Interactive debuted gameplay forMaid of Skerfor the very first time, and gave some insight on the themes of the game. Thehorror gameseems to be heavily steeped in Welsh folklore and tells the Welsh story of Elisabeth Williams. According to the game developer, players can expect, “a story of a family empire driven by torture, slavery, piracy and a supernatural mystery that suffocates the grounds of the hotel.” The game also promises multiple endings that players can discover through exploration.
Gameplay revolves heavily around sound-based mechanics. The enemies that roam the hotel grounds are all blind, not unlike suitors fromAmnesia. If the player makes too much noise, enemies will mercilessly track them down. With no weapons in the game, save for a device with limited ammo that emits a high pitched tone, players will have to verify they move carefully through the world.
While players have experienced horror games where they control a blind character, like inPerception, there are very few entries in the genre that have blind enemies that are as intelligently programmed as the ones shown here. Adding the fact that players will have to control how their character is breathing to avoid detection, it seems thatMaid of Skerwill be an absolutely horrific time when it launches in July.
Maid of Skerwill be released in July 2020 on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
