Is this next-gen upgrade still as Sker-y as the original?
The original Maid of Sker came out last year for the previous generation and was one of my personal highlights of the horror genre. The Sker Hotel is creepy in its rundown design and its blind residents roaming the halls with sacks on their head was seriously unnerving. The original review is here for more details but let’s take a look at what’s included in the free PS5 upgrade.
New modes come to console for the first time including ones that give you a full arsenal of weapons to escape, which changes the whole game to an even more intense experience, especially one that literally makes you play in the dark with a flashlight or a mode that only gives you an axe to fend off enemies. You only get 3 lives and there’s no saving either, so you need to do it all in one run or you’re out of luck.
The game itself has received a nice visual upgrade, shortened load times, as well as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback for the DualSense controller. The haptic feedback intensified the experience as you can feel every footstep your character takes through the controller. Not being able to attack in the main game after playing the challenge modes does feel a bit strange, but I appreciate both ways of playing and there’s something really unsettling about sneaking about the hotel, holding your breath so the residents don’t hear you roaming the halls.
The Verdict
As free upgrades go, Maid of Sker’s PS5 version is done really well. The performance improvements make a huge difference to the overall game, while the new modes and DualSense support intensifies the whole experience. If you missed out on this before, then there’s no reason not to check into the Sker Hotel…