Wales Interactive has confirmed that Sker Ritual will now enter Early Access on 13th October, while revealing what’s planned for the game’s content and update roadmap in the run up to the full release in 2023.
Sker Ritual is a spiritual successor to horror title Maid of Sker, taking a very different gameplay direction from single player horror to first person co-op shooter. In Sker Ritual, players can go in solo or group up in teams of four to take on the enemies known as the Quiet Ones.
Following its launch in Early Access, Wales Interactive has a number of content episodes planned, which will build up the amount of content in the game until it’s ready for the full 1.0 launch, sometime after the fourth episode is released. The first episode will feature from 13th October, bringing the first map Cursed Lands of Lavernock with all its objectives, trials and a boss fight to take on. That will be followed by further episodes in December, February and April, each one adding a new map, some story and gameplay features.
Wales Interactive notes that “There’s been some confusion in the community about whether the game will feature a separate Story Mode and to answer that, it will not. Sker Ritual is a round-based co-op FPS and is not a replacement for a [hypothetical] Maid of Sker 2.”
There will also be the Sker Pass, a free content reward track that features 50 items including masks, animated menu backgrounds, player icons, menu music and weapon charms. Each episode will add 25 new items to unlock.
Early adopters will be able to jump in for a discounted price of $14.99 / £11.39 / €12.49, while themed cosmetic item bundles will also be available for $3.99 / £2.89 / €3.29.
Maid of Sker was received pretty well, with Steve writing in our review:
“Maid of Sker is a great addition to the survival horror genre and offers a wonderfully intimate and local threat that takes its influences from Welsh folktales. Eschewing the combat and weaponry of many entries into the genre, its gameplay loop of sneaking and hiding proves compelling and successfully manages to keep you feeling in danger at all times. When you add in some excellent sound design and atmosphere you have a Victorian horror that deserves a rousing reception. There may not be a welcome in these valleys but this is one vacation that genre fans should have no reservations about taking.”
You can read the Maid of Sker Review right here.
Source: press release
