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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Maid of Sker in Video Games
Nov 7, 2020
Hold Your Breath
Maid of Sker- is a excellent first person horror game.
The game takes place in 1898 in the Sker Hotel, located on an imaginary island called Sker Island, where the protagonist, Thomas Evans, is invited by his lover, Elisabeth Williams, to uncover the mysteries of the hotel after she notices her family's strange behavior. While exploring the hotel, Thomas learns the place is controlled by cult followers called "The Quiet Ones". The history of Elisabeth's family is revealed when Thomas finds notes and gramophone records scattered around the hotel.
The story is inspired by multiple Welsh and British folklore tales, specifically the idea of the hotel is influenced by the Sker House, a real life historic place situated just outside the town of Porthcawl, near Bridgend, Wales, which is made famous by the three-volume novel written by R. D. Blackmore, The Maid of Sker. The game has drawn influences from this novel as well as the folklore story under the same name (called Y Ferch o’r Sger in Welsh). The game has been compared to Outlast, The Evil Within 2, Silent Hill, and its saving system was also compared to those of Resident Evil, with the typewriter switched to a gramophone in the saving rooms.
In the original folk story, Elisabeth Willaims, a woman of the higher class, falls in love with Thomas Evans, a poor harpist. Elisabeth's father, Isaac, disapproves of the relationship, and, in one of the variations of the tale, her father locks her in a room to prevent her from running away until she starves; other variations include Elisabeth dying from a broken heart or being forced to marry a richer man who she does not love until she passes away from illness. According to the tale, her ghost, alongside the ghost of a sailor, haunt the Sker House.
The game is using the first-person perspective and features blind enemies that can find the player by noise, they are introduced as "The Quiet Ones." As Thomas cannot fight back (except for when a temporary weapon is introduced mid-game), the player is forced to be stealthy when exploring the hotel grounds, or making sounds to distract The Quiet Ones so Thomas passes them safely. The only way to search through the hotel grounds successfully is by avoiding The Quiet Ones by not making noise and holding your breath when a Quiet One is close or not bumping into objects. If the player holds their breath for too long, Thomas gasps for air which alerts the enemies. In certain environments, such as when the protagonist is in a dusty location or close to a fireplace, he coughs, and the player has to stop him by holding his breath as this alerts The Quiet Ones.
It consists of a device which sends shock waves and temporarily damages the hearing of The Silent Ones, stunning them for a short duration; this allows the player to run away from the location. While the player gets this weapon, ammunition is scarce and the player has to use it carefully.
The game features a manual save style and there is no autosave. To save the game, the player has to find "safe rooms", the rooms have green-tainted patterned doors, and inside the rooms are gramophones which the player has to play to save the game. Before the game saves, the gramophones play records of Elisabeth and her experiences with her family which adds to the background of the story. After the records end or when the player stops them manually, the game starts saving. If the player dies or restores a save, they lose all the progress made after the last save, additionally, enemies always change routes and cannot always be found lurking in the same places. This saving system is compared to the one which appeared in the Resident Evil games.
While the game is praised for its great sound design, Thomas never speaks in the game. Aside from grunting noises, he is completely mute throughout the game and his lines are displayed as text instead; however, this is not the case for Elisabeth and she has her voice actor. This has received some negative feedback alongside the sensitivity of the movement on consoles. The game has been compared to Outlast when it comes to the gameplay style, and The Evil Within 2 and Silent Hill when it comes to the game's atmosphere.
I love the concept, the atomsphere, the horror, the strategy, it does remind of "The Evil Within", "Resident Evil", "Silent Hill" and "Outlast". All excellent horror games and same with this one.
The game takes place in 1898 in the Sker Hotel, located on an imaginary island called Sker Island, where the protagonist, Thomas Evans, is invited by his lover, Elisabeth Williams, to uncover the mysteries of the hotel after she notices her family's strange behavior. While exploring the hotel, Thomas learns the place is controlled by cult followers called "The Quiet Ones". The history of Elisabeth's family is revealed when Thomas finds notes and gramophone records scattered around the hotel.
The story is inspired by multiple Welsh and British folklore tales, specifically the idea of the hotel is influenced by the Sker House, a real life historic place situated just outside the town of Porthcawl, near Bridgend, Wales, which is made famous by the three-volume novel written by R. D. Blackmore, The Maid of Sker. The game has drawn influences from this novel as well as the folklore story under the same name (called Y Ferch o’r Sger in Welsh). The game has been compared to Outlast, The Evil Within 2, Silent Hill, and its saving system was also compared to those of Resident Evil, with the typewriter switched to a gramophone in the saving rooms.
In the original folk story, Elisabeth Willaims, a woman of the higher class, falls in love with Thomas Evans, a poor harpist. Elisabeth's father, Isaac, disapproves of the relationship, and, in one of the variations of the tale, her father locks her in a room to prevent her from running away until she starves; other variations include Elisabeth dying from a broken heart or being forced to marry a richer man who she does not love until she passes away from illness. According to the tale, her ghost, alongside the ghost of a sailor, haunt the Sker House.
The game is using the first-person perspective and features blind enemies that can find the player by noise, they are introduced as "The Quiet Ones." As Thomas cannot fight back (except for when a temporary weapon is introduced mid-game), the player is forced to be stealthy when exploring the hotel grounds, or making sounds to distract The Quiet Ones so Thomas passes them safely. The only way to search through the hotel grounds successfully is by avoiding The Quiet Ones by not making noise and holding your breath when a Quiet One is close or not bumping into objects. If the player holds their breath for too long, Thomas gasps for air which alerts the enemies. In certain environments, such as when the protagonist is in a dusty location or close to a fireplace, he coughs, and the player has to stop him by holding his breath as this alerts The Quiet Ones.
It consists of a device which sends shock waves and temporarily damages the hearing of The Silent Ones, stunning them for a short duration; this allows the player to run away from the location. While the player gets this weapon, ammunition is scarce and the player has to use it carefully.
The game features a manual save style and there is no autosave. To save the game, the player has to find "safe rooms", the rooms have green-tainted patterned doors, and inside the rooms are gramophones which the player has to play to save the game. Before the game saves, the gramophones play records of Elisabeth and her experiences with her family which adds to the background of the story. After the records end or when the player stops them manually, the game starts saving. If the player dies or restores a save, they lose all the progress made after the last save, additionally, enemies always change routes and cannot always be found lurking in the same places. This saving system is compared to the one which appeared in the Resident Evil games.
While the game is praised for its great sound design, Thomas never speaks in the game. Aside from grunting noises, he is completely mute throughout the game and his lines are displayed as text instead; however, this is not the case for Elisabeth and she has her voice actor. This has received some negative feedback alongside the sensitivity of the movement on consoles. The game has been compared to Outlast when it comes to the gameplay style, and The Evil Within 2 and Silent Hill when it comes to the game's atmosphere.
I love the concept, the atomsphere, the horror, the strategy, it does remind of "The Evil Within", "Resident Evil", "Silent Hill" and "Outlast". All excellent horror games and same with this one.
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
The Dream Thieves was definitely a more engaging novel than the first book in the series. It was a combination of a more interesting plot, the magic system being developed more and having spent time with these characters that we finally have formed a connection to them. As this is the second book in the series, there may be minor spoilers for events or aspects of the first book in this review but not for the second book.
The main characters were developed a little bit more in this book than they had been in the previous. You start to understand their motivations and dreams, which was really nice because I felt a disconnect from them in the first book. I liked seeing events that happened in the past that made them who they are today or the way actions they took in the first book are now affecting them.
Having become familiar with the author's writing style, I understood more that she wasn't just including characters or storylines just to take up a few more pages but because for whatever reason they were a very important aspect of the story. In the first book, the character we kept jumping back to had an impact on the story but not until the very end. His scenes just dragged the book and made it significantly less enjoyable. The character we jump to in the second book has a more interesting plot (and less of a propensity to incessantly whine about his life) and more immediately becomes interwoven with our characters.
The magic system in relation to the Welsh King/Cabeswater still didn't feel entirely real to me. It felt like more of a nebulous idea than a physical one because it wasn't explained very much. The aspect of it that was explained more fully was the dream abilities. There isn't much I can say without spoiling things in the second book, but that development made the book infinitely more interesting and entertaining. I was fascinated to learn, slowly, how it worked and the limits.
There may have been scenes that dragged, but overall I found the plot of the Dream Thieves to be most fast-paced with intriguing reveals that helps to draw the reader in and keep them enamored. I hope that the series continues on this upward path of improvement because it has become a much more enjoyable read.
The main characters were developed a little bit more in this book than they had been in the previous. You start to understand their motivations and dreams, which was really nice because I felt a disconnect from them in the first book. I liked seeing events that happened in the past that made them who they are today or the way actions they took in the first book are now affecting them.
Having become familiar with the author's writing style, I understood more that she wasn't just including characters or storylines just to take up a few more pages but because for whatever reason they were a very important aspect of the story. In the first book, the character we kept jumping back to had an impact on the story but not until the very end. His scenes just dragged the book and made it significantly less enjoyable. The character we jump to in the second book has a more interesting plot (and less of a propensity to incessantly whine about his life) and more immediately becomes interwoven with our characters.
The magic system in relation to the Welsh King/Cabeswater still didn't feel entirely real to me. It felt like more of a nebulous idea than a physical one because it wasn't explained very much. The aspect of it that was explained more fully was the dream abilities. There isn't much I can say without spoiling things in the second book, but that development made the book infinitely more interesting and entertaining. I was fascinated to learn, slowly, how it worked and the limits.
There may have been scenes that dragged, but overall I found the plot of the Dream Thieves to be most fast-paced with intriguing reveals that helps to draw the reader in and keep them enamored. I hope that the series continues on this upward path of improvement because it has become a much more enjoyable read.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Raven Boys in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I don't really like <i>The Raven Boys</i>. I don't really see the "why" in the hype, and I feel completely indifferent towards everything Maggie Stiefvater offered in this first book of the series.
Or maybe, just maybe, like some books, Stiefvater just had the unfortunate timing to be listened to when I'm not exactly in the mood to read.
It's also when I pull off a really cheap Sophia move. Behold – the list of whatnots about <i>The Raven Boys</i>, or just a summary of my thoughts in the process of listening to Will Patton reading this.
<ol>
<li>Blue has always been warned that if she kiss her true love, she'll cause her true love to die. Sadistic as it is, I like that concept. I <em>really</em> like that concept.</li>
<li>It's official: I like it when audiobooks have music.</li>
<li>What kind of name is Blue? I'm a little perplexed, but since it's unique, I'll let it go.</li>
<li>Gansey seemed far too absorbed in the ley line for a good part of the book – he's as bad as David, I'll tell you that right now (just without the whole metaphors thing).</li>
<li>In sync with number four, I don't get the entire point of <em>why</em> they're looking for this watchamawho of a Welsh King. I mean, I probably do, but...</li>
<li>Cringe-worthy as it sounded, I secretly liked that whole, "I... I'm... I'm very young." part.</li>
<li>Why are The Raven Boys called "The Raven Boys?" I'm not sure I caught that. Do they have an obsession with ravens? Is it really because of that pet raven Ronan has (I assume)? Who's willing to tell me this?</li>
<li>I don't really understand that cliffhanger. I know <em>who</em> Stiefvater is talking about, but I don't <em>understand</em>.</li>
</ol>
<b>Fun fact:</b> Will Patton reads the audiobooks for the entire series (from what I've seen). YAY! That doesn't mean I like him, but it's consistency. I applaud consistency.
And the final question: Should I continue reading the series? (Lupe: NO. READ SILVER SHADOWS FIRST. >_<)
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-the-raven-boys-by-maggie-stiefvater/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Or maybe, just maybe, like some books, Stiefvater just had the unfortunate timing to be listened to when I'm not exactly in the mood to read.
It's also when I pull off a really cheap Sophia move. Behold – the list of whatnots about <i>The Raven Boys</i>, or just a summary of my thoughts in the process of listening to Will Patton reading this.
<ol>
<li>Blue has always been warned that if she kiss her true love, she'll cause her true love to die. Sadistic as it is, I like that concept. I <em>really</em> like that concept.</li>
<li>It's official: I like it when audiobooks have music.</li>
<li>What kind of name is Blue? I'm a little perplexed, but since it's unique, I'll let it go.</li>
<li>Gansey seemed far too absorbed in the ley line for a good part of the book – he's as bad as David, I'll tell you that right now (just without the whole metaphors thing).</li>
<li>In sync with number four, I don't get the entire point of <em>why</em> they're looking for this watchamawho of a Welsh King. I mean, I probably do, but...</li>
<li>Cringe-worthy as it sounded, I secretly liked that whole, "I... I'm... I'm very young." part.</li>
<li>Why are The Raven Boys called "The Raven Boys?" I'm not sure I caught that. Do they have an obsession with ravens? Is it really because of that pet raven Ronan has (I assume)? Who's willing to tell me this?</li>
<li>I don't really understand that cliffhanger. I know <em>who</em> Stiefvater is talking about, but I don't <em>understand</em>.</li>
</ol>
<b>Fun fact:</b> Will Patton reads the audiobooks for the entire series (from what I've seen). YAY! That doesn't mean I like him, but it's consistency. I applaud consistency.
And the final question: Should I continue reading the series? (Lupe: NO. READ SILVER SHADOWS FIRST. >_<)
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/audiobook-review-the-raven-boys-by-maggie-stiefvater/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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