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.

[2][3][1] Since Thomas is unable to fight back, players must utilize stealth and distraction tactics to sneak past the enemies and safely explore the hotel grounds.

[2] Mid-game, players are given a temporary weapon called the Phonic Modulator,[4] which uses shock waves to temporarily damage the enemies' hearing and stun them.

[11] As the game progresses, the difficulty increases, making it harder to save, find ammunition and healing items, and survive against the more aggressive enemies.

Elisabeth, who has locked herself in the attic, warns him that the place is no longer safe and tasks him with finding four brass cylinders her father hid on the hotel grounds.

[6][17] The game draws inspiration from Welsh folklore tales such as "Y Ferch o'r Sger"[13][18][19][20] and the historic Sker House in Wales, which was made famous by R.D.

[23][24][5]The game's core survival mechanic is a 3D sound-based AI system,[14] and it is influenced by the psychological horror genre with gothic elements.

[25][26][27] Andrew King of GameSpot rated the game 4 out of 10, writing that the story and surroundings were initially interesting, but the overall gameplay experience became increasingly disappointing and occasionally frustrating, and took issue with the predictable plot development and ending.

[18] She lamented the lack of emotional connection to the game's protagonist, Thomas, and concluded that Maid of Sker "does little to surprise the player or push the genre forward".

[36] TheSixthAxis gave the game a 7/10 and praised its sound design and atmosphere, calling it a "Victorian horror that deserves a rousing reception".

[25] PC Invasion rated it a 4/10, writing, "while the game has great visuals and design, everything else, from its gameplay systems to its progression and foes, is so weak and ill-considered that I can't imagine most people enjoying what little it has to offer".

[38] Meristation rated it 6.8/10, noting the inspiration its story drew from the styles of authors Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, but criticised the game's stealth mechanic and save system.

[39] On November 12, 2021, Wales Interactive announced Sker Ritual, a spiritual successor to the game, which was set to launch in Q2 2022 for Windows and a later date for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

[42] Sker Ritual eventually released on April 18, 2024, for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to "Mixed or Average" reviews on Metacritic.