Wales Interactive are releasing Sker Ritual a week earlier than planned after a cheeky announcement on Twitter.
We understand delays are inevitable in game development but we think there's been just a little too much this year so we have made the decision to move the Early Access release date of Sker Ritual to the 6th October (10am PT / 6pm BST).
With a highly successful testing period and exhibition at EGX London 2022, the team believe that Sker Ritual is ready now and we can’t wait for everyone to explore this new title in the Sker Universe. ICYMI, there is a ton of content to come over the next 6 months with every Episode release, which we revealed in our Roadmap.
The earlier release date will also coincide with the launch of our Sker Collectors bundle (Maid of Sker & Sker Ritual). This will be a Complete the Set bundle, so anyone who already owns Maid of Sker will get double the discount savings!
Stay tuned for information on our upcoming free Sker Pass reward system (when we say free, we mean completely free, no premium option) as well as additional DLC & bundled content!
Meet the developers of Sker Ritual and have a shot at The Cursed Lands of Lavernock map at EGX from Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th September 2022. EGX is the UK’s biggest video games event, featuring panels, tournament, cosplay competitions and the chance to get hands-on with everything from classic to pre-release games.
Abraham is BACK and this time he's all... soft and cute? Enter our giveaway for a chance to win game keys and an exclusive Sker Ritual / Maid of Sker Plushie!
Tune in to catch an exclusive developer interview with our Co-Founder and Director, Dr David Banner @ 7PM CEST, 10AM PST, 6PM BST talking about Sker Ritual!
Sker Ritual is featured among over 80 games and over 20 influencers celebrating horror games.
We're honoured to be part of Fear Fest and will be tuning in to check out the developer interviews, upcoming horror game trailers and all the extra activities planned.
Sker Ritual coming to Steam Early Access in October
Sker Ritual is coming to Early Access this October, just in time for Halloween!
Head to our Sker Ritual Steam Page to take a look at a brand new artwork or check out our Meet the Elites trailer, featuring the teleporting Banshee, the hard-headed electric Mariner, the invisible Phantom, and the pyro juggernaut Blazeslinger!
Come on over to our Official Sker Ritual Discord for exclusive news and rewards!
https://discord.gg/Pb2uFYRB7P
Missed a Developer Update? Catch up here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1492070/view/3127189423510590964 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1492070/view/4330775883771676651 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1492070/view/3127189423510586253 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1492070/view/3127189423510590374 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1492070/view/3404176654588891006
First and foremost, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who played the Demo in the Steam Next Fest and especially those who left us feedback and suggestions! We are extremely excited to bring you Sker Ritual, and we love the support we are getting from you all! Whether you wishlist Sker Ritual, followed the game or joined our discord we love you!
We are a small team from Wales and we are listening to this community and updating and improving to make this game as great as it could be!
Animations
The animations in general are now a lot smoother and in particular, the enemies also have more reactive reactions.
Audio
We are balancing a lot of the audio elements and improving multiple areas, including the protection of your eardrums with the generators in the village. We have improved the enemies' sounds and reaction audio and we are busy adding more background audio, ambience audio and menu music too.
Weapons
A lot of community feedback focused on the weapons, in particular, especially the aiming flick/spin and sometimes unintentional stargazing, the Quiet Ones didn’t share the same enthusiasm for a new hobby so we did fix it. The weapons are now feeling a little more balanced in reloading and firing speeds and the weapons also are now not operated by using your head but are more appropriately located in your arms.
Enemies
We are fixing our favourite bug “The Bouncing Banshee”, it took a while to catch her but once we did, we agreed constantly teleporting from her problems wasn’t the best option. Enemies on spawning and causing a lag have now also been fixed, everyone now forms an orderly queue.
Ghost Mode
We have improved “Ghost Mode” a little too, the undead are now a little less clairvoyant and will not block your way.
Miracles
You can expect a miracle! We will be explaining Miracles very soon and are improving the in-game usability of them and understanding of what each one does.
There are many more updates we are working on improving (including optimising) and we might be here for a while if we told you all of them, but if you want to know more just ask us! If we can tell you, we will (we need to keep some surprises)
If you haven’t already joined our Discord please do! We sometimes hold exclusive competitions and giveaways! Also, if you want to leave suggestions or feedback please do in the #community-feedback or #feature-requests channels!
Gear up! We listened to the community and we've loved seeing you guys play so we're extending the Sker Ritual alpha demo availability to the 30th June!
🔴 Can't play yet? Watch the devs try to beat the record and answer a few FAQ's in a pre-recorded Steam broadcast! 🔴
What a week it's turning out to be! Thank you all for your on-going support here and over in our Discord server. We've received so much feedback and are working on so much to improve the experience as well as a tonne of additional content still to come.
More Play Time Previously we had a limit of 30 minutes or 20 rounds for each match. We have now removed the time limit completely and raised the limit of the amount of rounds to 25 meaning more Quite Ones slaying for you and your squad! To clarify on the limit, you can replay a new game as many times as you wish.
Updates - Improved matchmaking for all regions - Reduced intensity of Miracle visual effects - Fixed an issue causing higher ping for those outside of Europe servers - Fixed an issue caused matchmaking not to work - Fixed an issue that caused social menu to loop into the player details menu - Fixed a bug with upgraded weapons making your secondary weapon do more damage after switching - Demo timer removed - Demo round limit increased to 25 - Increased damage on the following Miracles: Poison Fire, Fire Strike, Poison Bomb, Fire Bomb, Fire Stab, Poison Stab, Fire Tornado
Please ensure you have restarted Steam to download the new update.
News, updates, competitions and exclusive perks coming up soon on the Discord. Come say hello and let us know what you think of the demo!
Join here: https://discord.gg/Pb2uFYRB7P
Wales Interactive
Demo is out now! Watch the developers play!
Gear up! The Sker Ritual demo is now live on Steam in the Steam Next Fest (event starting at 5pm UTC)
🔴 Can't play yet? Watch the devs try to beat the record in a Steam AMA broadcast at 5pm UTC! 🔴
WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL SKER RITUAL ALPHA DEMO FAQ!
If you have any questions you’d like to see added, we’d love to hear it! Please leave a comment here (or reach us on Discord) for the developers to curate and answer. For a general FAQ for the main game, see this thread.
FAQ
How much of the maps can we play? You will play one map, the Cursed Lands of Lavernock. The only area restricted is the Broadcast Room (this is where the boss challenge will take place).
How long can we play for? Each playthrough is limited to 30 minutes, or round 20, whichever occurs first. You can replay this as many times as you like. The demo is limited-time and access will be revoked on Monday 20th June at 5pm UTC.
Will there be objectives? Yes, but only a few for the demo.
Can I play solo, or with friends? You can play solo (incl offline), with friends in private mode, or matchmake with others in Quick Play mode.
I have an issue, where can I get support? Please join the Discord and leave a message in the support threads
Known Issues
- Many of our known issues have now been resolved. We will update this prior to the Steam Next Fest starting.
- Limited Controller Support in Menus - Low framerate spikes during the initial wave spawns - Lower framerate in certain areas - Missing audio for some abilities - Rare chance of some doors not opening for everyone in multiplayer - Rare chance of weapons not shooting - Rare chance of objective Tasks might duplicate in multiplayer - Game might get stuck if internet drops out while loading - Rare chance of matchmaking not starting the game when it's full - Rare chance of the game forgetting who the party leader is - If you're experiencing any unusual behavior please exit the game and try again
Coming Soon
- Additional maps (TBA) - Additional guns, inspired by steampunk, with varying levels of upgrades - Many new Elites & Boss enemies, each with unique abilities to catch you off guard - Masks, more masks, and even more masks - More complex objectives and secret easter eggs - Advanced functionality for Miracles (megathread coming soon) - Improved mechanics for the downed system & revive system - Brutal boss fights (TBA)
Got a burning question about Sker Ritual? Want to find teammates ready for the demo?
We’re excited to listen to the community’s feedback and encourage all players to be a part of the journey and connect with others in the community.
Come on over to our Official Sker Ritual Discord for exclusive news and rewards!
https://discord.gg/Pb2uFYRB7P
Please check out the Steam dev blogs, the official game page, and the complete press kit, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news.
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