Invader Studios came out of nowhere and released their new horror title Daymare: 1998. This is one game that was certainly not on my radar but it also took me by surprise because of its brilliance. If you don’t know, Daymare: 1998 started its life as an unofficial Resident Evil 2: Reboot in Unreal Engine 4 but it was later shut down by Capcom because they wanted to do it themselves. After the shutdown, Destructive Creations did the right thing and went forward with creating a brand new title over it. This is our review of Daymare:1998 and we played Daymare: 1998 on PC via Steam.
Daymare: 1998 is a third-person shooter which combines shooting, puzzle-solving, and survival mechanics all in one. This was the crux of horror games back in the 90s and especially the title which gave birth to it, Resident Evil 2. You have three unique characters each with their own story to play with. I won’t go very deep in the story because it is something that you have to experience on your own but I will say that the story is amazing and involves a town filled with bloodthirsty monsters and your team vs them in a bid of surviving the area with their lives.
The three main components of Daymare: 1998 are combat, survival, and puzzle-solving. Daymare: 1998 actually has some of the best puzzles I have ever seen in any sort of game and some of the puzzles will really spin your head as you try to solve them. Some of the puzzles are required for the main story however some of them will simply allow you to find some more clues and lore for the game and the background of the main story events which play a big role in your understanding of the game and what happened to the town you explore as the three characters.
Upon booting up Daymare: 1998, you are greeted with a traditional horror menu which is dark and suits the game’s mood well. Jump into the campaign and you can pick the difficulty that suits you best. If you are only here for the story, you can try out the Beginner’s Mode which is basically a walk in the park with easier enemies and more resources. However, the developers recommend playing the normal ‘Survival’ difficulty which is the default experience of Daymare: 1998. As tempted as I was for the Beginner’s mode to rush through the game, I now find myself lucky that I went for the Survival mode because that is where Daymare 1998 really shines.
The UI is minimalistic and only pops up when you change your items or want to interact with something. Even when on the screen, the UI is very neat and only occupies a small space with your inventory on the right showing four slots which have your weapons, flashlight and other useful items just a simple tap away. As you explore the game and complete puzzles, you get access to more items which further enhance your gameplay and make certain aspects of the gameplay much easier. The inventory screen is one of my favorite things in the game.
You will also find some of older video game mechanics in Daymare: 1998 such as the reload mechanic which comes in two different forms. You have the fast reload and then you have the slow reload. Fast reload is the traditional one button press reload mechanic however you will drop the current magazine to the ground. It can be picked up later but you might not always remember to pick it up. The slow reload takes time but ensures that you store the magazine in your inventory for future use.
Daymare: 1998 will not spoon-feed you on what you have to do next as well. The gameplay is pretty much linear and straight-forward but still, sometimes you will be required to solve certain puzzles which will require backtracking. Backtracking is yet another mechanic that we have forgotten in the modern horror games but Daymare: 1998 ensures that there is plenty of backtracking as you move back and forth between levels collecting items, lore, solving puzzles and more.
You see Daymare: 1998 might be a straight-forward horror title but is also packs survival mechanics in it. It means that resources such as ammo and health are not very common in the game and you have to be very careful with their use. You have to make sure that every bullet counts and you also stay away from the monsters so that your health stays full. The monsters, on the other hand, are not your average zombies who go down with a single headshot. You have to make sure that every bullet counts and the enemy goes down as well.
Visually, Daymare: 1998 is a really spooky title and the visuals do justice to the game. The concept and the inspiration behind the game might be from the 90s but the Unreal Engine 4 really shines and Daymare: 1998 is a very pretty game. The level design is amazing and each chapter will bring something new for you to explore. The hospital chapter is specifically really spooky because certain sections are in pitch black and you have to use a special type of flash to get through these sections which really makes the game shine when it comes to a horror setting.
The soundtrack is not something that would really amaze me but it is quite decent and goes well with the game. The sound design is decent as well and comes with all the necessary sounds and noises essential for making you jump in your seat. The visuals and sound compliment the amazing gameplay and combat mechanics of the game. The gun combat does not feel weak at all and all weapons feel just right when you shoot them. Pistols feel weak and the rifles and shotguns pack a punch when you shoot them. Daymare: 1998 does not lack at all when it comes to gameplay.
One thing that I found rather disappointing in Daymare: 1998 is the boss fights. The bosses in the game are really boring and are mostly overpowered variants of the normal bigger enemies that you see in the game everywhere. They could have been a lot better and bigger. And scarier as well but they are just disappointing. The most disappointing boss battle is the final one which is just one overpowered normal guy teamed up with a large swarm of normal zombies. I will take some point off because of disappointing boss battles because other than that, this is a solid game and a really enjoyable one as well. Sometimes the controls also don’t work and could lead to some frustrating moments.
Other than boring bosses, Daymare: 1998 is a great horror addition to the current generation. We have seen many different amazing horror games arrive on this generation but very few bring back those memories of the classic horror formula but lucky for us, we now have Daymare: 1998. Its main story will take around 6-7 hours for you to complete depending on how good you are on playing the game and solving puzzles. However, apart from collectibles, there is not much to play once you are done with the campaign since there no multiplayer.
Final Verdict
Daymare: 1998 is a classic example to what made the old horror games so special. It is a to-the-point, without anything left behind horror title that stays true to its core and carries that formula all the way to its end. We don’t get horror games like this anymore. I will highly recommend all horror fans to give Daymare: 1998 a shot because it is a very decent horror game and will certainly ignite the spark in you for the classic horror genre. It is straight-forward, it packs jumpscares and it will certainly keep you on your toes throughout its course because that is what a good horror game should be like. Invader Studios and Destructive Creations have done a splendid job in reminding us of the 90s with Daymare: 1998.
Final Score: 7/10
