There once was a time when survival-horror games were commonplace, with many developers chasing the success of Capcom's Resident Evil franchise and Konami's Silent Hill. Unfortunately, game developers started moving away from survival-horror, with even the classic survival-horror franchises becoming more like action games than anything else. While the horror genre has enjoyed somewhat of a comeback, few titles nowadays fit within the "survival-horror" mold, but the upcoming Daymare: 1998 embraces the old-school horror game mentality.
Daymare: 1998 is directly inspired by Resident Evil, with everything from its setting and logo to its gameplay nodding its hat to Capcom's blockbuster franchise. And for those excited for the game, it's now been confirmed that Daymare: 1998 will launch on September 17 for PC, with a new story trailer released focusing on the character Sam.
In Daymare: 1998, Sam is a Forest Ranger and a "respected citizen" of Keen Sight - the Raccoon City-like town where the game takes place. While he's mostly just a regular guy who wants to protect his wife, Sam also struggles with a pill addiction, which should add an interesting dimension to his character. These sort of character flaws have potential to make the characters in Daymare: 1998 feel more like real people than the superhero-like characters in the Resident Evil games.
While we'll have to wait to actually get our hands on the game to be sure if it lives up to the hype, Daymare: 1998 does have a lot of potential, especially for fans of 90s survival-horror games. The game's developer, Invader Studios, was actually working on a full-fledged, fan-made Resident Evil 2 remake before Capcom announced the official Resident Evil 2 remake. That announcement saw Invader Studios end its work on its fan-made Resident Evil 2 remake, but Capcom invited the developers to visit its offices in Japan. The team then decided to make their own, original survival-horror IP in Daymare: 1998, with the help of former Capcom designer Satoshi Nakai.
Luckily, any survival-horror fans who can't wait for next month to try Daymare: 1998 have the chance to play it early. Invader Studios has released a playable demo that can be downloaded on Steam right now, so anyone interested is free to check it out.
Daymare: 1998 launches on September 17 for PC.