Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle – Doing it in Resident Evil style

Serving as a prequel to the highly acclaimed Daymare: 1998, this new game called Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle presents a gripping third-person narrative-driven survival horror experience.

In the new game, you control Dalila Reyes, formerly a government operative, now dedicated to the enigmatic H.A.D.E.S. (Hexacore Advanced Division for Extraction and Search). You have to get inside the most cutting-edge experimental research facility within the United States of America.

But exercise caution, for within the shadowy, intricate depths of this military research complex lies an eerie and deadly presence, ready to ensnare you.

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle gives us a great horror atmosphere

First thing you’ll notice is the excellent visuals and art directions. Every room and hall in this game is made in order to make you feel strange in a way that a horror game should do. So, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle delivers a great horror vibe and atmosphere and it makes playing the game and reactions so much more enjoyable.

The puzzles and the mini-games that you’ll encounter are unique, too. I think one the things that makes you feel that you are playing a horror game in style of a classic Resident Evil, is the adventure aspect of it.

Replayability can be an issue

I would say that horror games are doing their best job in the first hours and especially the first playthrough. Personally, I don’t find myself replaying a Resident Evil game twice, but I know that many people do (at least for completing achievements or playing it on harder difficulty levels).

Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle is not a great experience in that matter. You can play the game on the hardest difficulty level and still will be able to finish it in 10 or so hours. I think the game really doesn’t add any replay value at the core of it.

The variety of weapons is limited and you have only two guns and little to no accessories that makes the game really repetitive after the first few hours. The linear story and narrative also doesn’t help with any mysteries or surprises, let alone that the story itself isn’t really relatable.

An improvement for the franchise

However, this game is a far better game than Daymare 1998. I would say that environmental design really pays off in terms of creating tense atmosphere and the game plays some good cards when it comes to horror elements.

However the voice acting, story direction, combat design and everything else, doesn’t really justify nor the price or the replicability aspect of it.

I would say that it’s a nice ride and a fun game when it comes to play it with your audience on a stream or let’s play session, but don’t put your hopes too high or you’ll be disappointed.

Masoud Teymouri