Daymare 1998 is a video game that looks exactly like Resident Evil ! No wonder when you know that the latter is a fan game wanting to pay tribute to the golden age of the survival-horror license. It is therefore with a huge feeling of nostalgia that we plunge into this zombie invasion. However, isn't nostalgia the only feeling throughout the game… A little bit actually. Focus! It's hard to criticize Daymare 1998 without immediately drawing parallels with Capcom's game series. Initially, the Italian development team made a remake of Resident Evil 2 in 2015 using the shoulder camera of the fourth installment. Of course, Capcom has launched the development of the official remake and Invaders Studios has revised its plans. The remake of Resident Evil 2 changed its name to Daymare 1998. If the title is obviously reminiscent of the year of release of the original Resident Evil 2 , it is especially reminiscent of all the atmosphere that transpires the 90s! 
Back in 1998!
This step back is the strong point but also the weak point of Daymare 1998 ! The scenario is cliché, very Manichean, very simple. Graphically, the game is not very beautiful, especially in the treatment of some characters, despite nice lighting effects on the scenery. We feel that Unreal Engine 4 does what it can. What about the awfully rigid gameplay? To tell you the truth, the experience was very moody because of the flaws of the game. The game regularly freezes in the same place forcing you to turn off the console, and framerate drops are too frequent… Dodging zombies requires steel reflexes and hitboxes (kick or take one) are completely hazardous. The character is also very heavy in his movements and their gestures are very limited. A possibility of even correct melee or more varieties in the gameplay would not have been a refusal. In Daymare 1998, we just shoot everything that moves (and you'll miss often!) Faced with a very weak bestiary and weapons that never renew. The real weakness of this survival-horror lies mainly in its gameplay which knows no change from one end to the other, and the title is very quickly repetitive. For Resident Evil, the player at least had the merit of experiencing variations to make it enjoyable. Certainly, there are documents to find from time to time, but let's not hide our faces, it is a mandatory element in today's survival-horror. Yet Daymare 1998 seems to assume its retro side from start to finish! Despite all its flaws, there is a real sense of nostalgia in the game from Invaders Studios that will never separate from the player and push him to finish the game once to the end! 
Daymare stands out!
Let's not forget that Daymare 1998 is a low-budget game and that the studio had to find solutions to fully create a gripping experience. This Resident Evil fan game beats Capcom's game on one thing: puzzles! This does not mean that it is a revolutionary aspect but they do a good job of mixing environmental analysis and reflection. They are not easy and they are much more numerous than in a Resident Evil. In this way (plus the choice of difficulty), Invader Studios manages to create a lifespan of a small dozen hours (more or less …). Once again, it's a shame that the game is struggling to renew itself… Note also a scenario element allowing Daymare 1998 to acquire a real video-game identity thanks to the character of Sam. The latter has hallucinations: he sees the man he is chasing as well as his dead wife. His hallucinations push us to empty too much ammunition and offer a lot of uninspiring gunfights, they at least have the merit of making the game more interesting. Fortunately, the game manages to stand out for its puzzles and hallucinations of Sam's character! Daymare 1998 would not have managed to constitute a real soul and would have condemned him to invisibility. Nevertheless, we feel that the Italian studio had great ambitions for their low budgets. The desire to pay tribute to the masters was their first wish! We want to encourage and wish that their next games will be of better scope. If you're a fan of Resident Evil, you might be guided by the game… Provided that its price drops considerably…
Daymare 1998 trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX5ZNh0sxvc
