(Image credit: Invader Studios)
Resident Evil 2 Reborn was a shortlived fan project that aimed to recreate Capcom’s classic in Unreal Engine 4. Capcom inevitably shut it down, in no small part because it was working on its own Resident Evil 2 Remake. But out of the ashes of Reborn, studio Invader Games commenced work on its own third-person survival horror, Daymare: 1998. As of this week, it’s available on Steam.
With three playable characters (an elite soldier, a helicopter pilot and a forest ranger), Daymare: 1998 is predominantly set in small town that has transformed into a dangerous hellscape riddled with all manner of horrible foes.
According to the Steam description, the game isn’t for the faint-hearted: enemies tend aren’t of the variety you can just mow down, and there are hardcore survival mechanics to contend with too. “It requires a strategical approach to combat and puzzles and offers a multi-character point of view on the story, revealing a deep and obscure lore,” the studio writes. “Backtracking, managing ammo, collecting lore items, solving environmental puzzles and the overall difficulty will help players jump a couple decades back and get chilled to the bone in their first real daymare.”
It’s a homage to the ’90s, both its film and game traditions, but it definitely looks like a modern Unreal Engine 4 game. There’s a free demo to try out, and you can check out the Steam page here.
Here’s the launch trailer: