Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle is an over-the-shoulder survival-horror game very much in the vein of certain Resident Evil titles, acting as a prequel to Daymare 1998. The original game was actually born from an independent group’s efforts to try and remake Resident Evil 2 before Capcom would go on to announce their own, leading the developers, now known as Invader Studios, to take the work they’d completed and rework it into an original game concept.

Sandcastle sets out to continue the groundwork laid out by its predecessor, not necessarily in plot but in polish, by introducing new features and more original ideas to spice up the gameplay.

Do you know what killed the dinosaurs!?

As with the last game, you’re controlling a lone survivor as you explore a dark and undead-laden environment, checking each room for precious bullets and solving a few puzzles as you go. The main source of tension throughout your adventure is of course the zombies, who are a bit more distinct from your typical fodder in a few interesting ways.

For one, each variant of undead beastie is surging with electricity and can use this to not only quickly dodge out of your sight, but even teleport. Compounding this is the fact that killing a zombie may not actually be the end of them, as the lingering charge may enter another nearby corpse. IT’S ALIVE!!!

Not long into the game, you’re introduced to Sandcastle’s key weapon, the Frost Grip, a self-refilling freeze-thrower that can turn the tide on the abominations, allowing you to either blast them to bits with your guns or even punch them with your gauntlet to save ammo. The Frost Grip can be upgraded as you progress through the game via one-use terminals. You’ll definitely need to come to grips with this weapon, as it becomes vital for keeping you alive, especially when some of the tougher enemies show up. Freezy as!

“Stay alert!”

Beyond the Frost Grip, you’re mostly limited to a starting arsenal of a sub-machine gun and shotgun, though if you take the time to explore and hack into certain locked areas, these can be upgraded. With that said, Sandcastle’s terminal access minigames have returned, albeit in a new form, which is essentially a slide puzzle. Overall, most of the puzzles this time seem a fair bit simpler compared to the last game, feeling less like genuine challenges and more like… busywork? I know our heroine is a genius, but if this is meant to be a meta indication of that, it fell a tad flat for me.

In contrast to the easy puzzles, the combat sections can become hellish extremely quickly. Resources are scarce, though you can use your punch (Frost Finisher) to save ammo and potentially gain more. This isn’t super well tutorialised, which is an odd choice since it’s a necessary technique to understand.

Sandcastle’s combat also comes with the introduction of a floating enemy later in the game that ramps up the difficulty in a ridiculous manner each time it appears. Without giving too much away, this enemy can summon minions, strengthen them, teleport, silently approach you, and then INSTAKILL you when it gets close. It is absolutely overpowered, and my playthrough would go from smooth sailing to dying ten times in a row because the AI likes to distract you with fodder and then murder you from behind. This honestly strikes me as a terrible design choice, especially when you compare it to similar enemies from the game’s direct inspiration, Resident Evil. Instakill enemies like Dr. Salvador or the Chainsaw Majini made telltale sounds and created tension from their approach rather than jump-scaring the player while they’re distracted. In Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle, what was a fine gameplay loop just ends up becoming a chore every time this enemy gets involved.

“Wow, what a… base!”

Zombie gripes aside, the game has definitely stepped it up visually from the last outbreak. The base and surrounding area are rendered really well, not necessarily Triple A in fidelity, but still impressive and immersive for what the game’s aiming for. This is combined with some properly spooky sound design that helps make you feel that much more isolated, with only faint sparks of broken lights to disrupt the haunting silence, accompanied by the slow sloshing of the liquid nitrogen in your Frost Grip. It’s minimalist and it works well, especially when an enemy appears and suddenly things get LOUD. A lightbulb exploding will have you whipping around and aiming at nothing in sheer panic.

“Hope this is not Chris’ blood!”

An unfortunate realisation about Sandcastle is that it’s kind of hard to tell how confident the developers were with their own ideas. You have this Frost Grip which is a fun concept of course, and unique zombies that aren’t just Romero or runner style, but then you look a little deeper and it gets a tad weird.