Invader Studios, the team behind the unofficial reboot Resident Evil 2 Reborn, has announced a survival horror project called Daymare: 1998.
The Italian studio has teamed up with former Capcom designer Satoshi Nakai, character/enemy artist on Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, to create a game with “high-end graphics, original soundtrack, immersive atmosphere, hardcore survival mechanics and many connections with the beloved old school survival horror games and ’90s landmark brands.”
The game is clearly in the vein of Resident Evil survival horror, with a more self-aware twist. It promises limited save points, less ammo than you’d need to tackle every encounter, and “tons of references to … ’90s pop culture and horror movie hat-tips (and a lot of raccoons too…)” Raccoon City, anyone?
The trailer opens with a young girl’s telephone call to her father (presumably the protagonist, who dons a Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell-esque suit) begging for help, and as the trailer continues her monologue is intercut with shots of destruction and monstrosities. The creatures themselves are surprisingly divergent from typical Resident Evil fare; they look like a cross between the Prototype series’ protagonists and some of the slimier FromSoft fare. Man grubs, anyone?
Invader Studios received more than one million views for their Resident Evil 2 Reborn trailer, though the project was cancelled after Capcom announced an official remake; Invader asserts, however, that they were thrilled to hear about the official project, mutually agreed to discontinue their work, and had plans to discuss projects with Capcom. For all we know, this could be the result of that. After all, RE2 came out in 1998.
The game’s not far along in development, but its developers have certainly had a stab at this kind of thing before. Daymare: 1998 is being developed in Unreal 4 for PC.