Daymare 1994: Sandcastle Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published August 31, 2023 · Updated September 5, 2023

For this Daymare 1994: Sandcastle Review, we play a third-person story-driven survival horror game prequel to the critically acclaimed Daymare: 1998. Step into the shoes of agent Dalila Reyes, a former government spy now in the service of the H.A.D.E.S. unit and prepare to face the true horror.

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
18.85GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Own in-game achievements called challenges.
Graphics settings – performance or quality.
Field of view slider.
Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, vibration, vibration intensity, and toggle run.
Aim assist option.
Many Collectibles and unlocks from challenges such as concept art, character models, etc.
Has some cool Funko-looking models and POG disc Collectibles.
3 difficulties – Story, normal, and hardcore.
Action survival gameplay.
Fast loading times.
Nine save slots.
Cutscenes are a mix of in-game and FMV.
Excellent voice work.
The game serves as a prequel to Daymare.
3rd person view.
A full 3D world with full 360-degree camera control.
Awesome soundtrack, very atmospheric and hard-hitting.
Uses the touchpad for inventory and reading notes.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Weapons are equipped with directions on the d-pad for ease of use.
Strong Resident Evil vibes.
A dark game that uses lighting and torches to increase the tension.
Items can be examined in 3D and interacted with.
Button prompts and markers show on Interactive spots.
Save at computer terminals.
Goes for a lot of jump scares.
Handy zoom in the camera to look at a key thing button.
Puzzle elements throughout the game.
The scanner is used when a wavelength meter comes up then you find and scan the object triggering it.
The frost grip is a Gauntlet that allows you to spray liquid nitrogen, shoot a bullet, or smash frozen enemies.
Upgrading your frost grip Gauntlet is done via the special machines you find, you get to pick just one upgrade at each machine.
The nitrogen back pack looks cool as ice.

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle Review Cons:

Cannot rebind controls.
A few robotic-looking animations.
Faces look a bit bad, especially on the male models, it looks like too much botox and now any sort of expression is a mission in itself.
The immersion gets broken a lot with no animations for things like opening a door or picking up an item.
The cutscene transitions can be a bit abrupt and sharp in places.
In built-up areas, the detailing of the level can take a while to pop or load in.
The prompts for interaction are big and bright so it takes some of the tension and exploration out of it all.
Doesn’t make clear about the collectibles in terms of what they are and what to do to actually get them.
At times they feel the story in with a few paragraphs of text on a loading screen.
Mouth movements are real weird looking.
Every time something cool or in any way Interactive it cuts to a cutscene sequence.
Everything is staged in a way that you cannot get lost, but also you have no sense of exploration and it just feels like you are following a crumb trail.
At the start of every new segment, you start with your torch off regardless of whether you had it on beforehand or you start in a dark room.
Spelling mistakes in mission descriptions.
Frustrating boss fights.

Related Post: Full Quiet Review (Xbox Series S)

Daymare 1994: Sandcastle:

Official website.

Developer: Leonardo Interactive

Publisher: Home – Invader Studios

Store Links –

PlayStation

7/10
Graphics - 7/10
8/10
Sound - 8/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
7/10
Length - 7/10
7/10
Fun Factor - 7/10

7.2/10

Summary

The game has in-game achievements along with the PlayStation Platinum, graphics and controller settings, and many collectibles. There are 3 difficulties and fast loading times. Cutscenes are a mix of in-game and FMV with excellent voice work. The game serves as a prequel to Daymare with a 3rd person view in a full 3D world. The soundtrack is atmospheric and hard-hitting. The touchpad is used for inventory and reading notes with tutorial pop-ups as you play. Weapons are equipped with directions on the d-pad for ease of use. The game has strong Resident Evil vibes and is dark, using lighting to increase tension. Items can be examined in 3D and interacted with. You can save at computer terminals and the game goes for jump scares. There are puzzle elements throughout the game. The frost grip is a Gauntlet that allows you to spray liquid nitrogen, shoot a bullet, or smash frozen enemies.

However, there are some limitations such as not being able to rebind controls, robotic-looking animations, faces looking bad on male models, no animations for things like opening doors or picking up items which break immersion, abrupt cutscene transitions, detailing of levels taking a while to load in built-up areas, big prompts for interaction taking some tension out of it all, not making clear about collectibles, filling in the story at times with text on loading screens, weird looking mouth movements, cutting to cutscene sequences every time something interactive happens, everything is staged in a way that you cannot get lost but also having no sense of exploration feeling like following a crumb trail, starting every new segment with your torch off regardless of whether you had it on beforehand or starting in a dark room, spelling mistakes in mission descriptions, frustrating boss fights.

Overall it came across and played a lot better than the first game, I liked the story and different enemy types. A lot of the issues I had with the first game are still here like the clunky combat and bad boss sequences but overall I finished the game in a shorter time than the last and definitely got the vibe that this was a step forward for the series.