How to play guide for Daymare: 1998

This page will serve as a basic **how to play guide for *Daymare: 1998***. Feel free to edit this guide with any tips, tricks, and suggestions.

## Basic gameplay

*Daymare: 1998* is a survival horror with the main focus on limited ammo and hard-to-kill enemies. On harder difficulties you won't have enough ammo to kill every enemy, so the general rule is to learn how to avoid and dodge enemies to conserve ammo.

### Gameplay modes

* *Classic 90s mode* - the way the game was intended to be played.
* *Modern-take mode* - intended for more action-heavy experience with the gameplay resembling the modern *Resident Evil* games, making reloading and shooting easier. The default double reloading system is disabled and an option to skip puzzles is added.

### Difficulty levels

* *Easy* - story mode for more casual experience.
* *Normal* - the game's standard difficulty. Recommended for the first playthrough.
* *Daymare* - the hardest difficulty with buffed up enemies and less ammo. Recommended for experienced survival horror players.

## Inventory management

The inventory and health is managed through the Data Interchange Device (D.I.D.). You can also access the collected documents and maps through it. Using the D.I.D. will not pause the game.

## Reloading

Playing on the "90s mode" it is necessary to understand the game's unique reloading system:

* *Fast reloading* (press the reload button once): the character will replace the current equipped magazine with a new one by dropping the former on the ground. The dropped magazine can be picked up again.

* *Slow reloading* (press and hold the reload button): the character will slowly replace the current equipped magazine with a new one, placing the former back in the inventory.

For this system to work, you must have at least one magazine in the inventory. The magazines have to be refilled manually through the inventory screen. If you have more than one magazine, you can choose which magazine to load in-game by pressing the switch magazine key (E by default).

## Consumables

### **Basic consumables:**

* Energy drink - restores a little health
* Energy bar - restores a little health
* Epinephrine - restores a little stamina
* Mental drops - increases perceptive abilities for a little time

### **Rapid Use Fluids (R.U.F.).**

Special consumables that can be found throughout the games or crafted using the base consumable and H-Additive.

* R.U. Health (Energy drink + H-Additive) - restores health for a period of time
* R.U. Stamina (Epinephrine+ H-Additive) - restores stamina for a period of time
* R.U. Mental (Mental drops + H-Additive) - increases perception for a period of time

### "Plus" fluids

* R.U. Health Plus - restores health for a longer period of time
* R.U. Stamina Plus - increases stamina and defense for a period of time
* R.U. Mental Plus - improves perception and aiming capabilites for a period of time

### Mixes

* R.U. Mix Alpha - combines the effects of Health and Mental Fluids
* R.U. Mix Beta - combines the effects of Health and Stamina Fluids
* R.U. Mix Gamma - combines the effects of Mental and Stamina Fluids

## Ranking

**Note:** *The following requirements are unofficial and were tested on **Daymare** difficulty.*

* **S** rank - complete the game under 3 hours with less than 3 deaths
* **A** rank - complete the game under 5:30 hours with less than 3 deaths
* **B** rank - any result lower than the A rank requirements

### Result screens

* S rank (2 deaths)
* S rank (No deaths)
* A rank
* A rank (under 3 hours)
* B rank

## Saving

The game uses checkpoint-based system with one autosave slot available. In additional, you can save the game manually using the H.I.V.E. terminal from Chapter 2 onwards.

## Tips and tricks

* Avoid wasting GK 22 ammo, it's not very useful, especially on *Daymare* difficulty. You can use it to stun zombies by shooting them in the legs or in the head, so you can run past them, but you'll require a lot of bullets to actually kill a single zombie with it. In H.I.V.E terminals 30 regular GK 22 bullets can be exchange for 15 Hollow Point bullets, which is a much stronger power source with a high chance of decapitating or amputationg zombies.
* While playing as Liev, feel free to spend as much ammo and consumables as you like. He's only playable in the first chapter and his items (save for the gun) do not carry to other characters.
* A down enemy can get up again. A pool of blood under the body is an indicator if an enemy is dead for good or not.
* Headshot success depends on the ammo. Headshots performed with GK 22 bullets will stun zombies or knock them out. Headshots with Hollow Point ammo or shotguns have a high chance of killing a zombie immediately or decapitating it.
* Use melee attacks, they help to conserve ammo. A bullet or two can stun a zombie and the following melee attack will knock them down giving you a few seconds to escape.
* Search every nook and cranny for hidden items and supplies, some can be hard to spot. Use the R.U. Mental fluid, it echances perception making it easier to look for items.
* Be sure to click on everything interesting: you can interact with many objects or places throughout the game that do not have an interact button prompt. You can receive an additional comment from the character or unlock a hidden achievement.
* Plus R.U. fluid mixes (health+health, stamina+stamina, mental+mental) are the most useful. Stamina Plus will give you an extra defense boost and Mental Plus will give you smoother aiming, which is especially useful during the boss fight with twin Castor H.A.D.E.S.
* Using a health item will restore your health over a period of time, not immediately, so be carefull while healing in an area full of enemies. If you healed already high on health, your health bar will temporarily extend over the 100% limit. The maximum health you can get is 140%.
* Hacking cables can be used multiple times. There's no point in carrying more than one of these, the terminals are usually closed to checkpoints, so even if you failed the hacking minigame, you reload from a checkpoint and try again. Two cables can exchanged for an additional magazine in the H.I.V.E. terminal.
* During the first fight with the Abomination, feel free to use the desert eagle, you'll get an infinite amount of ammo for it during the final boss fight later.
* Wrong Type-7 ("Melted men") are quite deadly and have a high range acid blast attack. However, they're quite slow and easy to dodge. In the main game you're only required to kill one Melted man, the rest can be avoided. Stay far away when shooting at them. When they die, their bodies explode with acid that may kill you if you're too close.