Signalis (2022)
Genres:Adventure, Indie
Themes:Action, Horror, Science fiction, Survival, Mystery
Game modes:Single player
Story:Signalis is a classic survival horror experience with a unique aesthetic, full of melancholic mystery. Investigate a dark secret, solve puzzles, fight off nightmarish creatures and navigate dystopian, surreal retrotech worlds as Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost dreams.
This game took me back to the era of classic PSX horror games like the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The mechanics, aesthetics and atmosphere of the time, but executed perfectly and made more approachable for modern times. An absolute masterpiece, and an instant buy from me the moment it arrives on GOG.
I found this game bittersweet. I really liked its classic survival horror mechanics and its visuals, which were heavily influenced by Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, Blame and Gantz. It has a story with a very well-crafted and interesting lore, but don't expect to see a totally satisfactory ending in any of its possible outcomes.
I cannot stop thinking about this game. Signalis to me is more than just a survival horror game, though it executes that excellently too. To me, this game is a masterpiece in the art of interpretive story-telling. It is emotionally impactful to me in a way I cannot do justice when trying to describe it. The atmosphere and setting are melancholic and dark, perfect for the game, and the world building is revealed at a good pace with a natural flow to it. There is plenty of background lore to be found, but it's not overwhelming. And of course, a classic story told in a new way. This game haunts me in the best way possible. It's a game that dug a hole in my heart that I don't know how to fill.
My Game of the Year in 2024 was Signalis. (That's the year I played it for the first time.)
The writing and lore and allusions of the game are intriguing beyond question; the world design and levels and enemies are both very intuitive and maze-like, balancing on a tight-rope that MANY other developers fail to; the gameplay and encounter design and puzzles are all open enough to take your time and attention without being so obtuse as to be mashing buttons until something works or forcing the player to find a guide for help.
Something about what Signalis does and the way it does it is genius. Everything is simply right in the sweet spot for what it needs to be to be good. I commend the effort gone into this work, and I thank my brother for introducing it to me.
It’s also the perfect Survival Horror game for me: i.e. not so scary as to be debilitating, nor so easygoing as to be a steamroll. For my gameplay style, which err’s on the side of ultra-conservatism and saving as many resources as humanly possible - which I guess means I’m a very passive player - this game works beautifully. I was even able to beat the game itself on the harder difficulty with little enough error and resource usage to make myself genuinely proud and my brother dumbfounded.
Signalis is fantastic. Beyond all of the praises I’ve already heaped upon it, the tone and the atmosphere of it are brilliant, and so brilliantly suit the interesting and strange structure and the mysteries the story leaves open to interpretation. I also love how the player’s actions - meaning quite literally how good they play - are what influence which of the 3 regular endings you get. I should hop back on and play differently to try to get the 2 endings I haven’t seen yet. I know there’s Leave, Memory, Promise, and the secret ending called Artifact. I got Artificat, and I also got Memory. I need to try to get Leave and Promise.
I will more than happily buy Signalis again when it hits GOG, and I hope you do too.
I haven’t played past what I believe is the tutorial yet even with the little gameplay that I’ve seen, it’s immediately visible as one of those games that you will finish and sit there for at least 20 minutes, life changed. From the unique art style to the specific “feel” of just walking around and the ui as well as the clear connection to good old games (literal like resident evil, from what I’ve seen of resident evil, not the site); this game would be perfect on GoG.
This is a unique take on the wish list, since I haven't played the game. I have only listened to the soundtrack. And that is enough! The music is superb and given that it is to illustrate a horror indie game, the game just has got to be good!
I would have just copypasted my steam review, unfortunately the word count was too long so here is the link instead;
steamcommunity.com/id/3213444/recommended/1262350
Signalis is a pure perfection, a masterpiece of horror and deep story.
Try not to spoil anything for yourself. Just start this game.
It's a classic survival horror with many resemblance to original Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
You can also see inspiration from Ghost in the Shell and Blame!.
Plot with a deep layers will keep you on a hook through all the game.
Signalis has 5 different endings, which will show you some interest twists about human's consciousness.
You will get information piece by piece through many documents and dialogues with different characters.
Various arsenal will help you get through the enemies - Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Revolver and other useful stuff.
Don't forget that not all enemies should be exterminated. Save your resources.
Beautiful OST and sound effects, which helps a lot to keep the game atmosphere surreal and grim.
Puzzles. Yes, puzzles. It's not just going guns blazing through the story, you will need to think a bit.
Morse code and radio signals.
...wake up.
What makes Signalis special other than being a two people passion project was that it had blended a myriad of elements that range from sci-fi to Lovecraftian to survival horror and blended into something original. It really sells itself as this dystopic retrotech universe where nightmares become reality. A dream about dreaming as the developers put it into writing. The game would make you wonder how this universe works and how it fascinating the infrastructure worked before it all went to hell. It wears its Silent Hill and Resident Evil, mostly the former, influences proudly on its sleeve and that should tell you to buy it especially as a Silent Hill fan. Rose Engine made an impressive game that makes me excited for more to come.
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