Signalis is my favorite game this year, at a glance it looks like just another PS1/PS2 style horror game like the multitude we've seen the last few years, but this is an entirely different beast altogether.
Gameplay:
A pitch perfect mix of old and new, it feels exactly like playing Resident Evil on the PS1, albeit with the perspective of MGS, but with a slew of modern conveniences, quality of play improvements and a masterful knowledge of balancing. The enemy encounters ratchet up in difficulty at a perfect pace, the exploration becomes more and more complex but never throws too much at you, and the puzzles are challenging but never feel unfair; staying true to the spirit of the classics whilst not being afraid to add unique interactions or gimmicks. This game will have you scratching your head but never quitting out of frustration, it feels great to play but never sacrifices the characteristic 'clunk' of a classic survival horror game.
Story:
Taking place in an interesting sci-fi world, with well-developed and engaging characters, and finely balanced surrealist elements interwoven throughout; this is psychological sci-fi horror at it's best. The story is where the inspirations for the game really rear their heads; the king in yellow is directly referenced in the first moments of the game. And whilst the writing shows a lot of literary influence more than anything else; the structure of said writing and the presentation of the characters narrows down the video game influence from general survival horror to a very specific selection; Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2. The way characters are treated and appear in the world, the way the world acts as an extension of the characters psyche, and of course the true surrealist machinations of everything that happens reek of those first two games; I'll say no more here, but if you know, you know.
Art:
Where to start... from the striking and affecting direction of cutscenes, to the beautiful anime-inspired artstyle characters within them are rendered in - to the fantastic character animations and environments that drip with atmosphere. Every character design is perfect and every location feels distinct and storied. Moreover there's more to it than that; having dreams be told through a first person perspective helps them stand out and almost feel more real and present than reality, making you wonder what is keeping Elster outside of her body and wowing you with more amazing visuals. The pixelated yet detailed look of the game makes for a unique look even amongst it's PS1-inspired contemporaries, and the way puzzle areas look and how the puzzle zones reflect back out into the 2D art in the game proper is genuinely impressive. Every puzzle feels like it's had unique mechanics made for it and every room oozes with steamy, fleshy, dark atmosphere.
I could go on for days about this game, I've been chipping away at it for a week now and even before some of the late-game events I was already sure this is easily one of my games of the year. Signalis does everything right, and it's two-person dev team should be proud of and adulated for this achievement.
Gameplay:
A pitch perfect mix of old and new, it feels exactly like playing Resident Evil on the PS1, albeit with the perspective of MGS, but with a slew of modern conveniences, quality of play improvements and a masterful knowledge of balancing. The enemy encounters ratchet up in difficulty at a perfect pace, the exploration becomes more and more complex but never throws too much at you, and the puzzles are challenging but never feel unfair; staying true to the spirit of the classics whilst not being afraid to add unique interactions or gimmicks. This game will have you scratching your head but never quitting out of frustration, it feels great to play but never sacrifices the characteristic 'clunk' of a classic survival horror game.
Story:
Taking place in an interesting sci-fi world, with well-developed and engaging characters, and finely balanced surrealist elements interwoven throughout; this is psychological sci-fi horror at it's best. The story is where the inspirations for the game really rear their heads; the king in yellow is directly referenced in the first moments of the game. And whilst the writing shows a lot of literary influence more than anything else; the structure of said writing and the presentation of the characters narrows down the video game influence from general survival horror to a very specific selection; Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2. The way characters are treated and appear in the world, the way the world acts as an extension of the characters psyche, and of course the true surrealist machinations of everything that happens reek of those first two games; I'll say no more here, but if you know, you know.
Art:
Where to start... from the striking and affecting direction of cutscenes, to the beautiful anime-inspired artstyle characters within them are rendered in - to the fantastic character animations and environments that drip with atmosphere. Every character design is perfect and every location feels distinct and storied. Moreover there's more to it than that; having dreams be told through a first person perspective helps them stand out and almost feel more real and present than reality, making you wonder what is keeping Elster outside of her body and wowing you with more amazing visuals. The pixelated yet detailed look of the game makes for a unique look even amongst it's PS1-inspired contemporaries, and the way puzzle areas look and how the puzzle zones reflect back out into the 2D art in the game proper is genuinely impressive. Every puzzle feels like it's had unique mechanics made for it and every room oozes with steamy, fleshy, dark atmosphere.
I could go on for days about this game, I've been chipping away at it for a week now and even before some of the late-game events I was already sure this is easily one of my games of the year. Signalis does everything right, and it's two-person dev team should be proud of and adulated for this achievement.
English | Español
Taking the survival horror of the '90s as a reference Signalis claims itself as an indie to be considered which hooks you with its atmosphere and good rhythm, and makes you fall in love with it thanks to its artistic design which is inspired by anime and offers outstanding pixel art.
Tomando como referencia los survival horror de los '90 Signalis se reivindica como un indie muy a tener en cuenta que atrapa con su atmósfera y su buen ritmo, y enamora por un diseño artístico que toma como referencia el anime y ofrece un pixel art sobresaliente.
Taking the survival horror of the '90s as a reference Signalis claims itself as an indie to be considered which hooks you with its atmosphere and good rhythm, and makes you fall in love with it thanks to its artistic design which is inspired by anime and offers outstanding pixel art.
Tomando como referencia los survival horror de los '90 Signalis se reivindica como un indie muy a tener en cuenta que atrapa con su atmósfera y su buen ritmo, y enamora por un diseño artístico que toma como referencia el anime y ofrece un pixel art sobresaliente.
Survival Horror done right. It borrows the best elements from classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil without losing its personality. Sublime art direction, graphic and sound design. Signalis' direction is heavily influenced not only by classics of the survival horror genre, but also from other media. I can see inspiration from Nihei's works in the character design, from Shinbu's work in the Monogatari Series for the cutscenes' direction and even a bit of "End of Evangelion" vibes for some scenes in the final part of the game. Truly a masterpiece and a very recommended game for all survival horror fans.
Combat need improvements but not bad. puzzles are good.ı can't say anything about story cause ı don't get it(and don't care) but i can say that atmosphere is very good. Its like budget RE2. good game
The puzzles are top-tier, they actually make you stop a minute and pay attention on what you suppose to do. Probably the best puzzles i have seen on a Survivor Horror game. The radio mechanic is quite interesting.
The rest is a big "Meh, whatever..."
Combat is ok, i guess... with some modern accessibility bllsht.
Enemies are repetitive and boring.
No real final boss.
Lacking soundtrack .
Story is some 2deep4you crap.
Characters are non-important.
Puzzles are only worth thing of this game.
The rest is a big "Meh, whatever..."
Combat is ok, i guess... with some modern accessibility bllsht.
Enemies are repetitive and boring.
No real final boss.
Lacking soundtrack .
Story is some 2deep4you crap.
Characters are non-important.
Puzzles are only worth thing of this game.
concerning the bones of the game i'm of two minds: signalis avoids puzzle scenarios that end up having me running back and forth wondering what the fuck i'm missing, which is something that tends to interfere with my enjoyment of the older resident evils—though it's also perhaps straightforward to a fault. the puzzles are refreshing in their cleverness, though they will most likely seem a bit too easy to some, and the navigation of each section never even begins to confuse.
my rating is maybe a bit generous, but i don't really care. i'm actually restraining myself, being honest. the presentation and vibes are immaculate. familiar survival horror dosed with traces of BLAME!, nier: automata, blade runner, a little alien 3 (strictly in the bleak feel of its setting), the shining, etc., all steeped in the cosmic horror of otherworldly malevolence plaguing this post-singularity world of ruin. it is by turns coldly alienating and dreamily sapphic. everything feels solid and tactile—this is a game crafted with care, and it feels like it has the integrity of a ps1 or mid '90s pc game with more modern interface and sound design. there's tech everywhere that you want to touch, and it reminded me a lot of alien: isolation in that regard.
signalis is suuuper comfy, and i guess i could be irritated that it never really scared or challenged me, but... again, i don't really care. i just loved being in this haunted sci-fi world.
my rating is maybe a bit generous, but i don't really care. i'm actually restraining myself, being honest. the presentation and vibes are immaculate. familiar survival horror dosed with traces of BLAME!, nier: automata, blade runner, a little alien 3 (strictly in the bleak feel of its setting), the shining, etc., all steeped in the cosmic horror of otherworldly malevolence plaguing this post-singularity world of ruin. it is by turns coldly alienating and dreamily sapphic. everything feels solid and tactile—this is a game crafted with care, and it feels like it has the integrity of a ps1 or mid '90s pc game with more modern interface and sound design. there's tech everywhere that you want to touch, and it reminded me a lot of alien: isolation in that regard.
signalis is suuuper comfy, and i guess i could be irritated that it never really scared or challenged me, but... again, i don't really care. i just loved being in this haunted sci-fi world.
Un juego muy inspirado en resident evil 1, con toques ambientales y de mundo de dead space. Visualmente es una absoluta maravilla, hay un par de bugs de input que me han molestado mas de lo que deberian, pero seguro que los arreglan con el tiempo (Espero...). Te lo puedes finiquitar en una tarde, perfecto para halloween.
Pros:
- Great level design with plenty of puzzles to tackle and strong atmosphere/music. With top down survival horror gameplay that emulates those of the PS1 era, it wears its influences on its sleeve but stands out as a well crafted game in its own right
- Its pixel art and visual style are really cool, managing to give a continuous sense of dread as you progress deeper into the facility and the game grows more chaotic
- The story’s a bit difficult to follow as it’s told through disjointed scenes and you’re never sure of what’s actually happening, but it’s really interesting nonetheless. And you can tell it takes from the likes of Evangelion in how abstract the presentation can be
Cons:
- You only have 6 equipment slots the entire game, which did feel a bit restrictive when you have to hold weapons, modules (like the flashlight), ammo and collect numerous puzzle pieces. The only reason you’d need to backtrack in this is to dump stuff into storage cause you couldn’t pick up what you needed, and this happens often enough to be annoying
- Combat is just serviceable. It’s usually easy enough to run by enemies and avoid fights, but boss fights are unsurprisingly a weak point. I wish they weren’t always in these kind of horror games, but they weren’t a frequent part of it at least
- A nitpick but sometimes the door prompts don’t appear unless you move away from them and back again, this tended to be an issue whenever you were in a room running from a bunch of enemies lol
- Great level design with plenty of puzzles to tackle and strong atmosphere/music. With top down survival horror gameplay that emulates those of the PS1 era, it wears its influences on its sleeve but stands out as a well crafted game in its own right
- Its pixel art and visual style are really cool, managing to give a continuous sense of dread as you progress deeper into the facility and the game grows more chaotic
- The story’s a bit difficult to follow as it’s told through disjointed scenes and you’re never sure of what’s actually happening, but it’s really interesting nonetheless. And you can tell it takes from the likes of Evangelion in how abstract the presentation can be
Cons:
- You only have 6 equipment slots the entire game, which did feel a bit restrictive when you have to hold weapons, modules (like the flashlight), ammo and collect numerous puzzle pieces. The only reason you’d need to backtrack in this is to dump stuff into storage cause you couldn’t pick up what you needed, and this happens often enough to be annoying
- Combat is just serviceable. It’s usually easy enough to run by enemies and avoid fights, but boss fights are unsurprisingly a weak point. I wish they weren’t always in these kind of horror games, but they weren’t a frequent part of it at least
- A nitpick but sometimes the door prompts don’t appear unless you move away from them and back again, this tended to be an issue whenever you were in a room running from a bunch of enemies lol
Signalis is 'Sci-Fi Silent Hill' and one of the best games of 2022.
A hauntingly beautiful meditation on love, ripe with interrogations on grief, trauma, and existentialism as well as the unrelenting politics of capitalism, surveillance, and colonialism. It's a sanguine descent into tragedy, soaked in the decomposing reds of flesh, memory, and the screaming inferno. Loved it every step of the way.
Ending: "Memory"
A hauntingly beautiful meditation on love, ripe with interrogations on grief, trauma, and existentialism as well as the unrelenting politics of capitalism, surveillance, and colonialism. It's a sanguine descent into tragedy, soaked in the decomposing reds of flesh, memory, and the screaming inferno. Loved it every step of the way.
Ending: "Memory"
Signalis does horror very well. I don't play too many horror games, but I can say that I really enjoyed this one...mostly.
Signalis excels in it's art direction and it's sound design. Frequently the sound was the primary reason for my fear during many sections of the game. Many parts relied on rapidly switching images and loud sounds, using anticipation to a great benefit. This was easily the best part of Signalis.
The gameplay of Signalis is pretty decent, but is rather lacking in some areas. For one, the AI of the enemies is super easy to avoid, and I found myself dodging them later in the game rather than fighting them. The puzzles are for the most part pretty excellent. Never anything too hard, but nothing too simple either. This breaks down a bit towards the end of the game where it's less puzzles more items.
If I had one thing I didn't like about Signalis, it would be it's length. This may be a bit spoilery, but when I reached the "ending" of the game, I was a bit relieved and worn out. When I found out that there was more, I gave up and decided I was fine without witnessing the "true ending" of Signalis. The game dragged on a little too long, and I think the extra ending area of the game was overdone and I didn't actually complete it.
Signalis was very good, easily one of the best horror games of the year, but I can't help but wish it was a little bit shorter or at least didn't fake me out with an ending. I highly recommend this to any fan of horror games.
Update 10/17/23: In hindsight, this game was pretty fantastic, bumped up to 4 stars.
Signalis excels in it's art direction and it's sound design. Frequently the sound was the primary reason for my fear during many sections of the game. Many parts relied on rapidly switching images and loud sounds, using anticipation to a great benefit. This was easily the best part of Signalis.
The gameplay of Signalis is pretty decent, but is rather lacking in some areas. For one, the AI of the enemies is super easy to avoid, and I found myself dodging them later in the game rather than fighting them. The puzzles are for the most part pretty excellent. Never anything too hard, but nothing too simple either. This breaks down a bit towards the end of the game where it's less puzzles more items.
If I had one thing I didn't like about Signalis, it would be it's length. This may be a bit spoilery, but when I reached the "ending" of the game, I was a bit relieved and worn out. When I found out that there was more, I gave up and decided I was fine without witnessing the "true ending" of Signalis. The game dragged on a little too long, and I think the extra ending area of the game was overdone and I didn't actually complete it.
Signalis was very good, easily one of the best horror games of the year, but I can't help but wish it was a little bit shorter or at least didn't fake me out with an ending. I highly recommend this to any fan of horror games.
Update 10/17/23: In hindsight, this game was pretty fantastic, bumped up to 4 stars.
Finally, a survival horror without jumpscares! If the inventory didn't make me do so many turnarounds I would've enjoyed it a bit more, I feel like it was too limiting on some moments making me go taking rounds three times in a row. I will need to do some rereading to fully understand everything, but neat experience nonetheless.
Signalis is basically what happens when you take the best traits of the two most acclaimed survival horror franchises, Silent Hill and Resident Evil, fuse them together and then slap an anime-esque art style on top of it.
I can't think of the last time I played a new original survival horror game that I genuinely loved like I did Signalis. This was one of the biggest surprise hits of the year so far for me.
If you've played Resident Evil, then Signalis will feel very familiar to you. Inventory management and backtracking are a constant, as well as learning to conserve items/ammo by getting used to sneaking/running past enemies as opposed to always fighting. Alongside that, you'll be solving various puzzles and using key items across the game to progress. Very standard stuff if you're used to survival horror. Signalis is not very innovative with it's gameplay, but if it ain't broke why fix it, right?
I think the gameplay is probably the ONLY area where I have a few mild issues worth addressing. I found there to be a lot of times where I have to shimmy around a door or object a bit just to get the game to interact with it. It's nothing major, but I did notice it a lot throughout my playthrough. It's not so bad when you're just exploring, but when you're trying to run away from enemies and the game won't let you run through the door it can be a little irritating.
Maybe it's just because I'm someone experienced with survival horror and, therefore, I tried to be very careful about using ammunition, but I found most of the weapons and tools in this game to be widely underused by myself. Or just straight up never used at all in my playthrough. Throughout the game, I mainly used just my pistol and occasionally switched it out for the revolver or shotgun. However, the game gives you a plethora of different weapons and tools, like stun prods and flares, to fight enemies, but nothing about the scenarios I faced ever convinced me that I needed to take advantage of these other weapons/tools. As long as you're not trying to be Rambo, I can't see where and why most of this stuff would be really useful to carry around in your already very restrictive inventory.
Where Signalis REALLY stands out, though, is in every other part of its presentation. The old-school PS1-esque graphics look awesome and have a lot of love put into it. I usually find this style in modern horror to be corny, but this is a situation where it works excellently and only adds to the whole feel of the game. The music is lots of great ambient stuff alongside some intense creepy tracks. Very Yamaoka inspired. It goes really well with the whole look and feel of the game.
The narrative of Signalis is probably the hardest one to describe in detail, both due to spoilers and also just because its a very abstract, psychological type of story and I'm nowhere near confident that I fully grasped it all. That being said, though, I was captivated by it and I enjoyed how it explored itself through storytelling within the gameplay, or in its beautiful, cinematic cutscenes that feel reminiscent of some of my favorite animes such as Evangelion, Monogatari, and Ghost in the Shell. It has a surprisingly rich amount of world-building and details that legitimately not only make me want to unravel the main plot, but also want to know more about just the setting in general. It's really good stuff and I think most fans of sci-fi horror will enjoy it for that.
Signalis is an absolute indie game achievement that has swooped past much of the competition this year and become one of the best gaming experiences I've had in 2022. Can not recommend it enough.
I can't think of the last time I played a new original survival horror game that I genuinely loved like I did Signalis. This was one of the biggest surprise hits of the year so far for me.
If you've played Resident Evil, then Signalis will feel very familiar to you. Inventory management and backtracking are a constant, as well as learning to conserve items/ammo by getting used to sneaking/running past enemies as opposed to always fighting. Alongside that, you'll be solving various puzzles and using key items across the game to progress. Very standard stuff if you're used to survival horror. Signalis is not very innovative with it's gameplay, but if it ain't broke why fix it, right?
I think the gameplay is probably the ONLY area where I have a few mild issues worth addressing. I found there to be a lot of times where I have to shimmy around a door or object a bit just to get the game to interact with it. It's nothing major, but I did notice it a lot throughout my playthrough. It's not so bad when you're just exploring, but when you're trying to run away from enemies and the game won't let you run through the door it can be a little irritating.
Maybe it's just because I'm someone experienced with survival horror and, therefore, I tried to be very careful about using ammunition, but I found most of the weapons and tools in this game to be widely underused by myself. Or just straight up never used at all in my playthrough. Throughout the game, I mainly used just my pistol and occasionally switched it out for the revolver or shotgun. However, the game gives you a plethora of different weapons and tools, like stun prods and flares, to fight enemies, but nothing about the scenarios I faced ever convinced me that I needed to take advantage of these other weapons/tools. As long as you're not trying to be Rambo, I can't see where and why most of this stuff would be really useful to carry around in your already very restrictive inventory.
Where Signalis REALLY stands out, though, is in every other part of its presentation. The old-school PS1-esque graphics look awesome and have a lot of love put into it. I usually find this style in modern horror to be corny, but this is a situation where it works excellently and only adds to the whole feel of the game. The music is lots of great ambient stuff alongside some intense creepy tracks. Very Yamaoka inspired. It goes really well with the whole look and feel of the game.
The narrative of Signalis is probably the hardest one to describe in detail, both due to spoilers and also just because its a very abstract, psychological type of story and I'm nowhere near confident that I fully grasped it all. That being said, though, I was captivated by it and I enjoyed how it explored itself through storytelling within the gameplay, or in its beautiful, cinematic cutscenes that feel reminiscent of some of my favorite animes such as Evangelion, Monogatari, and Ghost in the Shell. It has a surprisingly rich amount of world-building and details that legitimately not only make me want to unravel the main plot, but also want to know more about just the setting in general. It's really good stuff and I think most fans of sci-fi horror will enjoy it for that.
Signalis is an absolute indie game achievement that has swooped past much of the competition this year and become one of the best gaming experiences I've had in 2022. Can not recommend it enough.
feels like old resident evil but with a touch of soma
maybe one of my new favourite survival horror games of all time? I've only played it once... gotta go back and get the other ending(s) at some point. pretty much perfect on every aesthetic level. also great usage of Chopin's raindrop prelude!
Dripping in atmosphere and a narrative that manages to claw itself into your head hours and days after playing. There are a few design choices which could have been worked differently (I like limited inventory in games but the back and forth can get a touch laborious here) but the experience allowed me to pretty much completely overlook them.
Indie horror of the year for me, what a stunning game. Nice blend of new and old survival horror mechanics. The first person segments feel extra cool since most of the game is top down.
I'll have to relook at some things to fully grasp the story since it's a lil ambiguous, but I was very invested. Beat it on survival difficulty and it felt just right. Never found the grenade launcher tho lol
Only gripe is the inventory system. Because you usually want a gun+healing+tool, you don't really have that much space for key items. Which causes a lot of backtracking cause you have to keep going to the locker and storing stuff.
I'll have to relook at some things to fully grasp the story since it's a lil ambiguous, but I was very invested. Beat it on survival difficulty and it felt just right. Never found the grenade launcher tho lol
Only gripe is the inventory system. Because you usually want a gun+healing+tool, you don't really have that much space for key items. Which causes a lot of backtracking cause you have to keep going to the locker and storing stuff.
SIGNALIS is a very good game. The combat definitely needs some improving and some of the puzzles can be tedious but overall a solid effort.
This review contains spoilers
Videogame equivalent of Evangelion
This review contains spoilers
Good survival horror game that takes a lot of queues from Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The false ending is a touch of genius, as I didn't realize it was a fake out at first. The UI is a real treat as well, as it hearkens back to the old CRT sets of the 90s. The game's story is wild, but sometimes meanders a bit. You shouldn't have too much trouble with this as ammunition is fairly plentiful, and there are a good variety of weapons in the game, but there is an RE1 Remake mechanic in play where enemies can get back up.
Combat can bit a janky at times due to the aiming scheme. As well as this, some puzzles have way too many pieces and are time consuming to find in some areas where backtracking is necessary due to the inventory being RE1 small.
All in all, I really enjoyed. It's a very haunting game with excellent design choices.
Combat can bit a janky at times due to the aiming scheme. As well as this, some puzzles have way too many pieces and are time consuming to find in some areas where backtracking is necessary due to the inventory being RE1 small.
All in all, I really enjoyed. It's a very haunting game with excellent design choices.
I want to like this more than I did.. game can be quite boring at times, I would of enjoyed my time with it much more without the annoying 6 item inventory. I don't mind limited inventory but it's horrible and gets old and tedious immediately. The look and the atmosphere is amazing. I see people saying the soundtrack is not good, but I totally disagree its very fitting and a great homage to Silent Hill music imo. Game is a good meld of RE2 and Silent hill but doesn't come close to reaching their heights.. final boss is extremely silent hill. All in all its a good addition to the survival horror genre and I'm excited to see what else will be done by this team and with this engine.
This review contains spoilers
I didn't wake up bros...
Signalis has lived rent free in my head since the moment I started it. It is both a game I want to go on about endlessly, dissecting it's thousand details and it's lineage of inspiration - and a game that I think everyone should just straight up play for themselves. Brilliant in worldbuilding and aesthetics, strong puzzle-boxy game design ripped straight from Resi 1/2, Surrealism that both comes in spades and is perfectly balanced to keep you on your toes, and a story that slowly forces its way under your skin, unravelling in a manner that is currently living rent free in my head.
I would concede that Signalis appeals particularly to my sensibilities - theres a bit of the thing, bit of lynch, bit of alien, and a whole lot more. But it's reference and reverance is never out of line and never takes away from what's an insanely compelling experience. It is a game that uses the best of the past to set a baseline for a good horror game and set up the game language, only to twist the knife.
Its not flawless, but to even broach the flaws feels like doing a disservice. Like, there's little niggles with the difficulty, enemies, and one or two puzzles in retrospect. But Signalis is such a ridiculously compelling game that it never really matters, it was never something I was thinking about actually at the time. Only progressing onward, unpicking it's puzzle box levels and slowly unravelling it's story.
Easily game of the year, and one of the best horror games in a long, long time. This game made me buy a damn book, play it.
I would concede that Signalis appeals particularly to my sensibilities - theres a bit of the thing, bit of lynch, bit of alien, and a whole lot more. But it's reference and reverance is never out of line and never takes away from what's an insanely compelling experience. It is a game that uses the best of the past to set a baseline for a good horror game and set up the game language, only to twist the knife.
Its not flawless, but to even broach the flaws feels like doing a disservice. Like, there's little niggles with the difficulty, enemies, and one or two puzzles in retrospect. But Signalis is such a ridiculously compelling game that it never really matters, it was never something I was thinking about actually at the time. Only progressing onward, unpicking it's puzzle box levels and slowly unravelling it's story.
Easily game of the year, and one of the best horror games in a long, long time. This game made me buy a damn book, play it.
Por algum caralhos de motivo me deu uma puta vibe de "indie japonês de terror feito no RPGMaker e lançado em 2005". Logo o tesão que eu sinto é o mesmo que um monge budista atingindo o estado espiritual Nirvana
Evangelion está meio estranho
Wow, this was absolutely worth the wait. Signalis is very much Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Signalis is also Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion and a whole lot of other things. Most importantly, however, Signalis is also Signalis: an eerie dystopian mind-bender with an extremely strong aesthetic. When there are so many sources of inspiration in play I'd imagine it's real easy to lose track of what it is you're trying to convey while making that love letter to PS1 survival horror and your favorite animes but I thought rose-engine definitely succeeded in bringing their own vision to the mix. The art direction is superb and cohesive, the gameplay is totally RE and I loved the (Japanese-)German flair in everything.
I don't want to go into the the narrative with this one, partly because I'm still trying to piece it together myself but also because that's exactly what it is about: a fascinating mystery to try and unravel for yourself. You play as an 'LSTR' unit technician Replika and you're on a mission to find someone in a remote work facility, that's the premise. I really enjoyed the level design, lots of satisfying shortcuts to unlock and steely high-tech spaces to explore. RE2 vibes down to a tee.
I played the game with the tank controls on - as any self-respecting old-school survival horror fan would - and though there was some stickiness when moving near objects or walls I felt like it was the right move. The strafing felt unnecessary to me though, I would have preferred more precise control over the aiming instead. Combat in general was quite competent, the shooting felt good and I liked the self-defense mechanics. The big negative I've seen mentioned a lot has to do with the limited inventory space and I get it. I anticipated a lot of backtracking and item management so I wasn't annoyed by it but it would have been nice to have a separate slot for the current equipment and/or module, I'm sure that would alleviate the problem for most players.
The highlight of the game for me were the audiovisuals, I was in constant awe entering from one area to another, but a close second has to be the puzzles. They are a nice mix of both RE and SH and I had more than one aha moment during my playthrough which is always a good thing. The gripes I have with the game are more to do with a slight lack of polish (e.g. entering a door can be awkward) rather than the content itself. I guess some key visuals could have been a tad more original and certain editing choices felt less meaningful than others but I didn't really mind personally, I was fully tapped in and into it all.
I could go on and on about Signalis but I'll wrap it up here. This is a game I respect immensely more than anything. I feel like it is a (sadly) rare case where the developers actually understand what people loved about the old games their indie title is striving for. And thank god this wasn't a fucking bite-sized three-hours-at-most nu-horror game but an actual, hefty game with a proper structure. They understood and they delivered. Brilliant work, rose-engine! You kept your promise.
I don't want to go into the the narrative with this one, partly because I'm still trying to piece it together myself but also because that's exactly what it is about: a fascinating mystery to try and unravel for yourself. You play as an 'LSTR' unit technician Replika and you're on a mission to find someone in a remote work facility, that's the premise. I really enjoyed the level design, lots of satisfying shortcuts to unlock and steely high-tech spaces to explore. RE2 vibes down to a tee.
I played the game with the tank controls on - as any self-respecting old-school survival horror fan would - and though there was some stickiness when moving near objects or walls I felt like it was the right move. The strafing felt unnecessary to me though, I would have preferred more precise control over the aiming instead. Combat in general was quite competent, the shooting felt good and I liked the self-defense mechanics. The big negative I've seen mentioned a lot has to do with the limited inventory space and I get it. I anticipated a lot of backtracking and item management so I wasn't annoyed by it but it would have been nice to have a separate slot for the current equipment and/or module, I'm sure that would alleviate the problem for most players.
The highlight of the game for me were the audiovisuals, I was in constant awe entering from one area to another, but a close second has to be the puzzles. They are a nice mix of both RE and SH and I had more than one aha moment during my playthrough which is always a good thing. The gripes I have with the game are more to do with a slight lack of polish (e.g. entering a door can be awkward) rather than the content itself. I guess some key visuals could have been a tad more original and certain editing choices felt less meaningful than others but I didn't really mind personally, I was fully tapped in and into it all.
I could go on and on about Signalis but I'll wrap it up here. This is a game I respect immensely more than anything. I feel like it is a (sadly) rare case where the developers actually understand what people loved about the old games their indie title is striving for. And thank god this wasn't a fucking bite-sized three-hours-at-most nu-horror game but an actual, hefty game with a proper structure. They understood and they delivered. Brilliant work, rose-engine! You kept your promise.
Una de las más agradables sorpresas que me he llevado en 2022. Lo esperaba con ganas desde que se anunció, diría, en el E3 2021, pero nunca me esperaba que acabase llegando a la calidad que tiene.
Es un survival horror clásico. Muy bien llevado en todo momento y cuidando cada aspecto del género. Sí he notado que es un pelín fácil de más, acaba sobrando bastante munición y demasiadas curas, le hubiese subido la dificultad a la primera run si me lo hubiese permitido.
La historia es bastante desconcertante, hasta el punto de que aún habiéndolo terminado no sabría muy bien explicar de qué va, más allá de las trazas principales del guión.
En definitiva, un juegazo que ya es historia del género. Está disponible en Game Pass y, sin duda, me pillaré la edición física de Switch en cuanto pueda.
Es un survival horror clásico. Muy bien llevado en todo momento y cuidando cada aspecto del género. Sí he notado que es un pelín fácil de más, acaba sobrando bastante munición y demasiadas curas, le hubiese subido la dificultad a la primera run si me lo hubiese permitido.
La historia es bastante desconcertante, hasta el punto de que aún habiéndolo terminado no sabría muy bien explicar de qué va, más allá de las trazas principales del guión.
En definitiva, un juegazo que ya es historia del género. Está disponible en Game Pass y, sin duda, me pillaré la edición física de Switch en cuanto pueda.
It fills me with joy to see new horror games like this, not only using a formula I adore but also perfecting it
Fantastic game
Fantastic game
really split here. the mechanics, the framing onto the animation, especially the immaculate first person puzzles, were engrossing to me. i love a good romp around spaces while micromanaging an inventory and avoiding enemies. however, the blatant, almost pandering references to other media coupled with an extremely abstracted storytelling structure just sort of punctured the work and deflated it. collapsed the narrative space entirely. i think you need a certain strength of theme to have the narrative economy to do things like "scene intentionally left out" -- and near the final boss fight i was begging for the game to end. it sincerely reminds me of bakemonogatari. no other way really to express it: the writing is amateur hour. an incredibly talented production taxed in this way. a shame.
empieza bastante bien jugando con la nostalgia de silent hill y resident evil, pero de un momento a otro me encontré rusheando el juego rezando para que termine.
So this is a great Survival Horror with a great mix of both Silent Hill and Resident Evil mechanics. Some of the other influences like Ghost in the Shell are fantastic and really go well with the overall art style and distinct animations. The gameplay is clunky enough in that Survival Horror way but still has some ways to make the shooting work if you are precise.
Amazing Survival Horror with many inspirations notably Silent Hill 2, and Resident Evil 1 Classic - but this stands on its own and in many places even above those. The combat is overall great, with less tension in places due to spotty movement and the doors between rooms feeling off at times. This is worth playing if you're a hardcore fan of the genre. Great atmosphere and mystery here packed in a visually striking world. Fails for me in one area in particular - inventory managment - a core part of any game in this genre arguably, but taken a little too far. Ammo is maxed in inventory to a stiff amount, and doesn't allow multiple slots with ammo of the same type. On top of this, a key equipable item in the game (like most survival-horror games) is a flashlight, which in this game is actually an active item in inventory, so in a 6 slot inventory (with no upgrades) you're going to be capped at 5 slots for most of the game considering how useful the flashlight is - and necessary in certain parts. It hampers the tempo of the gameplay to be even more slow and moving between item boxes than even Resident Evil ever was. Otherwise though an amazing game to play and experience.