A beautifully directed 3D pixel throwback to classic late 90s era survival/horror games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Blending puzzle solving, map navigation, gunplay and a bit of stealth painted in a thick coat of narratively driven horror, Signalis throws you into a desolate story of desperation and survival with scares that are subtle and amplified by its pixelated visuals and uncanny sound direction. Signalis wants to scare you just as much as it wants you invested in its story which is given through cutscenes as well as the many texts strewn about the viscerally encrusted environments. These texts can be a bit overbearing in ingesting all the lore but they are vital in giving hints to how to solve puzzles so there is a gameplay reason why you should take the time to read them. As great of a job as the game does in invoking that true survival/horror feel there are a few drawbacks. The pixelated visuals make quite a few things hard to read both on the menu and in the environment. Aiming your weapons is a bit unreliable on a controller so it’s best to use a mouse if possible, and in situations that quickly turn dire, being able to properly aim your weapon is crucial. While I didn’t mind the severely limited inventory management which will have you quickly running out of room for necessary weapons, key items, health packs and ammo that you will undoubtedly need to progress, forcing you to constantly return to a storage unit to manage them, it definitely overstays its welcome in the endgame. The game is methodically paced to a point where I didn’t mind the trek back and forth to these storage units as getting familiar with the layout of each area is very important but there are some endgame fights and puzzles that demand precise management of your inventory which could spell death if you over or underpacked for any given situation. Signalis has a variety of elements that will keep you invested in the horror it has designed to keep you enveloped within during its less than 10 hour runtime and I recommend delving into this terrifying yet passionate ode to dread.