Signalis
#14
PC - Steam
Beaten December 10th, 2022
Signalis is a modern classic, a psychological horror game made up of a dozen influences in gaming, anime and movies over the past 25 years - but instead of feeling derivative, if blends each element together to create something wholly new... and frightening
Pros:
We'll start with presentation, as it's visual design is it's most striking feature and obviously in a class of its own. It has a late-PS1 style graphics albeit with more modern lighting techniques and easily readable textures, crossing Resident Evil, Silent Hill and anime like Bakemonogatari & Evangelion, it's got enough edge to it that you can tell what everything is, but looks blurry enough to be just a bit... off
The story is straightforward but also fragmented, like our protagonist's memory. You are Elster, a robot/cyborg/clone who is searching for their missing girlfriend on an old and decrepit mining colony - one that is currently undergoing a horrifying transformation as all its robot workers are being twisted into monsters, as organic matter is slowly stuffing up the mechnical parts of both the people and the facility itself. As you progress through the facility (with several odd gaps in how you get where and when) you learn more about your past and the woman you're after - and why are others after her as well...? There is a great deal that is referential and open to interpretation which I enjoy, if you get any of the endings other than the one I got (it's okay youtube helped me out) I do feel you get enough closure at least on the main character. It's very much a game more about feeling and presentation rather than plot.
While the static cam is mentioned in the "meh" section below, I must call attention to the several segments of 1st person exploration, each area you wander about in has a distinct vibe to it that adds a great deal of "present"-ness. I wish there were more!!
Lovecraft nods E'RYWHERE! Love it
Music is exceptional, obvious nods to Silent Hill with its somber pianos and contemporary jazz but also some VERY well-placed classical pieces. Like damn man.
Puzzle designs are a visual feast, and most of the puzzles are pretty good, not too tough but not just pushing a button on a pretty background either.
Meh:
Camera angles are a bit too "static" in terms of isometric views? I wish that some rooms changed up the direction a bit.
All characters (with one notable exception) are ladies who look very very similar.... The artist has a type that's for sure lol
Combat is a bit too... fine? Like everything not on the pro's list, it's not like Signalis has any real BAD parts, just things that don't live up to the superb music, visuals & story. The combat is basically just Resident Evil, however there's too much of it and it's not dangerous enough. It borrows the idea of Crimson Head mechanics (dead enemies can come back to life) but they just come back normal so there's no real reason to be too afraid of them, just burn the bodies that are in the main halls so you don't have to waste bullets when going up and down the busy roads solving puzzles and you're A-Okay. Basically the combat encounters need to be tighter - fewer in number, more deadly, more meaningful.
Puzzle FREQUENCY and inconsistency is a bit of an issue, there's too many "get X number of things to open this door" puzzles, and I get they're an homage to RE but ehhh I feel like RE had them paced better? Like there are 10-20 "find weird thing and put it in weird hole" moments in RE1, there are like 100 in Signalis. Puzzles are tough but with so many I felt like we needed more variety.
Cons:
Speaking of lack of variety, my one real issue with Signalis - the levels themselves. 3 of the 4 main areas are basically identical in layout - handful of hallways with handful of similar size rooms with a handful of floors. Find the right puzzle item in one room, head to another room with a very similar size and layout then drop off puzzle coupon and move on til' you're done with that area.. over and over. Of course RE and SH do similar things but their layouts feel very different, the RE levels especially. Wings of the mansion feel very different and unique to the other wings, the labs and outdoors feel very different from the mansion and each other... the majority of Signalis is pretty similar I'm afraid. There's one big exception to (the mines) this which is neat, but it's also by far the shortest. Boooooo!
Hmm:
Seriously why does everyone look so similar...
A couple times a year an indie title comes out and smashes all expectations, your Hades, your Hollow Knights, your Yuppie Psychos... Signalis is made by two people (+2 musicians) and is a colossal achievement. It's questions about identity, about pride, about conformity, about love, about how far you can and should go on behalf of your loved ones... it wants to confuse and intrigue you into following it's bread crumbs, and I gobbled them up all the way through and continue to think on it regularly months later. I look forward to going back again for the secret ending too, though I know it's quite small, knowing sort of what's going on may lead to some very interesting insights on the story I'm curious about!
Final Grade: A
#14
PC - Steam
Beaten December 10th, 2022
Signalis is a modern classic, a psychological horror game made up of a dozen influences in gaming, anime and movies over the past 25 years - but instead of feeling derivative, if blends each element together to create something wholly new... and frightening
Pros:
We'll start with presentation, as it's visual design is it's most striking feature and obviously in a class of its own. It has a late-PS1 style graphics albeit with more modern lighting techniques and easily readable textures, crossing Resident Evil, Silent Hill and anime like Bakemonogatari & Evangelion, it's got enough edge to it that you can tell what everything is, but looks blurry enough to be just a bit... off
The story is straightforward but also fragmented, like our protagonist's memory. You are Elster, a robot/cyborg/clone who is searching for their missing girlfriend on an old and decrepit mining colony - one that is currently undergoing a horrifying transformation as all its robot workers are being twisted into monsters, as organic matter is slowly stuffing up the mechnical parts of both the people and the facility itself. As you progress through the facility (with several odd gaps in how you get where and when) you learn more about your past and the woman you're after - and why are others after her as well...? There is a great deal that is referential and open to interpretation which I enjoy, if you get any of the endings other than the one I got (it's okay youtube helped me out) I do feel you get enough closure at least on the main character. It's very much a game more about feeling and presentation rather than plot.
While the static cam is mentioned in the "meh" section below, I must call attention to the several segments of 1st person exploration, each area you wander about in has a distinct vibe to it that adds a great deal of "present"-ness. I wish there were more!!
Lovecraft nods E'RYWHERE! Love it
Music is exceptional, obvious nods to Silent Hill with its somber pianos and contemporary jazz but also some VERY well-placed classical pieces. Like damn man.
Puzzle designs are a visual feast, and most of the puzzles are pretty good, not too tough but not just pushing a button on a pretty background either.
Meh:
Camera angles are a bit too "static" in terms of isometric views? I wish that some rooms changed up the direction a bit.
All characters (with one notable exception) are ladies who look very very similar.... The artist has a type that's for sure lol
Combat is a bit too... fine? Like everything not on the pro's list, it's not like Signalis has any real BAD parts, just things that don't live up to the superb music, visuals & story. The combat is basically just Resident Evil, however there's too much of it and it's not dangerous enough. It borrows the idea of Crimson Head mechanics (dead enemies can come back to life) but they just come back normal so there's no real reason to be too afraid of them, just burn the bodies that are in the main halls so you don't have to waste bullets when going up and down the busy roads solving puzzles and you're A-Okay. Basically the combat encounters need to be tighter - fewer in number, more deadly, more meaningful.
Puzzle FREQUENCY and inconsistency is a bit of an issue, there's too many "get X number of things to open this door" puzzles, and I get they're an homage to RE but ehhh I feel like RE had them paced better? Like there are 10-20 "find weird thing and put it in weird hole" moments in RE1, there are like 100 in Signalis. Puzzles are tough but with so many I felt like we needed more variety.
Cons:
Speaking of lack of variety, my one real issue with Signalis - the levels themselves. 3 of the 4 main areas are basically identical in layout - handful of hallways with handful of similar size rooms with a handful of floors. Find the right puzzle item in one room, head to another room with a very similar size and layout then drop off puzzle coupon and move on til' you're done with that area.. over and over. Of course RE and SH do similar things but their layouts feel very different, the RE levels especially. Wings of the mansion feel very different and unique to the other wings, the labs and outdoors feel very different from the mansion and each other... the majority of Signalis is pretty similar I'm afraid. There's one big exception to (the mines) this which is neat, but it's also by far the shortest. Boooooo!
Hmm:
Seriously why does everyone look so similar...
A couple times a year an indie title comes out and smashes all expectations, your Hades, your Hollow Knights, your Yuppie Psychos... Signalis is made by two people (+2 musicians) and is a colossal achievement. It's questions about identity, about pride, about conformity, about love, about how far you can and should go on behalf of your loved ones... it wants to confuse and intrigue you into following it's bread crumbs, and I gobbled them up all the way through and continue to think on it regularly months later. I look forward to going back again for the secret ending too, though I know it's quite small, knowing sort of what's going on may lead to some very interesting insights on the story I'm curious about!
Final Grade: A