Before diving into my personal feelings towards the game's story and themes, I want to touch base on the gameplay and presentation of Signalis.

Ho boy, does this indie gem deliver some of the greatest art direction in any video game. Its perfect marriage of 3D graphics in a 2D aesthetic is masterfully done. Not only do the models genuinely look like sprites, their existence as models allow for immersive lighting and atmosphere that could not be done in a true 2D game. Likewise, the pseudo-sprite artwork gives this game a wonderful retro flare that sets it apart from the classic survival horror games, Silent Hill and Resident Evil. That said, it's beyond obvious that those two franchises have roots deep within the soul of this game. Not many people seem to be bothered by the blatancy of its inspiration, though, and I'm not about to be an outlier. If anything, those classic games are from such a different era and their respective series so drastically abandoned their origins that a new game taking up the mantel is more than welcomed. Signalis understands the beauty of classic survival horror better than modern Resident Evil (regardless of the series' recent strides) or Silent Hill. Excellent resource management, unsettling enemies, clever puzzles, and unbelievable atmosphere highlight Signalis' strengths in the genre. If there were a way to reinvent the wheel, this is it.

Signalis could be considered many things and what it will ultimately be seen as is dependent on personal experience. For me, it was not only an excellent survival horror game. It was a beautifully harrowing look into the decay of memory—the beauty coming from the love that refuses to die but the harrow coming from the pain of being alone until reality itself erodes. The game has its scares, yes, but what really sells the horror is how the world is distorted to an unknown extent by the mental state and emotions of Ariane, the central figure we are pursuing throughout the game. That's the real genius of this game: It is exceedingly difficult to grasp at what is happening is the story because reality is hardly defined. Where it begins, where it ends, why things happen the way they do, and even the state of the world itself are all buried under a multitude of questions. There aren't many answers either, or at least not enough to have a full picture. Instead, the story gives you a handful of clues, uses literary references as context, and asks you to come to your own conclusions through interpretation. I wondered by the end of the game if any of it was even real. How much of it is a dream? How much of it is reality being distorted? How much of it is metaphysical? I can't even pretend to entirely know.

All I know are the emotions it instilled in me. I felt dread, hopelessness, emptiness. This game provoked a lot of feelings in me, plenty of which were not happy. Yet, there's a part of me that really hopes Elster and Ariane were able to find happiness in their eternal dance. Maybe, just maybe, love is the one thing that can outlast everything else. Memory, reality, or the universe itself—love will eventually prevail. Love is forever.