Signalis Review: A Hidden Horror Gem
Indie horror with retro aesthetics and psychological twists
I discovered Signalis by complete accident when browsing the Xbox Game Pass library. The art style immediately grabbed my attention. It’s a strange blend of retro graphics with character designs resembling Japanese anime. The intense trailer had me even more intrigued. I dove in with no idea what to expect.
Indie studios have a strong track record of making outstanding horror games. Visage, Amnesia, and Outlast are a few of the many fantastic indie titles to shape the genre. Signalis was developed by the two-person studio Rose-Engine. It’s the first game the duo has released, and they’ve set the bar high.
You play as Elster, a synthetic humanoid (called replikas) searching for a girl in a photograph. She finds herself in various desolate facilities overrun with corrupted replikas and must fight through the horrors within. Despite the straightforward premise, the lore and intense psychological themes run deep. It messed with your psyche until you question what’s real and what isn’t. Players must piece together their own interpretation of the story through files and evocative cutscenes. Even after finishing the game, I can’t quite describe what I’ve experienced. It’s not intended to have a clear answer, but that hasn’t stopped me from reading all the fan theories on the game’s dedicated Subreddit. I’d say that it’s best to experience the game for yourself and form your own analysis.
While enigmatic, the story is also very emotional. It’s a story of love, loss, and promises. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into details. But the story is gripping from the beginning to the end. Players can unlock different endings based on their stats throughout the run. They are all different flavors of melancholy.
The gameplay is reminiscent of classic survival horror like the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. Fixed camera angles, challenging puzzles, and tight corridors coupled with limited resources and numerous enemies create a constant sense of tension. Players must decide between sneaking past foes or using their precious ammunition to eliminate them. If that’s not stressful enough, defeated enemies can randomly come back to life unless their bodies are burned; a reference to the terrifying “crimson heads” of Resident Evil. Even if you choose to fight, you may quickly be overwhelmed as the enemies corner you in one of the game’s many narrow hallways.
I played the game on “Survival” difficulty for my first run. Rose-Engine really nailed the gameplay balance here. I find that too many modern games labeled as “survival horror” give the player way too many resources for there to be any real threat of running out. I avoided combat as much as possible and scavenged as many resources as I could find, and I still finished the game with only a small surplus of 8mm and 12mm rounds. However, I think the game was too generous with healing items. I got hit a lot but still had an abundance of repair sprays and autoinjectors in the end.
The game involves a lot of backtracking through areas to solve puzzles and collect items (a staple of survival horror). Elster can only carry 6 items, so players must be smart about what they keep and stow in the game’s storage box. A gun with extra ammo and healing items will put you at half your capacity. I frequently had to reserve inventory space for carrying key items without knowing their purpose. Every enemy encounter can mean death, so limiting the amount of backtracking is vital for survival. This is especially true because there is no automatic saving. Players must manually save their game at one of the scarce save rooms.
As a huge survival horror fan, I love that the developers pulled no punches with the save system. Autosaves turn dying into an empty threat because there’s no real consequence. Signalis lets you cheat death by running into another room (enemies won’t chase you), but it’s still easy to get cornered. I died about a dozen times during my run, mostly to bosses
The game does provide a map to help traverse the maze-like corridors, but not for long. The second half of the game challenges you by removing the map. The player must create their own mental map of the facility (including the locations of the precious save rooms). I found this twist an excellent way of scaling the difficulty by forcing the player to adapt. With all of the backtracking, I got my bearings pretty quickly. To make things easier. There are usually shortcuts you can unlock so you don’t have to keep taking long, dangerous routes.
The art direction in Signalis is nothing short of extraordinary. The game’s design seamlessly blends retro-futuristic elements with contemporary aesthetics and smooth animations, creating a unique and memorable visual identity. Each location in the game feels distinct, with meticulous attention to ambiance, lighting, and color palettes. The result is a visual feast that engages players on an emotional level, leaving a lasting impression long after the credits roll.
The cutscenes were particularly fascinating. Detailed anime stills interposed with low-poly animations convey striking emotion. Similarly, panning shots create a haunting atmosphere in tandem with the melancholic soundtrack. The cutscenes are short but intense affairs reserved for important moments in the story.
The musical compositions in Signalis are a masterful blend of electronic, ambient, and atmospheric elements. One of the defining features of the soundtrack is its ability to evoke a sense of mystery and exploration. Ethereal synthesizers, distant echoes, and subtle melodic motifs envelop players, creating an immersive and introspective atmosphere that encourages deep engagement with the game world.
In moments of tension and danger, the music in Signalis takes on a more intense and dramatic tone. Pulse-pounding rhythms, pulsating basslines, and distorted electronic sounds heighten the sense of urgency and peril. These musical compositions enhance the gameplay, creating a visceral, adrenaline-inducing experience that keeps you on edge.
My first run of the game took me around 8 hours total, and I was pretty thorough with my exploration. The length was ideal for the experience the developers intended to create. If you are a fan of survival horror, especially the old-school variety, you’ll probably really like this game. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Rose-Engine in the future.
