r/classichorrorgaming

Signalis was one of those titles on my list for a long time. Having completed it with all endings, I wanted to share why I feel this is a great horror game worth playing. Out of the gate you get the psychological horror vibes that leave you asking questions. What's happening and why will be a common feeling for a big chunk of the game. Even your characters main motivation isn't very clear for quite a while.

The story is undoubtedly the best aspect of Signalis. There's so much world building that you feel like a resident understanding the culture by the end of the game. Replikas were essentially robot creations based on the human type race of this world. The human type race were hoof footed humans called gestalts. The character designs are excellent and I loved the choice of giving everyone hooves instead of feet. It showed that they were still alien while still being human. One of the creators of Signalis, Yuri Stern, stated that reason she gave them these foot designs because "it's cute". It's up for interpretation if the gestalts actually have feet as no official design art shows anything but the hoof designs.

The files expand the universe and tell you the background of the world you're living in. I love the descriptions of every Replika's personality type, roles, likes, and dislikes. There were tips how to keep them happy or satisfied so they would continue to behave predictably and do their jobs. The records made it apparent that they were viewed by the empire more as pets with a purpose. As you visit each room for each Replika type, it was set up exactly as described in the records. It was interesting that they weren't even aware (except for one Replika) that their behavior was monitored for it's predictability. Simply acting outside of normal parameters put them on track for correction, either with or without their knowledge. But that didn't stop them from developing friendships and relationships. Something that is shown and even emphasized on several occasions as you navigate the areas.

Gestalt life wasn't much better as it was ran by a totalitarian society governed by a Grand Empress we never actually see. People were disposable and your social status greatly affected your future. In fact, it is the core cause of what happened in this story. Although by the end nothing really happens to change any of it. You'll still be left with questions by the end, although the primary story is actually quite simple. For this, I'll leave out the details to avoid spoilers.

The gameplay is very reminiscent of traditional Resident Evil games. You'll be walking around avoiding enemies while conserving resources. Aiming creates a targeting reticle which is absolutely necessary to hit your target. It plays well although there are some mechanics I would've preferred were different. Grabbing items or checking doors doesn't pause the game so you'll likely take damage if you try to quickly grab items with enemies in the area. This is especially true given this game has contact damage that can quickly wear down your health if you run too close to them. This means they don't actually have to attack you to kill you. Just running into them too many times is enough. When aiming, the cursor will sometimes drop for no reason putting you in danger until you can get it back on the enemy. This happens more often with multiple enemies at once. Overall, none of these ruin the experience enough to stop playing and the gameplay is still fun.

The graphics and sound design are also amazing. Shadows are handled perfectly and I found myself watching them as I moved on several occasions. Some areas very much take inspiration from Silent Hill, with one even sharing a name for the area. The enemy designs also seem to take inspiration from Silent Hill with warped versions of Replikas holding knives or other weapons.

Signalis is one of those games you'll be discussing for years as the story is broken up into layers that can each be examined individually. It's a must play for any classic horror game game and highly recommended.

TLDR:

Resident Evil combat with Silent Hill inspired settings and story. Unique art design and a great experience makes this worth playing.