Signalis

Developer: rose-engine
Publisher: Humble Games
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One (Reviewed), Switch, PC
Release Date: October 27, 2022
Price: TBA – Available Here

Overview

Taking inspiration from the classic franchises of a genre is always a good place to start when it comes to developing a new game, especially when it happens to be one placed firmly in the survival horror genre. With Signalis, developers rose-engine have obviously taken to heart many of the elements that fans have loved in the original games and have put their own unique spin on things. The question is, have they managed to do it successfully while making sure that Signalis still feels like it has its own unique take on survival horror?

Story

Players take on the role of Elster, an android that has crash landed on a snow covered planet in search of her lost companion and seeking to keep their promise with them. However, this journey is far from a normal one, even in the dystopian futuristic setting of Signalis as Elster’s travels bring her into a mining location where things have gone horribly wrong. With only a few surviving humans and other seemingly sane androids throughout the facility, the horrors laying in wait for Elster quickly begin to ramp up, monstrous creatures begin to attack and the very world itself begins to shift and change.

Now while we won’t go into the specifics of what happens in Signalis or even what it draws inspiration from outside of the sphere of video games as it would spoil some of the surprises, it must be said that the game handles its story exceptionally well. The universe it builds is one of decline that has seen humanity manage to expand beyond Earth but at costs that are both terrible and unknown. While most of these world building elements aren’t directly expressed, players will find countless bits of lore scattered across levels, some of which is directly involved in solving the many puzzles that block the player’s way.

This doesn’t even touch upon the journey of Elster herself as players will pursue their goal deeper and deeper into madness, finding out that perhaps this exploration effort and mining has gone too far. rose-engine has crafted a compelling narrative that will keep players wondering just what they will uncover next and always wondering just what may happen once a puzzle is solved. This is handled not only through great writing but also the way that the story is presented through frequent shifts in perspective, transferring players from the usual isometric view to first person in certain scenes as well as the stylistic cutscene choices that can present events in high quality anime-style pixel art or with gruesome retro 3D models, often swapping between the two mid-scene or even flashing text violently across the screen. This quality of presentation during scenes really drives home the narrative and sets a certain tone of uneasiness throughout Signalis, making this a gripping title that is incredibly hard to walk away from.

Gameplay

For the most part players will be spending their time in Signalis playing through an isometric top-down view, exploring rooms and corridors littered with monstrous beings, items needed for survival and for solving puzzles, and plenty of documents containing clues and lore. It is nice to note that should players not be the most familiar with survival horror, the game does offer the option to adjust the difficulty of combat encounters. That being said, balancing what players are bringing with them, what enemies they take down, and choosing to sometimes trade health over ammo and vice versa are all parts of surviving in Signalis.

Players will make use of a stand-still aiming system that has a fairly solid lock-on mechanic allowing players to aim at enemies and focus their shot before firing. It is also entirely possible to shove an enemy that gets too close to create some breathing room or avoid an attack and should players drop an enemy to the ground, they can also stomp them out rather than waste an additional bullet. Of course, considering the horrors players are facing down it only makes sense that most foes don’t stay down forever. While some enemies will remain down forever, most of them will stand back up as players travel back and forth through locations, meaning it is often better to juke around enemies than waste a bullet unless they are really getting in the way.

Of course, should players really need to eliminate a foe permanently there are tools to do so. Alongside the various firearms that players will eventually find, Signalis also provides a number of tools. These include powerful flares that can be used to burn a downed enemy and eliminate them permanently, disposable shock batons to instantly drop an enemy, autoinjectors that will save the player from the brink of death, and more. Of course, while all these options are made available to players, Signalis has some fairly dire limitations at times and these come two-fold. Not only can players run the risk of running low on ammunition or healing items if they play too carelessly, but they must also manage to survive with only six inventory slots at all times.

One of the key retro design elements in Signalis is the limited inventory system and since everything, including equipped weapons and tools, takes a slot, it is often a balancing game between how much players will want to actually carry at any given time. Do they venture out from a save room leaving behind all healing items and only bringing one weapon and some ammo along, leaving the rest of the inventory open for puzzle pieces and keys? Or make a run for the puzzle carrying everything needed to solve it at once at the risk of having no way to defend themselves? 

This level of inventory management is actually balanced surprisingly well and makes for some fairly intense encounters and moments that would otherwise be meaningless if players could carry everything with them. It is a bit annoying however that the game does hard cap how much ammo players can carry with them for a single weapon at any time. This means that even if players have been saving their shotgun ammo, they can only bring fifteen shells with them at a time even if they have well over thirty shots available.

Not only is the combat in Signalis handled incredibly well but the puzzles are also a real highlight of the game. As players progress through the game they will encounter a wide variety of puzzles and while they can be challenging, often relying on textual clues or even the use of an in-game screenshot item to remember certain patterns, they never feel unfair. Interestingly enough, almost every puzzle has a number of interactable elements that give it a unique feeling compared to simply tracking down items. This can range from flipping switches to balance gauges, turning dials, even using an on-person radio broadcast system, and more making for far more interesting experiences than simply plugging in a basic solution.

Visuals & Audio

With its retro pixel art design rose-engine has managed to create an eerie and unsettling atmosphere where players will always be entering a new location dreading what may be found. Between stylistic choices of having visual glitches on enemies and the hard shifts between anime style cutscenes with flashes of text blasting the screen, players will find Signalis to be a real visual treat. There isn’t too much to actually be afraid of while playing the game but it perfectly nails the unsettling feeling of exploring the unknown and eventually the grotesque.

The soundtrack is also handled incredibly well with the development team knowing exactly when to use music for certain areas and when to leave things completely quiet to help build up the tension.

Overall

Although Signalis may not be the scariest game around it does nail the unsettling feeling of exploring a decrepit ruin littered with signs of what used to be a living, albeit dystopian, location that has since fallen to the cosmic horrors that players will need to face down. With a gripping storyline that will keep players venturing through its satisfying puzzles and well-balanced combat, Signalis is a must play for fans of survival horror, especially those who enjoyed the classics of the genre.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.