SIGNALIS

I can say with full confidence that you won't regret your purchase if you appreciate at least two of the following things: - Silent Hill - The gameplay loop of classic RE games - Cassette Futurism - Robot Lesbians

I was hesitant to play this at first, survival horror has never really been my thing, but I gave it a chance with some nudging from a friend, and hoooo boy am I glad I did. This has easily leapt to the top of my favourite games list, tying with Outer Wilds as an experience that has crawled inside my thoughts and beaten me over the head until it's all I can think about. This story is beautiful, it's haunting, it's human and oh so horrifying. It speaks to love like a victorian poet, reaches inside your ribs and wrenches your heart free. I'm not going to go into details, aside from not wanting to spoil anything I couldn't do it justice anyway. Just, play it. If you love games as art, if you love powerful, unique stories, please, please play it.

Amazing setting, atmosphere, aesthetics and art style. The storytelling is very baffling, fragmented and cryptic, but in a nice, very thought through deliberate way, that makes you more curious than frustrated. Having no clue wtf is happening actually adds a lot to the experience, and makes you emotionally perceive the game in a way the devs intended. And the story itself is very thought-engaging, I enjoyed it. My only complaint is the annoying and frustrating gameplay. Your biggest obstacles are a VERY limited inventory space and a constant shortage of ammo. The gameplay loop is just a less fun escape room, like find the key A, that opens the door B, where you find the thing C, that gives you the key to the door D, where you find the item E, that combines with the item G, and opens the thing H etc. With occasional fun but not very complex puzzles, and with LOTS of backtracking through the respawning enemies that you don't even have the ammo to deal with. If you really don't like it, I'd even go as far as suggesting just watching one of those long YT vids chronologically depicting what's happening in the game instead.

A fun and unforgettable experience There is a lot to love about this game. The world building, atmosphere, sound design, and little puzzles are really well done.

A legendary indie survival horror game. 10/10. I went in expecting an isometric Dead Space-esque survival horror shooter. It far exceeded my expectations in its sci-fi world building, story, aesthetics, and its haunting philosophy. There is something about cold industrial snowy places with dark atmospheres that I adore. This game took me far away into the cold unforgiving depths of the universe. I grew to love its VHS-futurism style, and its beautiful anime style pixel art. It’s my favorite German-developed game I’ve ever played. The aesthetics are something like futuristic East Germany. It surpasses SOMA in its exploration of loneliness and consciousness. It matches Blade Runner in its exploration of replicant themes. It’s just great survival horror on a minimal budget and team, but that doesn’t detract from it being great. Soulful describes its soundtrack, animations, game play, and visual style. The puzzles are often frustrating, but the entire experience of this title left a lasting mark for me. I regret not playing it sooner as I’ve been yearning for something that would give me the feeling of when I first played Dead Space. I wish that more horror games were more like Signalis.

If you also think that R.Chambers, H.P.Lovecraft, "Evangelion", "Ghost In The Shell", Silent Hill and Resident Evil are cult classics that everyone should know about - this game is made specifically for you with A LOT of love. I strongly recommend to play it. It is incredible and beautiful.

I never write reviews, but I'll make an exception for this game. I think it's the best game in the recent years to see the light of day. A bit of my history with this game: I first played it at the beginning of 2023 on Game Pass. I didn't finish it then due to an ended subscription, but it has been on my mind ever since. I finally bought it earlier this year and now I've fully completed it, endings and all. Gameplay and style-wise it's a survival horror inspired by the PS1&2 era classics in this genre like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. This was definitely the hook for me. It's a excellent blend of difficulty, nostalgia and improvements on certain mechanics. But the reason that it kept living in my head rent free for the last 2 years and made me want to play it to its fullest, is the lore. The pr[strike]o[/strike]emise is simple; you are Elster (LSTR), an android (kind of) that has come to a mining facility looking for someone, but something is really wrong down there. The whole thing is told through a few cutscenes, a bit of npc dialogues, notes and environment. Notes in here are one of the best I have ever encountered in any game, I think it's the only one where I have read every one that I found. They are mostly short and to the point, so they are really enjoyable to read. Besides the main characters, others don't have much screentime, but are deep enough to care about them at least a little bit. The biggest problem with its story telling is its nonlinear, therefore pretty convoluted and it may turn some people away. For me it was an upside, kept me engaged the whole time trying to piece together the whole story and facts about the presented world. How everything is connected, thought through out and presented in such way still boggles my mind. With each playthrough I noticed more and more details. Also worth noting is the OST. It can be heavy, industrial and pressuring but also soft, touching and atmospheric. It really fits the game in every instance it appears. I even bought a preorder for CD with all the music from this game. I am soooo obsessed with this game, I will probably keep playing it for a long time. It resonated with me on multiple levels with such high intensity. Its place is in a hall of fame among other legendary indie games. All that's left for me to say, is thank you, to everyone who has worked on this game for creating this excellent piece of media <333333333

A love letter to classic survival horror. Tight inventory management, eerie atmosphere, cryptic story, and incredible retro visuals. Feels like a mix of Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Ghost in the Shell. The kind of game that sticks with you long after you finish it. If you like psychological horror and lore-heavy games, don’t miss this one.

it feels like my heart was wretched out of my chest. this is one of the most impactful games i have ever played. it is simply amazing

Went into this completely blind and I loved it. I usually don't play a whole lot of horror games, but the art-style convinced me, and I think this was the best 20 bucks I've spent in a while. Play it.

Incredibly immersive and content heavy for the price, feels very, very rewarding when solving the challenging and varying puzzles without being overwhelmingly frustrating, I do recommend taking your time instead of resorting to answers on Youtube, it's worth it. It holds up very well to the other positive reviews and cuts deep when it gets emotional. The combat is brilliant and you'll soon learn to reserve your ammunition all while you watch your skills improve drastically, especially towards the end. Would heavily recommend. Space lesbians.

Really cool art style, environment, and horror elements - but ultimately not for me. I enjoyed the puzzle elements, but combat felt like a chore and ultimately the narrative style was too vague for me to get hooked long enough to stick around to find out what was going on. I didn't enjoy the sudden jumps in the story - which I know are part of the Lynchian style the game draws some inspiration from - because it really just kept making me feel like I was missing something. I also wasn't a fan of some of the more abstract ways that items were obtained, such as watching a VHS tape and then obtaining a key that was seen in the footage, or having a flashback and when you come out of it you obtain a module that you didn't have before. I appreciate the devs adding options for how you want inventory management to run, because the "Rule of 6" (you can only have 6 items in your inventory at a time) thing wasn't enjoyable. Especially because you can't just drop an item to make room, you have to either destroy it or backtrack to a save room where you can access your items storage. I'm not a fan of the whole "enemies don't actually die, they're just KO'd for a few rounds" thing. Coupled with ammo scarcity and no infinite use melee weapon, there were times when encounters just felt frustrating. There are a lot of cutscenes and flashes of dialogue that seem really cool and interesting, but they're so quick and often in German with no translation, that once again it feels like I'm missing something that could add to the world/experience. All in all I only put about 10 hours into it, and the last house or so was really just waiting for something to pick up that helped hook me deeper into the story. Not a bad game at all, but not for me.

This game has perfected the concept of cosmic horror. If you take everything at surface level, the game is good and simple. "Fulfill your promise." And depending on which ending you get, you either do.... or you don't. However... If you dig deeper, you will find this game has more threads to follow, more questions hanging in the air. And [i]the more you know, the less certain you can be about anything's truth.[/i] The more you dig, the more you become buried by your very own pursuit for answers. [b]A prison of your own design.[/b]

Pretty good. The game is divided in three chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two but by the third it felt the game had run out of ideas; I was tired of go fetch key A to open room A which contains key B to open room B etc. etc. Not particularly challenging at any point. The puzzles for Survival Horror standards were actually clever and interesting. The best thing this game has going for it is its atmosphere and art direction, even the anime looking characters, which I warmed to later in the game. The game was so good at spooking me out that I have no want to replay it for different endings. Actually played about 8hr 40min - Steam didn't catch some offline play time.

A game so utterly fun and emotionally impactful I can't even describe it. I was spoiled on this game yet still I found it so utterly rewarding to experience myself. Playing again without a doubt. If you ever have spare money not spent on this game it's a dollar wasted.

really good atomosphere, world building is nice, gud game.

Peak gameplay and story plus space lesbians who definitely get a happy ending with 100% no sadness in their promise

This game is easily one of the best survival horror games out there. Its a mix between silent hill and the resident evil games, but its communist germany in space with awsome retro setting and graphics. The story it self is great. In the beginning you dont really know whats going on or what your goal is, but as you progress the story starts to reveal it self to you, more and more, untill you start to get chills from the tale that this game is trying to tell you, which is a style i really appreciate. And at the end you will cry. The gameplay it self is as i mentioned similar to resident evil and silent hill. In order to be able to progress, you need to solve puzzles, and find items all over the map. Which can sometimes be annoying but also very rewarding when you complete a difficult puzzle. The puzzles them selfs are very cleverly designed (germans trully did develop this game :D) which can be quite a pickle sometimes but its what makes the puzzles so fun imo. The survival horror aspect of the game is what you'd expect from lets say resident evil, but enhanced, especially with the radio mechanic. Youre Always low on ammo, so sometimes its just better to go around your enemies instead of killing them. Low on invetory slots which will make you juggle items a lot, and at times will make you think if you would rather have the schmexy looking ammo or health. Overall Signalis is one of the best survival horror games out there. It has a very unique style among this genre and generally as a game. Definetly worth buying!

Great game, too scary to finish for me, I love the lore and story

A brilliant horror game that takes a lot of inspiration from the early Silent Hill and Resident Evil games. The setting is immersive, the worldbuilding is full of depth, and the gameplay is great. The puzzles are really well-crafted too.

겜 플레이를 시간 낭비라고 느끼게 하는 겜은 몇몇 안 되지만 이게 그중 하나임. 문서 같은 읽을거리는 유치에 극을 달리고 스토리랑 연출은 오글거려서 방바닥을 굴러다니게 만듦. 개발자가 서바이벌 호러를 두고 '총알 안 주고 몹 20마리 뚫고 가는 장르'로만 이해하고 있다면 좀 심각함. 배경에 피 칠 좀 해두고 살점 좀 뿌려두면 그게 호러임? 이 개발자에 따르면 그럼. 글고 인벤토리 메니지먼트? 언제부터 인벤 관리가 뭐 하나 하려면 맵 끝에서 끝까지 창고를 수십번 들락거리는 시스템이 됐냐? 키카드 하나에 뭐 10kg씩 함? 넣을 자리 없으면 주둥이에 물고다니라고. 뭔 룰 6는 염병. ㅋㅋㅋ 쥔공이 딴건 다 무시하고 룰 6만 철저히 지키는고야? ㅋㅋㅋ 글고 도트겜인데 이펙트 떡칠 때문에 글자가 안 보여서 총알을 몇 발 들고 있는지 알수 없었을 때랑, 흰색 배경에 흰색 마우스 커서 올려놔서 이게 조작 중인지 컷씬인지 헷갈렸을 때 그때 환불했어야 했다..... 암튼 이 어설픈 스토리에서 인생의 의미를 찾으려 하지 말고, 차라리 좋은 영화, 드라마, 애니를 봐. 애니메 스타일인데 평가가 '압긍'이면 장르를 불문하고 피해야 한다는 걸 배웠다. 이게 이 겜의 가르침이다.

SIGNALIS... I find it to be outstanding. You are generally better off going into it blind and getting through it without prior knowledge or forethought, figuring out everything as you go. You know, obvious things to do with how spoilers affect experiences and the like. That aside, I don't think I would be too hysterical if I were to say that the game is nearly perfect, being an emotionally devastating (depending on the person, of-course, but the game is generally stated to be so), neat piece of work with effective atmosphere, music, world, detailia, decent gameplay... everything, really. All of that sweetness is condensed into a 14~ hour game, depending on your pace. Basic things and termins being complimented as if they were terribly unique, I know, but the game just does well in all aspects. Can't really come up with anything that I could fairly complain about, honestly. You'd likely find that actual substance from the other reviews written and posted here, so I'd say that you are better off scrolling through them. Just mind how most will be very excessively canted in the "positive/negative" directions, depending on their rating, obviously. Well, thank you for reading through this one.

An absolute masterclass in constructing an atmosphere of overwhelming dread - the sound design in particular is second to none, playing this with a good set of headphones is almost mandatory for the best experience. Every little detail builds this world in a way that leaves you desperately wanting to learn more and piece every element together, all coalescing to support the beautiful story at its core. It also has space lesbians that will make you want to cry, if that's your thing. (it's definitely mine... :C)

The state of the world this story takes place in is extremely impressive, deep, and lore rich. You can EASILY produce 2 sequels

A must play if you like resident evil or survival horror games. The story connected with me to a degree that made me want to dig and dig for every little bit of information. I really love this game

continuously been having very bad nosebleeds while playing this game and it's only making my experience better! 零 THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

A really interesting survival horror title that wears its influences and references firmly on its sleeve. The save room is a stark red screen, similar to the paper James and co would stare at to save in Silent Hill. There's a radio function that is both integrated very cleverly into the puzzles and often used for hints in the story and atmosphere. The monsters you fight are strange aberrations, feminine figures who have been warped beyond recognition. You find notes that fill in the story and give hints about the many puzzles you'll encounter. You'll manage a limited inventory, balancing weapons and key progression items equally. And like many survival horror games of yore, Signalis demands more than the average game of the player. On normal difficulty it's not too tough to get past enemies and dispatch them if need be, but the puzzles can be very tricky. Solving them made me really appreciate how genius some of them are; there's a particularly memorable one near the end involving the concept of Paredolia that I found super unique and really fun. I will admit that a few near the end got the best of me; the final major puzzle you solve has clues buried pretty far into your files, and I wound up just looking it up after trying and failing to parse it out. The game's combat also feels ripped straight from an old PS1 game. Enemies are less intended to be a reason for combat and function more as obstacles, just one part of the larger puzzle that is navigating the critical path. Your player character moves super slow even when running, and while you can move and shoot, her walking speed is so negligible that I would always stop aiming when I needed to reposition. The aiming can be finnicky, with the reticle sometimes not locking onto the intended target, which adds frustration to otherwise large, tense encounters. Similarly to the remake of the first Resident Evil, the only way to permanently put an enemy down is to burn them, otherwise they may come back stronger when you revisit a room. I didn't find this to be a huge problem on the standard difficulty, but it was still a nice extra wrinkle to the inventory and ammo management element. Meanwhile, the story is, in a word, challenging. Not necessarily because of its subject matter (although this is definitely a depressing psychological horror game through and through, with vibes that are uneasy at best and concepts that are existentially terrifying at worst), but because of its presentation. Much like the environments, the narrative is essentially one huge puzzle; I think I've gotten a pretty solid grasp on it following the ending I got, but it's not presented in a linear, sensical manner. There are bits of scenes that reflect times past, or maybe shared memories. I do think the game does a good job of giving you quite a lot to chew on. Narratives like this that are rather surreal are tough to pull off, but I came away intrigued more than frustrated, which to me is a good sign. Suffice it to say I wound up enjoying the story even if I haven't fully grasped it as of this time of writing. This isn't my favorite survival horror throwback I've played (I think I prefer Crow Country) but I'd be lying if I said this game didn't hook me. Between its understated, creepy atmosphere, the cryptic story that begs to be explored, and the classic gameplay that made the survival horror genre famous, Signalis feels like a very worthwhile addition to the canon. I'm really curious to see what these developers do next.

Play it, its an amazing story with fun puzzles, amazing character writing, fun combat, soundtrack is haunting and full of melancholy. Its gotten me into the books that helped inspire the game! The story pulls you in and won't let go even years after you've played it, this has easily become my favourite game story wise and the soundtrack is so good I own it on Vinyl 15/10 straight guy approved

Artistically the game is a mixture of elements that combine perfectly. That OG Silent Hill + Sci-fi works just great. Also the Japanese/German combo is vibes. + 1 Works like a charm in Steam Deck

Fantastic survival horror game, it's more psychological than scary to play, game does a fantastic job of making the world seem just off constantly. And one of the best/most interesting settings and plots in a horror game. Doesn't rely on cheap jump scares so if you hate those like I do then you'll be fine. Has some amazing puzzles in the game that are a good balance of not too hard and not immediately obvious like modern Resi. Game play lends ideas from Resi 1 (which is a good thing), has a great art style with the mix of fixed camera and some first person 3d environments for puzzle or interactions, and a shout out for the amazing sound track and audio. One of those games that's just a super easy recommend.

I bought this game because I heard it was about lesbians in space and ended up having an absolutely harrowing experience. Oddly beautiful, 10/10

Perhaps the best way to describe this game is my reaction to the ending. I found myself reclining back into my chair - just to take in the immense feeling of accomplishment and melancholy that only a good game can give.

Manages the rare achievement of evoking so many classic stories and games while having an identity, gameplay, and story all of its own. The best modern adaptation of classic survival horror I've seen.

Recommended. It hurts. This is a masterpiece in storytelling. Bold but immersive. So much love and care had been put into it. It is unforgettable, whether I want to or not. This game absolutely nails the atmosphere. The atmosphere itself makes you think and feel. It's also one of the most romantic cosmic horror story I've ever seen. An emotional core that probably could only be achieved through the media of a horror game.

Without any spoilers, this is an incredible game. It has phenomenal atmosphere and a story that will intrigue you at every corner. This game is worth every second of your time.

A good game. First off, the presentation, aesthetics, soundtrack, combat and world building I really enjoyed. It's definitely unique. Drawing clear inspiration from things like Resident Evil, Dead Space, Ghost in the Shell & Evangelion. Fighting enemies with a dwindling resource pool made every encounter engaging as you didn't know if you had the resources to survive the next. There is a small roster of weapons, but they're all really nice to use, each feeling really responsive and impactful. The puzzles were good. I generally hate puzzles in games, (skill issue) but this game was just the right level of difficulty. This is an achievement of itself. However, this is with the exception of the last puzzle, that was awful. There are some drawbacks, but these are mostly personal issues. I found the backtracking to be a bit too much but otherwise the level design was interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the way the story was told either. In the end the story just felt really contrived (I'm not a fan of Evangelion for this reason, so thats likely why). All in all, I did enjoy my time with this game for its unique aspects. It won't be going down as one of the all time greats for me, like it is for some others though.

Signals is not a bad game but I feel like it doesn't deserve the praise it gets. If you're going to sell a game 20€ for less than 10 hours of gameplay, those 10 hours would have to be an absolute great experience. Unfortunately, the story did not resonate with me at all and it feels purposefully confusing and convoluted. It tries to be deep and dramatic but it fell flat for me. As others of said, it is unfortunately all style over substance. The balance, inventory management and gunplay (with mouse/keyboard) is too often frustrating but I still had fun exploring and solving puzzles. Visuals and overall atmosphere are good though I could not take the anime character design seriously. Overall it was a mostly fun but ultimately disappointing experience. I would recommend Signalis on sale but not at full price.

It is no exaggeration to say this is the best horror Game I have ever played.

this game ripped out my heart and filled it with a desire to date tall robot women, 10/10 it has singlehandedly shifted the type of women I am attracted to Addendum: After 100%ing the game and getting 3 unique endings, I feel confident in saying that this game is an absolute masterpiece of writing. When you get this game, you are not 'buying' a 'game'. You are agreeing to experience one of the greatest stories in gaming as of writing. +As far as Gameplay is concerned, it is quite simple. Your basic gameplay loop is needing to acquire an item for something, sneaking or killing your way through hallways until finding said item, and using it to go further in the facility. +However, as simple as it is, traversal in this game can be very tense; especially early on when enemies have a tendency to 'get back up' and you've no real way to counteract this in any resource-efficient manner. As a result, you may find yourself begging silently for an enemy to not get back up when passing by, only to be relieved on entering the next room, or freaking out as they scream and scramble to their feet. +The music in this game is phenomenal. 1000 eyes & Cicada sirens bring half of the emotional resonance in this game. Their tracks, often blending well into emotional scenes, make gut punches of the story hit even harder. If you listen closely, you may even hear some tracks repeat in areas you may not expect... +Then of course there is the classical. The usage of tracks like Moonlight Sonata, Swan Lake, and Ständchen are used very little; but are always a treat to listen to when they do show. +The game has some unique mechanics which are woven into the gameplay in very interesting ways. This mainly is seen in the radio, which is used to solve puzzles mainly, but can also be used to fight a certain enemy, and even has an affect on the gameplay should you leave it enabled, attracting enemies which otherwise may not have seen you. The only con I would have is how some of the puzzles, namely one near the end, are poorly explained and may leave the player stumped as to a solution, but aside from that...this game is absolutely fantastic, and I wish I could play it all over again for the first time. To any prospective buyers - I simply ask you do not look into the game's community far too much, as it will likely spoil you heavily, or leave you asking questions that may not have a satisfying answer. Playing this game blind will provide the greatest experience.- Good luck.

One of those games that ends and just leaves you frozen, trying to make sense of what you just felt. Must play.

Great game with good animations and puzzles that hurt my head. Call me dumb but i did look up a couple of solutions.

Great game, kept me interested until the end. If you like sci-fi and survival horror, you'll enjoy Signalis.

A great game, and I'm glad I played it, but man that last area suuuuucks. For fans of old school Resident Evil. Best to mostly avoid enemies, lots of lore drops, good puzzles, and unlike Resident Evil a cryptic story that doesn't go off the rails halfway through.

Survival horror game with lore so good you gotta watch a 2hr video essay to make sure you fully understand.

You know those shirts from H&M or similar fast fashion stores with vague generic slop written all over them like ''NEW YORK 1982 BOLD AND ROUGH EST. 1975.'' Well Signalis is the game version of that... Signalis's attempt at psychological horror is a complete failure. Spamming vague words meant to be unsettling every five seconds isn't deep, it's pretentious. It's a facade. The game tries to act like it's Silent Hill. It nails the style but lacks the heart, like an AI's attempt on psychological horror. I won't complain about the story as it honestly whizzed over my head. I fully admit that this could just be a 14 iq skill issue on my end. By the time characters reappeared, I completely forgot what they said or did previously. None of that matters because the game plays great. They've perfectly nailed the survival horror balance. The puzzles slapped and the resource management was tuned perfectly. Outstanding work for such a small team size. Even though it's pretentious, It's still incredible indie mastery.

signalis is a masterpiece that will make you want more and more and more, it's design, ambiance, mechanics, story, everything is amazingly crafted to give you the best experience Play Signalis, you won't regret it.

Just finished my first playthrough and it felt like I was punched in the gut. I wasn't planning on replaying it because I found the gameplay really frustrating (often not knowing how to progress and struggled with inventory space even though I know that was my choice to suffer through) but the story really made it worth it. The game's atmosphere has this ability to put you in melancholic mood for the entire playthrough, leaving you questioning as well as despairing with every new bit of information found. Really loved this, I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

[Minor spoilers] Story: This game changed me, at first when I heard this game was just Dead Space/RE but with lesbian androids and humans. I was hesitant to play it, I thought the idea of a game with a narrative like this was your typical indie survival horror game. But I was wrong, I got through the 2nd part of the game and cried at the false ending. I thought it ended there but it didn't. Now, I just beaten the game for the first time and got the Promise ending. It was heartbreaking to see our protagonist not bringing herself to fulfill the promise. Gameplay: Although the game play is what you expected from a survival horror game, I'd say they done a great job on the gameplay. Having you think about saving ammo and heals whiles also making you keep track with all of the items you are carrying. Art and music: TOP TIER, I have never felt so intrigued in a story and the music it's creepy, eerie but it's soothing. It's familiar to me for some reason. Die Toteninsel (Emptiness), a song that resonated with me alot. I love songs/OSTs that give off an eerie yet soothing vibe. Overall, if YOU love a game that has a strong narrative and great music mixed with challenging gameplay. This is perfect for you Edit: I have now completed 3/4 endings, I have never felt so heartbroken when completing the game's secret ending. It was sad yet almost satisfying, this game is what I call 'a work of art', never have I gotten this emotional because of a story. This game is peak indie horror survival. I'm telling you once you complete this game, you'll feel so emotional yet so satisfied in some way or another.

A gripping and heart-wrenching story about the power of a promise. There's nothing more to say - you simply have to experience it yourself

Simply an amazing game, hits a good sweet spot for classic horror games along with a very deep and emotional story line that can be hard to follow but also made me replay the game immediately. I really appreciate some of the mechanics and puzzles that had a very unique feel to them and it's nice to be able to choose between difficulties and inventory modes for a more easy or hardcore experience. This game deserves all the praise it gets.