Keycard puzzles, limited inventory, and scarce ammo. The survival-horror formula may not be new, but the tension of Signalis is that if it’s not broken, it won’t be fixed, just transported to an eerily abandoned mining colony on the edge of a Nazi-like galaxy. is shown. empire.
Even more impressive is the beautiful is. Two German newcomers Rhodes Enjin — no capital letters here — use a mix of anime-like cutscenes, low-poly Metal Gear Solid-esque environments, and point-and-click style vignettes to bring style and faraway Claustrophobic when revealing the truth of what went wrong. Deep reds and metallic blues dominate, aided by a stunning soundtrack.
Aside from the fact that you play as Elster, a dream-suffering clone who crash-lands on a mysterious mining planet, it’s hard to argue what happens in Signalis without spoilers. But other people’s motives are a little less simple.
It’s a masterclass of tension. Elster only has 6 inventory spaces and low ammo, making many encounters a frantic dash to the door. What’s even scarier is that enemies can come back to life at any time, unless you’re burning them with even rarer Thermite charges. All of this means that finding an “ally”, someone who doesn’t attack you right away, is both a relief and comes with a great deal of distrust.
Due to the high cost of combat, puzzles become the meat of Signalis. Luckily, they had a lot going on thanks to rose-engine’s use of radio as both a plot device and an integral part of gameplay. With all sorts of details littered in files scattered throughout the facility, it’s something to keep in mind, even if some sections can be a little lore-heavy. has written a lot.
All in all, this is a surprisingly stylish effort from such a small studio. Signalis is riveting both for its world-building and for its tense survival-horror gameplay that is extremely well executed. Don’t miss this one as the final gen is very late to release. The rose-engine effort is firmly on its feet into the future.
