“Achtung! Achtung! The scream came through an off-screen receiver, stiff and muffled. Frederick Chopin’s “Raindrop” is re-enacting brutal crumbling buildings, their halls occupied by indistinguishable horrors that lie behind a woman dressed in red and black. Here is the announcement trailer for the German developer rose studio‘S SIGNAL. While it provided a glimpse of what the studio was preparing at the time, it only touched the surface of the horror lurking within.
The game begins when ELSTER, a Replika (or artificial creature), awakens alone in the remains of a ship sent into the bowels of space to reach the planet located at the edge of an unknown galaxy. . Within minutes, you find yourself in a dilapidated facility known as Sierpinski, without any salvation for some of the Replikas you encounter on your way to find a woman named Ariane Yeong. A couple’s promise kept them together, propelling Replika onward. You aggregate information to inform you of possible events before you arrive. There are notes left by the other Replikas and Gestalts (in this case, humans) that inhabit the facility, as well as manuals and leaflets extrapolating the game mechanics associated with the world. .
SIGNAL uses these elements to passively tell the story of a dictatorship extending its power beyond the stars. It talks about exploitation and oppression using Cold War imagery and the nuclear waste arms race that irreparably changed our real world environment by using uses its own analogies and images to create a layered experience that leaves you wanting to know and understand more. (“This is not a place of honor…”) It builds on these themes to create something that sticks in your mind, something that sticks with you when the credits are first rolled out, or Wednesday.
The dialogue is also astounding, with some of the most rudimentary dialogue I’ve experienced in a game flashed through sparse, but streamlined cutscenes. All of the characters stand out, especially those given the extra screen time, but even the Replikas you come across who are holding onto or exploiting their humanity can contribute to how excellent passive storytelling. Even if they only appear for a few brief moments, they also leave an impression.
But SIGNAL more than that. It is evocative and striking in the way it presents its themes. The difficult cuts and transitions from the environment to the character illustrations and text blend and blend the language in a way that feels poignant. The sudden change to first person adds flavor to the overall presentation as you navigate memories of someone other than you. These moments alternate with static and flashing red; Clear signals of mind decay and intrusive memories threaten to overwhelm the ELSTER. Several cutscenes take place that leave a lasting impression in the way it incorporates Arnold Bocklin’s “Isle of the Dead” in its various iterations. Its cycles repeat, over and over…different, but somehow ELSTER finds the woman he loves all the same. That feeling of fear, sadness and vague purpose is over SIGNAL in every respect, be it through its narrative, loose and explanatory, or the level design forces you to travel through once-familiar locations.
Like how the game inspired the obvious culprits (Silent Hill and Resident Evil to name a few), but appears at the other end with its own identity. It pulls in that familiarity to make the player experience with classic survival horror almost feel at ease. It’s second nature navigating menus and dodging the twisted remains of other Replikas lurking in dark corridors. It was that familiar memory that helped me save ammunition or search and look up information to solve tough puzzles that tested my intelligence. However, these inspirations do not identify SIGNAL. Instead, they only serve to enhance it.
Some may have issues with the item box system and limited inventory, but the developers are looking to add more inventory slots to make the game more accessible. The controls on the controller can sometimes feel difficult to navigate, especially when trying to take out a target in a group of enemies, but it doesn’t make the game unplayable. There’s also a choice of difficulty immediately at the start of the game, so you can choose a more challenging experience or something a bit more leisurely. That said, I appreciate the tension these more archaic game design elements provide, as I have to make sure that the room-to-room runs are worthwhile as I evade the More dangerous Replikas appear in the second half of the game. (Also, once you think you’ve beaten the game… you haven’t. So do yourself a favor and carry on even after the credits roll.) It’s tested and survival horror. really at its best.
Towards the end, everything rushes together to create something that lingers in the mind, gnawing like a memory desperate to resurface. SIGNAL is a game that I will never forget. And I will never forget the promise made between ELSTER and Ariane – of their love being selfish and cruel or as beautiful and benevolent as it could be – that survived through cycles of distortion and tragedy. endless.
SIGNAL available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.
