SIGNALIS

This review is going to be extremely personal, exactly like the experience SIGNALIS gives you. This is my second playthrough. Back when I played it in 2024, I didn't understand much. I finished the game, looked at the endings, somewhat understood the story.. and that was it. For past 20 years of my life, I've been playing shooter games, and got quite good at them. So, as a "professionally deformed" shooter player, I treated SIGNALIS as yet another horror-shooter, something close to Dead Space, where as long as you survive and read into the notes, you'll understand exactly what's going on, and the story will eventually tell itself. That was my mistake. Truth is... SIGNALIS doesn't want you to understand it, and if you're attentive and humble with it, it won't keep this as a secret to you. SIGNALIS is not a game you play, it's not a story that neither tells or explains itself. The lore does not unfold on it's own. Rather, SIGNALIS is an.. environment, a life circumstance, that you get to experience. You are not playing as Elster. You are Elster. You will merely see what Elster sees, and understand just as much. By the end of the story, you're drained. Whichever ending you got, it's exactly what you deserve. Whether it's MEMORY, LEAVE or PROMISE, your fears and behavioral patterns are now exposed. It's what you've been doing your entire life, and it's exactly what you, Elster, did here. You are the lore. And once you see yourself under this light, there's no way to unsee it. There is no true ending, no canon. No morale. Because what Rose Engine created, is not a game, but a mirror that reflects your very true self. Only question being whether you are self-reflective enough to see it.

Words cannot properly convey how much I loved this game. Also, writing a proper review for this game would take hours and I don't feel like spending my night doing that, so I'm gonna return to my survival/classic difficulty run instead. Edit: Game good. Like, really good. Absolutely play this game if it intrigues you at all. Spoilers: [Spoiler]Now that I've completed this game I've come back to say I love almost every aspect of this game. From an overhead view, everything in this game was wonderful. The universe of Signalis feels fully realized in a mysterious, but believable way. The many, many themes featured in the game work perfectly to create a wide array of emotions that all seem to hit at just the right time. If you allow the intrigue and curiosity to take over, you're left with more questions than answers and it really leaves you wanting more. The blend of philosophy, science, and the arts add a sense of realism to the world-building and keep your mind pondering the messages left by the Rose-Engine team, as well as the works they have taken inspiration from. I didn't want to stop playing Signalis from the narrative alone, so the excellent atmosphere, gameplay, puzzles, and mechanics really felt like the idiomatic 'cherry on top' to an already great story. There is so much to unravel about this game and you know that video essayists have had an absolute heyday with this one. Signalis has felt like the closest we've been to attaining a true OG Playstation survival horror successor; not to discount other attempts at recreating and evoking that era of survival horror. The rule of six inventory can feel frustrating, but it really changes the way you think when it comes to item management and how you interact with the world around you. It makes your decisions feel more impactful and changes the way you interact with the game, even when compared to the early RE games which are, arguably, the biggest inspiration for the inventory system. The combat feels. . . .clunky, but in what feels like an intentional decision to make each shot feel important. To make each decision impactful, whether you stay and fight, run, take space, use an item, or heal. The spaces often feel tight and claustrophobic, but with enough skill you are usually able to evade enemies or decide if you would rather engage them. This decision is further iterated-on when you factor in another inspiration from REmake: enemies returning to life. Deciding to eliminate enemies and burn their corpses adds another layer to the combat and traversal of the game, and walking over fallen bodies contributes to this anxious feeling as you question whether or not they may spring back to life and attack/impede your progress. The puzzles of the game are each unique and don't overstay their welcome. They can range from simple ciphers and memory tests to math and pattern recognition. It can be argued that Signalis does suffer from the classic 'multiple keys to unlock the next area' type of gameplay loop, but I can't help but feel the unique encounters and puzzles in order to obtain said keys more than make-up for it. I loved the implementation of the radio in puzzle solving. Using the radio to unlock doors, open boxes, and solve puzzles make it feel like another core part of the Signalis universe and almost reinforce elements such as the number station broadcasts and hidden messages. Even the Kolibri enemy can be seen as a basic 'puzzle room' element when introduced, later requiring full combat whilst dealing with their threat. The artifact ending requiring the Magpie signal's number sequence, one which has been a constant throughout the experience, really brought the themes of signals full-circle. The game's art style works very well for the story Signalis has set-out to tell. Gore and viscera are used tastefully, colors are vibrant and muted where necessary, the switch between art styles keep the visuals interesting, the list can go on and on. The music is another point of high praise. Blending industrial sounds, ambiance, classical music, and ethereal compositions really help flesh-out the environments and the tone of cutscenes. The sound design is also on-point; the various sound effects have become ingrained into my brain. The three-note oddity, the cries of enemies, the save station, it all has left a mark in my mind that I can't seem to shake. I also can't help but love the Replikas. Their design and 'personalities' that we glimpse from documents, world-building, brief meetings, and propaganda posters also left quite the impression. Now that I've gushed about some of the things I love about Signalis (I'm really only really scratching the surface here; the depth of Signalis cannot be understated), I'd like to talk about the few complaints I had. First-off, the awkward shooting when it came to groups of enemies. Rather than targeting an immediate threat, you can easily end up aiming at a downed enemy and throw-off the entire pace of the fight. Next, I ran into a bug where equipped 'defense items' would not work. You had to walk up to enemies, go to the inventory, and use the item from the menu. It went away after a restart, but was very frustrating in the moment. And finally, the fact that enemies do contact damage is a bit of an annoyance. To me, it feels like it takes away from the ability to use quick reactions to avoid enemies in some niche situations where you could have avoided an enemy attack with some skilled movement. Despite these complaints, I instantly fell in love with Signalis and couldn't put it down. I've recommended it to everyone who will listen and have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat since completing it. In conclusion, the game is good. Like really good. There is so much to unpack with this indie gem and it has instantly become one of my favorite games of all time. Take the time to play Signalis. Hell, when you're done, go listen to what those aforementioned video essayist and see if you reached any of the same conclusions or recognized the influences of the game. Listen to the soundtrack. Let the emotions flow; feel the tension, the the sorrow and heartbreak, the joy and somber isolation. Take it all in, but above all else, absolutely give Signalis a chance. - Some dude on Steam[/spoiler]

[h3]"PERHAPS, THIS IS HELL"[/h3] This game is an absolute masterpiece of psychological horror, sending chills down my spine with its art, philosophy and incredible music. The lore is very deep and unique. Even if you read every single note, you might still find yourself completely puzzled. The game frequently references [i]The King in Yellow[/i] and real-world paintings, integrating them beautifully into its world. The book also served as an inspiration for the [b]frenzied flame[/b] in the souls games. Time to finally see what [i]The King in Yellow[/i] is all about.

I think I'm lesbian now

SIGNALIS is one of those games where I feel like I understood what was happening, and then five minutes later I’d start questioning whether I understood anything at all. I’d finish a session and still be thinking about it, sometimes remembering some completely random detail from earlier and wondering what it was actually supposed to mean. I really like how much atmosphere the game gets out of its environments. The retro sci-fi aesthetic coupled with authoritarian/dystopian vibes, and all the posters, documents, notes, and other little details scattered around make the world feel strangely believable. German and Japanese influences work really well together too. Everything feels familiar in some way, but never quite normal. There were a few moments where I’d just stop and look at something because I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. Even something as simple as a picture can leave you wondering what exactly you’re supposed to be seeing. I also liked all the references to other art and literature. Isle of the Dead was interesting, but The King in Yellow especially stood out to me because I knew basically nothing about it before playing SIGNALIS, so I ended up looking it up afterwards. I like when a game makes you curious enough about something outside the game that you actually go and look into it.

An incredible game with a story that completely broke my heart. Somehow, it still wasn't enough. Please, give us a full animated series or a movie!

大量剧透且个人观点，篇幅原因会很多地方写的比较简略且很多地方其实并没有写到，可能我等高考完了会做一期视频把这些内容补上吧。 离第一次游玩已经时隔四个多月之久，最终还是抑制不住自己的喜爱之情写了这篇测评。 不可避免地，游戏所借鉴的老式生存恐怖游戏肯定会让不少玩家感到繁琐和枯燥，但是如果您能静下心来，忍受狭小的背包和一些解谜来体验这款游戏，这依旧是一款值得一玩的杰作。 这款游戏真是被商店页面的tag和宣传图片拖后腿了啊... 该游戏对经典作品上的借鉴几乎毫不遮掩，比如借用早期《生化危机》有限的背包空间，安全屋或子弹限制来使玩家时时刻刻处于一种危机感，借鉴了《寂静岭》的叙事方式，比如游戏里的Nowhere，空间相互循环且房间与房间之间毫无关联，连自己身处何处都不知道，通过这种方式来象征化怪物和描述不可靠现实来营造气氛，运用近乎写意的艺术表达所讲述的仅仅只有一段浪漫凄美的爱情悲剧。 顺带一提，游戏的差评主要集中在背包空间或者准心瞄准之类的作者的小巧思上，因人而异吧，我倒是觉得我大部分时间都在逃所以没怎么在意hh [h2] 开端和梦境 [/h2] [h3]Cycle 1024 Before I met Elster, I never believed I would find someone I could fall in love with like that. 在邂逅灵鹊之前，我从来无法想象，自己能像这样痴狂地爱上一个人 [/h3] 游戏发生在太阳系的另一条时间线，在这里有六颗人类宜居的星球：欧亚帝国的首都布扬星对应的是离卦，为火。阳火乃太阳之火，布扬有一座漂浮的宫殿和如同太阳般的巨眼，城市建造在空中，对应的是金星；金星在48km处的大气层的气压与温度和地球相当，而且有大量的二氧化碳可以用来生成氧气；透过再上层的大气层向上看去，太阳会显得像发光的巨眼。维内塔的原型是地球。月球和地球的生态毁于旧帝国的战争，使得潮汐力变化，海水淹没了大部分陆地，正如游戏里的牺牲钥匙，引用了启示录第八章： [quote=author]第二位天使吹号，就有仿佛火烧着的大山扔在海中；海的三分之一变成血。 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood.                                       ——《启示录》8:8 第三位天使吹号，就有烧着的大星，好像火把从天落下来，落在江河的三分之一和众水的泉源上。 And the third angel sounded, and there fell agreat star from heaven, burning as it were alamp, and it fell upon the third part of therivers, and upon the fountains of waters.                                      ——《启示录》8:10[/quote] 奇铁兹对应着火星，有着红色的沙漠和沙尘暴，采矿业和农业发达，而红色阵线（Rotfront）是木星的卫星木卫二，其冰壳下有一片深海，天空中有一处显眼的红色风暴（大红斑）。名字来源于红色前线战士同盟（Roter Frontkämpferbund），是德国魏玛共和国时代（1920年代）的一个共产主义军事组织，是德国共产党（KPD）的武装翼，著名口号就是Rot Front！赫马特是德语heimat（祖国）的直接音译，欧亚国的首都；基于其行星环和土黄色的基调，不难猜出赫马特的原型是土星的卫星土卫六（泰坦），有着稠密的大气层和水文循环，最后是冷原星（Leng），原型是冥王星，来自于洛夫克拉夫特的梦寻秘境卡达斯（The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath），主角为了追寻梦中的夕阳之城而跨越层层噩梦，正如灵鹊为了遵守昔日誓言而穿梭于血肉横飞的梦境与现实间。 详见[url=store.steampowered.com] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream-Quest_of_Unknown_Kadath [/url] 游戏中引用了大量克苏鲁体系的内容，比如游戏开头和第二次来到野望之岸时的文本引用了H·P·洛夫克拉夫特的《魔宴》：地球的毛孔本应足够之处，却有无数巨穴暗中凿成。还有贯穿全文的《黄衣之王》，《黄衣之王（The King in Yellow）》是美国作家罗伯特·W·钱伯斯（Robert W. Chambers）于1895年出版的一部短篇小说集，在恐怖文学和后来的克苏鲁神话体系中具有重要影响，在书中，凡是阅读过《黄衣之王》第二幕的人，往往会逐渐陷入疯狂、绝望或现实崩塌，以此为引写下了十篇佳作，而卡尔克萨并非钱伯斯所创。1886年，安布罗斯·比尔斯发表了短篇小说《一个卡尔克萨城的居民(An Inhabitant of Carcosa)》，讲述一个人夜里醒来，发现自己身处荒凉异境，到日薄晨曦之时他意识自己已死，荒地便是传说的古城卡尔克萨。在游戏中最早看到这本书是在地洞下的房间，上面有六个封印（无名之地石板模型的重复使用）会随着游戏进程逐渐消失。 除此之外，游戏还构建了一个高度极权且压抑的反乌托邦社会——欧亚国（Eusan Nation），一个从欧亚帝国分裂出来的极权国家，类似于现实世界20世纪的共产主义政权，它实行广泛的宣传、审查和镇压，比如游戏中出现的的“不超六原则”，设计灵感来源于多个共产主义和集权政权，最著名的便是德意志民主共和国。在这个极其讲究社会阶级分工，工具仿生人的时代，私情甚至自由意志是坚决不被允许的。然而，生于冷原星的亚瑞安妮却热爱画画、倾心音乐、沉溺于文学。她的精神世界浩瀚且充满了感性的色彩，她独立思考的能力使她在学校遭遇霸凌，被老师分配到红色阵线的义务军事服务中，试图扼杀亚瑞安妮的艺术天赋。最终，为了逃离压抑的体制，她申请了彭罗斯计划，登上“彭罗斯512号”飞船，驶向茫茫宇宙深处。 灵鹊是被派来维护飞船的LSTR型仿形体。按照国家规定，仿形体不应该被当作普通人看待，相关说明文件甚至会提醒驾驶员如何维护LSTR单元，以及避免哪些行为。但是在不断重复地数千个循环中，灵鹊成为了唯一可以与她交流的对象，亚瑞安妮逐渐邀请灵鹊共度纪念日和普通的休息时间，包括但不限于听歌，看电影，亚瑞安妮对灵鹊的仰慕与日俱增，两人间的情感日渐升温。 [h3]Remember, you will die having served your Nation by partaking in a glorious demonstration of our power. 请牢记，你至死都在为国效力，至死都是我们国家对外展示的光荣力量中的一份子。 [/h3] 这句话来自彭罗斯简报。此时驾驶员已坚持了3000个航行周期，任务正式进入最终阶段。此时的LSTR仿形体单元已接近预定使用寿命，机体也开始出现冷却液泄漏与机械故障，彭罗斯 512 号的生命维持系统和反应堆屏蔽防护将陆续失效；这种状况下最好将完形体放入冷冻舱以无痛死亡，或者让她们被仿形体迅速处决。 亚瑞安妮的口腔出血不止，白色长发与牙齿开始大把脱落，并伴随着长期的剧烈疼痛与严重失眠，器官衰竭皮肤坏死，并伴随着长期的剧烈疼痛与严重失眠；为了延缓亚瑞安妮的死亡，无视命令的灵鹊将她放入了飞船的休眠舱。 [quote=author]In tears she poured out words with a faint voice, lamenting her sad woe, as when the swan about to die sings a funereal dirge. 她含着眼泪， 用微弱的声音，吐訴了心中的忧思， 就像天鵝临死所唱的丧歌一样 Ovid. "Metamorphoses XIV". Lines 428–430. 奥维德《变形记》第十四卷，第428-430行[/quote] 在假结局的回忆片段中,两人曾携手共舞，所用的曲子是弗朗茨·舒伯特（Franz Schubert）的天鹅之歌D.957：​​4. 小夜曲（Schwanengesang, D.957: 4. Ständchen (Serenade)）。舒伯特31岁英年早逝，出版商将他生命最后几个月里写下的遗作整理成集，以古希腊“天鹅临终前会发出凄美的歌声”的传说为名。天鹅是献给阿波罗的圣鸟，被认为是和谐与美丽的象征，它有限的歌唱能力也被鸣禽所超越，于是天鹅之歌（Swan song）一词也衍生出了隐喻意，在公元前 3 世纪的古希腊时期便已化为谚语，并在此后的西方诗歌与艺术盛宴中被反复咏叹。 [b] 一切不产生生产力的行为皆为罪恶。可是在远离国家监控的宇宙深处，却饱含艺术与属于个体的爱与悲伤。太浪漫了...一段不被允许存在的，违背体制教条的爱意被生物共振不断延，续向全宇宙，穿梭在现实与梦境的缝隙中；直至个体意识完形崩溃（gestaltzerfall），逻辑的意义尽数瓦解而空无一物，溶解成血肉山峦隆起坍塌，天地与我并生，而万物与我为一，就如舒伯特的小夜曲中所言： [/b] [quote=author] Leise flehen meine Lieder，Durch die Nacht zu dir; 我的歌声穿过夜色，向你飞去，深深地祈求着你 In den stillen Hain hernieder，Liebchen, komm zu mir! 亲爱的，请倾听我的呼唤，让你的心也随之动容吧！[/quote] 顺带一提，游戏中的"Owl Songs"借用了柴可夫斯基的天鹅湖第二幕第一部分（Лебединое озеро）Op.20 - Act II Pt. 1。1991年，苏联政变未遂。同年8月19日，当坦克驶入莫斯科街头时，国营电视台开始循环播放整部芭蕾舞剧“天鹅湖”。随后，共产党强硬派宣布已从米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫手中夺权，并将后者逮捕。鲍里斯·叶利钦闻讯后，登上莫斯科市中心的一辆坦克，呼吁民众挺身抗议。三天内，数千名抗议者与军队对峙，最终政变领导者妥协。不到四个月后，苏联宣告解体。而在此之前，便有每逢政府危机便中断常规节目、循环播放《天鹅湖》的传统：1982年列昂尼德·勃列日涅夫逝世、继任者未定之时如此；1984年尤里·安德罗波夫逝世、1985年康斯坦丁·契尔年科逝世时亦然。《天鹅湖》由此成为了“政治动荡与剧变的符号”。 由此，灵鹊来到了冰冷荒凉的冷原星矿山设施 S-23，游戏开始。 正如我开头写的，本作的艺术性太强了，以至于我无法用只言片语来描述。除此之外游戏还致敬了很多电影和动画，比如灵雀手臂断裂那段过长动画则致敬了95版攻壳里草薙素子把手掰断的时候，还有红色沙地上耸立着倾斜的黑色石柱，还有图像在角色剪影上快速闪烁的过场动画剪辑方式，很难不让人想到《新世纪福音战士剧场版：Air/真心为你》，包括伊索尔德·伊藤的液化，看着就像人类补完计划一样：在欧亚国，人类被称为格式塔（Gestalt），与仿生人（Replika）相对。Gestalt”是一个德语词汇，意思是整体大于部分之和（The whole is greater than the sum of its parts），每个公民只有存在于社会整体之中，并未知做出贡献，才能体会自身价值。而完形崩溃（Gestaltzerfall）是心理学与语言学中的一种实际现象，当你盯着某一个汉字或单词看太久时，大脑会突然觉得这个字变得极其陌生，仿佛它只是由一堆无意义的笔画拼凑起来的，失去了原本的含义；当灵鹊层层下潜，现实，梦境与他人的记忆交织在一起时，概念的意义尽数解构，那空间甚至自身的存在也就不再稳定了。 绘画作品，欧根·布拉赫特的《湮没之岸》（Gestade der Vergessenheit）和阿诺德·勃克林的画作《死岛》（Die Toteninsel）贯穿全游戏；在古希腊神话中，“遗忘之河/遗忘之岸”（Lethe）是冥界的河流之一。死者的灵魂在前往下一世或阴间之前，必须饮用或跨过此河，类似于中国的孟婆汤，而死亡之岛是一个孤立于阴暗水面上的岩石小岛，岛上耸立着象征死亡与永恒的丝柏树（Cypress），两者毫无疑问都是 19 世纪末至 20 世纪初的德国象征主义（German Symbolism）的杰作。玩家跳进塞宾斯基矿山或彭罗斯飞船的巨洞中，会突兀地切换到第一人称视角，出现在遗忘之岸；海岸边荒凉空旷，散落着累累白骨与骷髅，这是现实与梦境开始消解的地方，而玩家要在这里坐上红色的小船去往死之岛，代表了浪漫主义的终点，即个体的孤独和死亡。 游戏的美学与氛围极具辨识度且压抑入骨，叙事逻辑上显而易见受到了大卫·林奇的影响，比如灵鹊，游隼或爱琳娜·徐等人的记忆与人格在生物共振的作用下相互渗透，不分你我，游隼在病床上变成了灵鹊与亚瑞安妮的结合体，就像是《穆赫兰道》里娜奥米·沃茨饰演的角色在不同的身份里模糊界限一样，谢尔宾斯基的地下设施。 而艺术风格也很多样，比如“粗野主义”（Brutalism，源自法语 béton brut，意为素面混凝土）是 20 世纪 50 至 70 年代盛行的建筑风格，在爬上楼梯时你能看到巨大的混凝土墙面，在当时游玩的时候给了我很大的震撼，巨大且不可动摇，给人以压迫感而显得个体渺小而无力。同时，游戏里的生物科技高度发达，但是别的地方就显得很落伍了，经常会用到实体卡带或磁盘，他们甚至还在用CRT屏幕和收音机，是的，贯穿全游戏的无线电是冷战时期情报部门使用的短波广播。加上游戏内构成主义的海报，满是粗体无衬线字体和高对比度的配色，营造出了一种苏东阵营工业设计的美感。 我很难用很短的篇幅写尽这款游戏作为艺术品有多么的出类拔萃...这是一段传达到宇宙各个角落的爱情，由爱与痛织就且满是温柔的异乡故事，直到所有星辰陨落，甚至在那之后。 [quote=author]（Love is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.） 爱是永不褪色的星辰，它凝视着风暴，永不摇动。 —— 莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）《十四行诗第 116 首》 [/quote]

This was such a great game. The story is intentionally vague, which I don't mind, but don't love either. However, this is not a game you understand, but a game you feel. What I loved about Signalis was the atmosphere. This game is just gripping, it flawlessly implements RE's gamplay loop in a much more interesting world. I was really invested in deciphering the puzzles and the layout of the map itself while coping with limited resources and constant tension, to the point I always wanted to see just a bit more of the game while also fearing what would come next. I cannot recomment it enough.

После прохождения остается странная смесь грусти, тревоги и желания немедленно открыть разбор сюжета. Не потому что игра что-то недосказала, а потому что хочется еще раз вернуться в этот мир и посмотреть на него уже другими глазами. Скрытый Гем Геймдева , 10\10 .