Providing an entertaining and enjoyable experience while managing to challenge the player by forcing them to run all over the map solving puzzles while fighting or avoiding monsters can be a challenging setup to design. It seems that developers rose-engine and publishers Humble Games and PLAYISM knew what they were doing when designing SIGNALIS because this survival horror game managed to keep me engaged while I solved my way through their underground world of monsters and puzzles.

Update Note: When I initially reviewed this title, I believed I had beaten the game. The developers reached out to me about my ‘No Final Boss’ comment below and informed me that there is more to the game when you hit any of the Main Menu buttons (other than Settings) after the first time the credits roll. As someone who force quits more often than not, this was missed originally. Notes have been added to the review to reflect any changes and the score was bumped up from the original 8/10 score I placed when I did not know of the final level.

Story

After awakening from cryostasis in a wrecked vessel, a Replika named Elster heads out into a cold planet. This journey leads into an unknown underground depth where she learns of a facility that has been lost due to the totalitarian regime of Eusan that keeps an iron grip through aggressive surveillance and propaganda. This venture of finding survivors and fighting through the dystopian nightmare will be the only way for Elster to remember who she is and help her try to find her purpose.

Gameplay

This game does a good job of revealing different aspects of the gameplay through experience. Starting out, you simply have your movement and are in a room with only one exit. This gives you a chance to realize the top-down perspective and get used to the movement controls. From there you are introduced to inventory use, combat, combining items, inventory management (since you are limited to only six slots), the save system, and the storage box. You’ll also be shown a unique element of this game which is the radio frequency system that you will need to utilize for different parts of the game.

Once you have all the key elements of the gameplay worked out, you will be in the thick of the first real level of the game. Here you are given a map to work with and will experience inventory management in full as you find more items than you can hold, have to start deciding when to hold certain key items, and so on. You’ll also be facing your first series of puzzles, including the map-wide puzzle system that is finding key items in one location that are needed in another area of the map.

I will say that the combat itself is something that could have been improved on. A simple lock-on system would have been incredibly helpful because trying to aim at an enemy proved to be a little frustrating. Sometimes you would look like you are lining up a shot, but it simply wouldn’t lock on and before you have a chance to actually hit them they are on you. Being touched at all, let alone hit, will have you take damage, so this is agitating. However, it is obvious when you lock on an enemy and if you wait for the box to shrink a bit you will do a critical hit that does more damage thus saving you ammo.

You do find helpful items such as the stun rod that helps you fight off enemies when they get too close. Plus, if you go to fire your gun at an enemy that is close you will push them back, but that doesn’t work on the bigger enemies. I ended up only having items like thermite or autoinjectors equipped so that if I defeat an enemy I really don’t want to come back - because they will just simply get back up at some point most of the time - I can burn them or if I take too much damage it will heal me before I go down. Still, I strongly suggest keeping your Repair Spray+ items on you and never using the regular Repair Spray because you will find the pads to combine with it and upgrade to the Repair Spray+ way too easily.

I did like how they added a segment of the game that required a flashlight. This brought a new challenge to the system that I had gotten used to and forced me to take up an inventory spot to keep it on me, plus it took up my equipment slot. Worse yet, the flashlight will alert enemies and ruin any chance of sneaking so you need to monitor whether it is on or off before entering rooms or trying to use it in a dark room while you are ill-equipped to fight.

Finally, I want to talk about the puzzle system in a bit more detail. You will want to have a notepad handy because you will need to write some stuff down. While some of the details of the puzzles can be found in the notes you find and you can refer to them, there are some that can’t simply be referred to. You may need to remember a specific pattern or layout, decipher a specific code, or find an answer through cryptic means. I love puzzles like these and easily think this was the highlight of the game! Plus, the use of that unique radio system for a lot of the puzzles or for finding answers was definitely a nice touch.

Audio and Visual

While the majority of the game is played in a near-silent state, there is some background noise to the game. However, the quiet is typically interrupted often as getting spotted by a creature will activate a loud, somewhat obnoxious music style that includes static and loud machinery. It made the encounters and chase-like moments seem more intense, but sometimes it just got annoying if you passed through a monster room often. I do like the radio aspect they have in this game as it made for an interesting puzzle element and could even be heard outside of the menu if left on when you backed out.

Visually speaking, this game is an interesting mix of top-down pixelated graphics while gameplay is in action and a blended mix of anime and pixelation for cutscenes. It made the two art styles blend together well without seeming like two different experiences in one game. Then there were the first-person view moments that looked like an old-school video game. Altogether, it was a true-to-itself art style, but I do wish they would have made the graphics a bit more improved for the times we were put into a segment with the first-person view.

Replayability

A lot of what makes this game interesting is solving the puzzles, so once you beat the game you will have an understanding of how to solve each puzzle and where to find all the key cards, plates, and other elements. Due to that alone, I’m not sure there is much room for replayability. However, there are limited resources and some extra stuff that can be unlocked, missed, and/or passed up on your first playthrough, so a completionist would have reasons to play more than once.

Update Note: Now that I have beaten the actual final chapter, there was a results screen that shows the title of the ending I got. This means that there are multiple endings, so that alone is a reason to replay the game!

What It Could Have Done Better

A survival horror game that has you fighting enemies while you solve your way through map-wide puzzles should definitely have a final boss. Honestly, while the gameplay itself was pretty amazing, the lack of boss fights was such a letdown. I had so much ammo at the end of the game because I was expecting a big fight at the end, but instead, I went into the ending cutscene with two loaded guns and ammo for both. This game NEEDS more bosses!

Update Note: There is a final boss! Turns out they hid the final chapter of the game behind the second Main Menu buttons. After you beat chapter 2 and a cutscene plays, followed by credits, hit any button on the main menu, and the game will load up the final chapter. I honestly find this questionable and an easy way to make a bunch of players miss this final chapter, just as I did, but on the same hand, it is an interesting unique way to present it. It goes well with the lore as well.

Verdict

SIGNALIS is a great survival horror game that does map-wide puzzle lovers proud! While I do feel it was a bit light on the boss fights, the action in this game alone is pretty challenging altogether. It is obvious there was a lot of effort put into making the puzzles in this game diverse and for the first time in a long time, I actually had to take notes while playing the game. If you enjoy horror games full of puzzles and hordes of enemies, then this is a game you need in your library!

SIGNALIS is set to release on October 27th for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.