Jump to content

Signalis - a Sci-fi Survival Horror with Resi 2 vibes

Alan Stock

By Alan Stock,
in Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Alan Stock

Alan Stock

Posted
Posted

ss_a2603694154878b8260c1dd498a06168cad01

 

Well, this came out of the blue for me, and just in time for halloween! It's out tomorrow (27th Oct).

 

Reviews out so far are good, it's getting 8/10's and a few 9/10's including Eurogamers Essential and 9.5 from Destructoid.

 

I've really just glanced at the reviews because those scores and the genre will sell Signalis to me, but headlines are saying despite the sci-fi setting its a throwback to classic survival horror like Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill, but without tank controls. There's some great atmosphere, some action and some puzzling to be done. Some people are saying its scary, others not, but who cares how fear-inducing it is if they nail all of the above. Sign me up!

 

Some reviews:

 

8
Link to comment
Share on other sites
earlymodernsteve

earlymodernsteve

Posted
Posted
56 minutes ago, BadgerFarmer said:

I seem to be one of the few critics that didn't get on with it that well, even though I've been looking forward to it for ages. The combat and excessive item management got in the way of the atmosphere and story for me.

Nowt wrong with being a dissenting voice. It's far too easy to get swept up in the hype for a game and struggle to find your own view. I think the huge rush to turn reviews over so quickly is a detriment to the form tbf and much prefer the academic route of things being given time to percolate before committing your impressions. Obviously, I understand the publish or perish incentive for sites but quite often I look back on games I've reviewed and have a different view than at the time.

4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BadgerFarmer

BadgerFarmer

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, earlymodernsteve said:

Nowt wrong with being a dissenting voice. It's far too easy to get swept up in the hype for a game and struggle to find your own view. I think the huge rush to turn reviews over so quickly is a detriment to the form tbf and much prefer the academic route of things being given time to percolate before committing your impressions. Obviously, I understand the publish or perish incentive for sites but quite often I look back on games I've reviewed and have a different view than at the time.

Yeah, it's definitely better when you have a few days to mull a game over before writing about it. In this case though, I would have preferred a more narrative-led experience than the full Resident Evil treatment.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alan Stock

Alan Stock

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 hours ago, BadgerFarmer said:

I seem to be one of the few critics that didn't get on with it that well, even though I've been looking forward to it for ages. The combat and excessive item management got in the way of the atmosphere and story for me.

 

What's your take on early Resi titles out of interest? In original Resi 1 and 2 there's quite a bit of inventory management and Resi 2 is quite combat focused, but both retained great atmospheres. I quite like a bit of inventory management but Resi 1 (and Resi 1 remake) did take it too far, where you were constantly having to run to and from the item box and half your inventory was a weapon, ammo and key items. For me, Resi 2 remake has nailed the inventory management the best to date, where there's never a comfortable amount of space but not enough to be frustrating, and the inventory upgrades are a total godsend that feel like real rewards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BadgerFarmer

BadgerFarmer

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Alan Stock said:

 

What's your take on early Resi titles out of interest? In original Resi 1 and 2 there's quite a bit of inventory management and Resi 2 is quite combat focused, but both retained great atmospheres. I quite like a bit of inventory management but Resi 1 (and Resi 1 remake) did take it too far, where you were constantly having to run to and from the item box and half your inventory was a weapon, ammo and key items. For me, Resi 2 remake has nailed the inventory management the best to date, where there's never a comfortable amount of space but not enough to be frustrating, and the inventory upgrades are a total godsend that feel like real rewards.

This describes my experience with Signalis. You have a six item limit, as in the same as Chris mode in Resi 1, but there are more key items than in a Resident Evil game. Capcom figured out that was too stingy pretty quickly and later Resi games found a batter balance between management and busywork, which I thought worked well. I've never had a problem with those. The limit in Signalis doesn't feel retro so much as archaic.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alan Stock

Alan Stock

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Apparently it is being released on Gamepass. But, I stayed up till midnight last night on my PS5 hoping to try it out for an hour or two, but its still not released this afternoon (UK). Hopefully later today, its now about 8am in the US but most releases come out at midnight so maybe there's a delay. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Popo

Popo

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Arn X Treme said:

A little tip for a puzzle I was struggling with.

 

  Hide contents

When you get to the lock pick machine you need to adjust it so the line on the pins are all flat. 

 

I thought the puzzle was to push the pins into the holes. 

 


Oof yea, not sure I would have got that one to be honest; especially because…

 

Spoiler

The clue on the note near the door says “it’s basically trial and error”. I thought the game wanted me to try every possible permutation of the four teeth!

 

If this puzzle is representative of the game as a whole, I’m not sure I want to be made to feel so stupid. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Arn X Treme

Arn X Treme

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, bradigor said:

Gave this a go but seemed to get to a bit that was just white clouds just after the tutorial. Is that part of the game? If so what do I do? As I cannot see a thing as it is all too bright for me 

 

Keep tapping the button, and it eventually pulls you forward.

 

The controls are pretty shocking!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alan Stock

Alan Stock

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Mixed feelings about this. I'm up to the first boss, a few hours in. It's solid overall and the art style and presentation's great, but the level design is uninspired so far, and despite me thinking I just want an old skool survival horror, this is a bit too conventional for my tastes. This could change as the game goes on. I've had a decent time with it but not really wowed.

 

The presentation is really cool, an isometric view with very striking, deliberately pixellated 3D graphics. There is a scattering of cool anime style cutscenes. There's also some really immersive sections where you switch to first person view to fiddle with control panels or explore a small area. The atmosphere is on point and the story and setup are quite intriguing, its definitely got a sombre, dreamlike quality to it. The sound is good too, although the volume levels are way off, turn it up loud to appreciate the envionment and ambience - and then get deafened by the radio or the combat. It has great attention to detail in all the interfaces and the way it tells the story. The characters you can meet are well animated and intriguing.

 

Gameplay wise so far though its very by the numbers old skool survival horror. Pistol, shotgun, ammo sitting around, limited inventory shots, diary pages all over the place, puzzle computer terminals and safe codes. Although I appreciate the homage, its a bit too familiar. I agree with BadgerFarmer that the inventory is a pain with its very limited slots. I can see the reasoning, so you can't carry loads of weapons and support items, and it forces you to plan your routes and consider which enemies to prioritise. But ultimately even when planning well there's too much item box travel and faffing around swapping items in and out.

 

You have to manually aim your gun's laser sight with the right stick which is fine, but it takes a while to sink in, because in old Resi's you auto lock-on. Here they throw you into combat without giving you ample aiming practice and enemies can come at you quickly, so you might be flailing around like me getting mashed, before your muscle memory learns the combat controls. The enemies so far are very basic, just boring shamblers of various types. I do appreciate that they have limited line of sight so you can avoid unnecessary fights - and ammo drops are well balanced so you only have just enough. At this first boss fight I'm stuck on, its very old skool in that I'm not sure if its just a bullet sponge or there's some puzzle element I've not figured out yet, so its trial and error which is dissapointing.

 

The first big environment you get put in looks great, (the lighting is especially good) but the setting isn't inspired, lots of generic grotty industrial/sci-fi facility corridors and rooms. But my main hangup is the level design, this is no Resident Evil 1 or 2 complex map. It's big but at least for now its very gridlike and you end up needing the map quite a bit, not helped by how similar areas look. There are the usual locked doors or item-locked progression points and although its a bit open to explore, the layout is boring and route planning straightforward. 

 

What keeps things interesting is the story bits and the slow introduction of more interesting mechanics, like the radio and other gadgets as well as some nice little puzzles. I'm hoping the game continues to evolve as it goes on, it does some things very well but it can feel very by the numbers elsewhere - where its competent for sure but hardly inspiring. Maybe there's a 9/10 in here later on but for now its a 7/10 or 8/10 for me. The awesome art style and weird androidy madness stuff is really cool though, and that's where its strengths are for me. And so far its definitely not scary, although it does have a standard lonely survival horror vibe. In combat you get Silent Hill-esque music but not really any fear or tension, early days though. Assuming I can beat this boss I will continue and hope things break the mold a bit.

 

PS I also made the same wrong assumption with the puzzle you mentioned above!

3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Popo

Popo

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, bradigor said:

Gave this a go but seemed to get to a bit that was just white clouds just after the tutorial. Is that part of the game? If so what do I do? As I cannot see a thing as it is all too bright for me 


Confusingly, the game wants you to press A to move into the screen, the progress of which is initially obscured completely as there’s no visible landmarks in the distance - they only become visible (and barely at that) after you’ve done this. I think the developers assume you know how to move in the first person mode because they tutorialised it in the opening section, but I’m not entirely convinced - and definitely not a good introduction for visually impaired players. 

 

6 hours ago, Alan Stock said:

Mixed feelings about this. I'm up to the first boss, a few hours in. It's solid overall and the art style and presentation's great, but the level design is uninspired so far


Yea, this is really not a good design choice I have to say. Silent Hill did it, and it wasn’t good then either. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept