Intro: We can’t simply name what a horror game is, with so many themes and motifs it makes horror a truly subjective experience. Horror games can have elements from past titles that create its own immersion and uniqueness. This doesn’t mean it's copying another horror game, but simply utilizing the tools left from game previous, reinventing the wheel to work with, embrace, and create a new name around a heavily saturated, and heavily copied market. Pixel Perfection: Signalis is a third person shooter consisting of 2.5D perspective with occasional puzzles and cut scenes. Puzzles range from switch flipping to searching for certain frequencies in Elsters radio. The difficulty of the game is enhanced through resource management which is akin to how Resident Evil one Remake and Silent Hill 2/3 structured their games. Signalis creates the perfect balance of classic horror ambiance, and limited storage space so the items you carry with you have to be chosen in a specific way.
I cant tell you how many times I forgot I had a carry capacity. With modern games you can carry anything and everything making the experience unrealistic and somewhat funny. Seriously, how is it possibly that my character is carrying a lamp, a shotgun, four puzzle pieces and a blowtorch and STILL running like they just finished a marathon? Along with a carry capacity, Signalis does a really elegant throwback to Silent Hill Two and three when it comes to save points and nightmarish areas, even the way the camera zooms in on puzzles is very reminiscent of Silent Hill games.
Inspiration Versus Copying: Signalis takes enough from previous horror titles to where we can say “yes, they were inspired by previous games, but they weren’t copying” the only instance in this game where we can see where inspiration and copying blurs a bit is with the save points. Blurring into a red sea of memories from a familiar past, a very distinct call back to Silent hill 2 and 3 occur. Some will say its copying others will say inspiration. If im instantly reminded of a previous game and, not thinking of the one im playing every time I save the game then there’s a bit of a problem. Gestalt Therapy: The psychology of Signlais wraps around the story in a very vague way. Unless you’ve heard of Gestalt therapy, or even heard of the term then this will go over players heads entirely. “Gestalt psychology, school of psychology founded in the 20th century that provided the foundation for the modern study of perception. Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. The word Gestalt is used in modern German to mean the way a thing has been “placed,” or “put together.” There is no exact equivalent in English. “Form” and “shape” are the usual translations; in psychology the word is often interpreted as “pattern” or “configuration.” Brittanica This encompasses what Signalis is. It is in a sense a journey for the player to experience based on the players perception of events that are occurring. In Signalis A Replika unit known as Elster (LSTR) awakens and searches for her missing Gestalt partner, Ariane. This to me at the start didn’t make a lot of sense considering the fact That a gestalt cant be a physical person. “Gestalt Therapy is based on the notion that no person is an isolated being or object but that everyone exists and functions in a context. Every person's life is their context or gestalt, which is connected to and influenced by their unique environment and loved ones, as well as their unique memories and life experiences.” So, in a sense did Ariane even exist, or was this a memory, left in Elester from a time previous? This is why I think this game is realy good because it leaves the heavy lifting (most of it) to the player when it comes to the story. Yes, there are several notes that explain a lot but unless you know the true meaning of Gestalt, and how it being utilized players will miss a bigger picture entirely to this game. this story is immersive and well done, and unless the player dives into every note they will get a very vague surface level game. reading every note in this game is a must for not only proper story context but puzzles as well. That’s Not All: In the end, this game created an immersive experience but was very experience based on the player already having prior knowledge of past games and terms. Was this game good, yes it was, but there was a lot of information to take in that a certain player bases either A. wont enjoy, B. enjoy a lot because they’ve played games similar or, C. have no experience with at all. It comes down to the fact that some games as new as they are will always have a phantom of a game previous attached to them. Be it gameplay, story or or art, everything comes from something.
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