Play this spooky homage to PS1 horror before it leaves Xbox Game Pass
Signalis will be leaving the service on October 31, and it's well worth giving this indie game a go before Halloween ends.
Signalis is a short, strange game, and undeniably one of the best horror games of recent years. It’s one whose sound effects will linger in your ears long after closing it, with striking similarities to PS1 horror classics such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Alas, this is not just another PS1 survival horror; it’s a unique game that wears its influences on its sleeve - but with their own flair - delivering distinct puzzles and a troubling story of entirely its own.
And if you want to play Signalis for free, Xbox Game Pass (PC) subscribers have until October 31st to give it a whirl as part of the subscription service. After that, you can still pick up the game on Steam for just £15.99, which is well worth it for this short experience that’ll - hopefully - stay with you for a long time after you finish playing.
Sucking you in from the moment you wake up, you’re alone and left to wander endless corridors. You must flee from prowling Replicas that are an awful lot like Silent Hill’s nurses, and preserve ammo wherever possible, solving brilliantly presented puzzles and experiencing vibrant, pixel art cutscenes on the fly. This is all while trying to shake off the goosebumps that industrial, harsh soundtrack - reminiscent of Akira Yamaoka’s work on Silent Hill - is no doubt going to end up giving you.
While Signalis is short in length and relatively linear, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a challenge, either. Much like Resident Evil, you’ll likely spend plenty of time staring at your map as you try to figure your way around this facility, and boss fights can be frustrating but are rewarding. Amidst all of this, you’ll be trying to piece together a troubling but tantalizing story of Elsther and her partner, Ariane, who are both lost and alone in this decrepit facility where the truth behind their entire lives begins to unfold.
If you're a fan of horror literature and artwork, you’ll find Signalis to be an absolute treat. It indulges in explicit references to the likes of renowned authors such as Robert W. Chambers and H.P. Lovecraft, and artists like Eugen Bracht and Arnold Bocklin.
Bocklin’s Isle of the Dead artwork can be found in galleries globally (he made multiple, equally creepy versions of the painting), and it has an eerie feel to it that makes it difficult to look away; finding it placed into Signalis felt incredibly apt, considering that the game also conjured up the same feelings in me as the artwork. You’ll be constantly unnerved and on edge, but will you want to give up and stop playing? I think not.
With the game bidding farewell to Xbox Game Pass on October 31, and of course, Halloween right around the corner, now is a better time than ever to try and experience this spooky survival-horror for yourself.
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