Before I go into how this game has impacted me, I'd like to rapid-fire my general thoughts on the different aspects of the game. Overall though I don't think I have anything to complain about. As others have said - go in blind, it will be for your benefit. That said, the game is not completely ruined if you got spoiled, because I believe this game can impact you in ways you didn't expect even if you did get spoiled.

I would recommend this game to those who love survival horror, and to those who love an engaging (yet obtuse) story. So even if the survival horror gameplay is not normally your thing, I think the mystery of the story and its world will get you hooked and the final act of the story offer a lot for your mind to sort through. Also, if for some reason pixel art or retro graphic styles are not your thing or you feel it's overdone, I urge you to look past that as every design choice in this game is executed with reason and only enhances the atmosphere they wanted to create, and would not be as immersive without them.

Chances are nobody cares about how the game affected me personally - and that's fine - go play it for yourself and get your own experience. No review, lore video, theory crafting, or "definitive telling" of the story can take away the experience this game can give you. I'm only using this section as an outlet to process my thoughts.

There may be minor spoilers relating to plot points established early in the game and especially relating to the overarching tone the narrative broken down into finer details. There are also some end-game story elements that will be left as vague as possible to keep this friendly for people who have not finished the game.

Anyways, I ended up having a unique feeling of (bio)resonance with this game that was unexpectedly augmented by the very recent impact that the anime Frieren had on me - primarily from the story's hero Himmel in the finale (minor spoilers for the Frieren anime ahead). This will loop back to Signalis after the context is explained so bear with me please.

While helping a random villager carry some luggage across his farm - when he could instead be slaying monsters and "saving the world" - he is questioned by a trusted party member for using his time poorly/inefficiently. Himmel responds to the logical concern by saying, "You're right that they're insignificant. Such deeds won't change the world. But I won't ignore those in need right in front of me. This scene/dialogue was prompted by another character Wirbel, a young man living in the age of peace that Himmel created. Himmel visited Wirbel's village (well before Wirbel was born). Though he loves the heroic stories of Himmel, the stories he actually hears from his peers are the small insignificant things Himmel did to help them during his stay there. Eventually Himmel realized that the threat the demon lord posed a real threat to the world, but nevertheless did not have anything to do with his home town. It was destroyed anyways after all; after the demon lord was defeated and Himmel saved the world and passed away many years later. Himmel the Hero saved the world, but the village was eventually still destroyed. However, the stories of Himmel helping them with insignificant and mundane everyday tasks did not die with the village; it continued with the survivors, and with Wirbel as one of Himmel's countless legacies.

The point of that long side-story in this review is to convey the conclusion & impact Frieren's story so far has had with me. The conclusion that You can try to make the world a better place, or do what you are supposed to/expected to do. There's nothing wrong with that and should be respected, but at the end of the day, things outside of our control happen all the time. What truly matters for those around you are the impact you have on their day. Helping somebody carry something. Handing them something for them from the top shelf. Helping clean up a mess they accidentally made from dropping something. Offering simple yet personal words of kindness or encouragement. Helping these strangers from whom you cannot expect anything in return and could easily be ignored without consequence... but helping them anyways. Not because it is the right thing to do or that you would be a bad person for not doing it, but simply because you want to help. A simple gesture that by all means has no reason to exist when you could have instead kept doing what you were in the middle of doing or should be doing.

So at this point for the 0 humans (and 5,000 bots scraping content to power ChatGPT & the like against my will for AI generated game reviews) still reading, even those who have played Signalis are probably asking "how the f--- does this relate to Signalis at all?" Honestly it doesn't, but it is related to how it augmented my personal experience for playing Signalis.

Signalis is a brutal and hopeless world that is honestly probably not much better to live in even if the events of the game surrounding the protagonist did not exist. Perhaps even absolute destruction is favorable. The funny part is, I feel like the events of the game simultaneously do and do not exist canonically. But ultimately that is up for interpretation. Regardless, I see it as a bleak interpretation of the current state and future trajectory of our own society by exaggerating its worst features into both a metaphorical and literal hunk of pulsating cancerous meat.

Our protagonist has no way out of this situation (for different yet symbiotic reasons between the game's events and the game's conclusion). There is no escape. The only way out is forward - to do what they are supposed to do. But even then, once all is done, will that really change anything? The one our protagonist is searching for is in my eyes a commentary on the suppression of authentic creative thought that is becoming more and more relevant in today's age. They do encompass more than this, but it is the focus of my conclusion. Play the game to find out exactly why they are related to creative thinking.

Rejected by society and cast out into the vacuum of space while being seen as an honorable and admirable act. Himmel from Frieren is adored by society and doing an honest act of heroism willingly, though Signalis is not so bright. Not every act seen as heroic is done (possibly even unsuccessfully) or performed without unimaginable sacrifice. Some of them are even misguided - just like many of the ones in Signalis. Entire lives are wasted and left to fester and rot for effectively no reason at all.

Seeing the meaninglessness of these acts constitute the legacy of these lives and effectively their entire being - rewarded by dying slowly, agonizingly, and in deafening solitude, far past their intended worth and quite literally their expiration date. The parallel seen here (which may make more sense after playing the game) and so many others in the real world was impossible for me personally to ignore and got me both furious and emotional enough to be driven to tears.

I see Signalis and Frieren as two sides of the same coin. Together though, they provide something entirely new that is complete that otherwise would not exist in the first place. Signalis represents the futility of one's situation outside their own mind. Himmel's journey represents the hope that - despite the bleakest outlook - you can make the lives of others better.

No matter the hellscape you find yourself in with today's society; you can still find fulfillment, however small, in the people and the things that would still matter to you most when the concept of society is removed.

- Obligatory "I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho, or sorry that happened"