Signalis (2022)

Signalis is what I wish more modern horror were like. It feels lately like the genre’s chasing trends or ghosts, rarely allowing itself to ever be transgressive and bold. Signalis, which unmistakably looks and feels vintage, feels like the best kind of trick. Here’s a game that seems to be peddling one thing—in this case, PS1 nostalgia and classic spooks—and then twists and winds into something entirely different, radical, and endlessly more thoughtful than mindless pastiche.

If the fixed-ish camera angles and fuzzy CRT-like aesthetics draw you in, please stick around for the ride Signalis promises. It’s deeper, and a billion times more fucked than you might initially think, and its also just kind of the best survival horror game in a long while! If you’re looking for something that feels like the genuine article, this is it. There are environmental puzzles, riddles aplenty, and the inventory management in Signalis sometimes feels even more demanding than the games that originated and popularized the mechanic! It may be light on actual scares, but Signalis more than makes up for that in a billion other ways. I hate to say it, but it might just be a modern classic. — MT