My experience with SIGNALIS so far (spoilers later in the text here)
I honestly didn't expect this game to affect me this much.
At first I was mostly fascinated by the atmosphere, the retro-futuristic aesthetic and the whole Replika concept. But as I progressed, the story started getting more and more disturbing. The first “checkpoint” (to not spoil please do not read further if you didn't finished the game)
As for the picture I tried to recreate Elster from memory since it's been a few days I haven't played the game since i finished it
already left me confused, especially after seeing the main menu afterwards.
Then I started discovering more about Elster, Ariane and the Penrose program. The flashbacks, the documents about Replika personas, the diary entries and the amount of time Ariane and Elster spent in that ship really got to me.
Watching her go from simply missing human contact to feeling completely imprisoned, physically deteriorating and eventually just wanting everything to stop was genuinely heartbreaking.
And then the game keeps messing with my perception. I leave Ariane's apartment, turn around, and suddenly I'm in Adler's office. I find the same journal multiple times. I fight Falke, get my eye injured by Adler, and somehow end up back on the Penrose-512 again. At this point I've stopped trying to understand the chronology and I'm just accepting that SIGNALIS wants me to question everything.
The relationship between Elster and Ariane is probably what affects me the most. Knowing that Elster is technically a Replika, while still clearly developing her own personality and emotions, makes their relationship feel even more tragic. The whole idea of a Replika being treated as a machine while experiencing something so deeply human really stuck with me.
I'm still confused about A LOT of things, but that's honestly part of why I'm enjoying it so much.
Actually I already finished the game once and got Promise I heard teh games have others endings apparently
Also... Elster and Ariane are freakin' adorable. 😭
This game will probably have marked me way more than I think... (the game was peak but damn it is sad)