Sometimes you go into a game looking to have some reckless, fancy free fun. Other times, you wish to engage your brain and test your knowledge. The Signifier, by developer Playmestudio and publisher Raw Fury, is definitely one of those “big-brain games” that will have you questioning what is reality, what is theory, and what may just be a bit in-between both. Other times, Google may be your best friend in terms of learning something new while playing it. If you want to experience a sci-fi, psychological murder mystery, read on!
Starring as Russel, The Signifier does not hold your hands as it drops you into a setting 20 minutes into the future as AIs and other futuristic technologies are on the precipice of creating a new era in human history. All is not as wonderful as it seems, however, as this comes with an almost Isaac Asimov/Phillip K. Dick-styled question of what is moral or what should or should not be innovated.
When a high-ranking executive of the world’s biggest tech firm is found dead, a number of organizations move in to try to make their move. As Russel, you are a brilliant science who has created EevE, a machine that allows you to delve into the memories of a human being (essentially, their brain is uploaded to it), from the objective and subjective perspectives.
As you can probably tell already, the game is HEAVILY rooted into the psychological theories of men like Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan in ways even this author has yet to fully comprehend. The developers at Playmestudios are no slouches when it comes to their research, and even the most heavily studied of psychology students will most likely be looking to their notes as reference.
I will talk no further of the story as it is a rich neo-noir mystery that begs to be played through and enjoyed by its audience. It features multiple dialogue options and endings, and in my one playthrough, I know that there had to be dozens of other options to my choices that made me want to go back and immediately see what could or would change.
The audio and graphical design is second to none in this aspect, as the environments are photogrammetry patterned to reflect the memory-scapes that you explore to solve the mystery, backed up by haunting audio work. The game features no true jump out of your seat scares, but may honestly be the most disturbing game I have ever played as the objective and subjective memory-scapes bring forth some of the most horrific and disconcerting sounds, visuals, and entities ever seen in fiction. I truly felt like I was walking through a nightmare or hell itself at points!
My only real gripe with The Signifier is typical of a small-studio based affair – the optimization. My graphics card is not the newest of versions, I admit that, but there were many times that the game became so complex in its imagery that I think it slowed itself down and nearly caused it to crash. I also experienced some funny glitches, mostly early in the game, where I would fall through the floors of buildings and needed to force a reload, which unfortunately is not a fun experience when the autosave sends you back 10 minutes in exploration.
Overall, The Signifier is one of the most unique and memorable experiences I have had in a video game. Its creators’ knowledge about their subject matter beckons recall of games such as Half-Life where companies like Valve, who knew their studies well, would be as many examples of theoretical and quantum physics into the story and background as possible. The Signifier potentially does this on an even greater scale, as the richness of its world begs you to read every newspaper, listen to every audio recording or radio interview, and invites you to both learn and theorize as to what exactly is going on in its world. Subjectively, the game is one of the most unique to come out in the past few years. Objectively, the developers have created a foundationally complex and rewarding story. Subsequently, you should give it a look!
Storyline – 10/10
Audio/Visual – 10/10
Gameplay – 8.5/10
Creeps the hell out of me – 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Check Out The Signifier Trailer:
The Signifier is available for Windows PC and Mac via Steam and expected to release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2021.
For more information, please visit: https://www.thesignifier.com.
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Steam Review
Your local neighborhood nutjob, gamer, and teacher! I'm an avid fan of many genres such as platformers, shooters, horror, etc. I am also an avid tabletop gamer - hugely into the worlds of Warhammer and all of their spinoffs. I'm a big believer in being objective - even if something is not my cup of tea, I want to talk about it on the objective level - is it well made, crafted with love, and with care for the fans? If so, that's a good game in my book for someone and well worth their hard earned dollarydoos!
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