Foreword
I know the white-haired girl and I were in a relationship, but she's already dead. I also know that this game is incredibly tragic.

Settings
VSync OFF
Brightness slider doesn't seem to work? I can still see the first emblem but I'm unable to go any lower and going lower seems too dark; the text is too hard to read

• Constant excellent tests of skill and decision making all throughout the game; eg should you attempt a pass beyond enemies and potentially block off your exit later (since they idle around doors if you exit near them and they notice you) or should you attempt to take them out, or stun them? Certain options require more skill to accomplish than others, and all of them require thoughtful gameplay.
  
• Combat is engaging
  
• UI is pleasant and intuitive; mechanics are also intuitive
  
• Soundtrack is very fitting and also really pleasant at times
  
• Very enjoyable to piece together stories and info
  
• Extremely strong intro with compelling visuals and interesting perspective shifts for various actions
  
• Cool visuals and perspective with how characters are 3D
  
• Puzzles are present but they are relatively simple while still being engaging. If you can't figure out a puzzle (I could not figure out the pump room puzzle lmfao), there was a solution nearby that allowed me to give up on the puzzle and continue on with the rest of the game. Additionally, there is an in-game screenshot mechanic so you can take pictures of clues. This is really thoughtful design.
  
• The game is good at keeping you going; maps are extremely clear at showing what still needs to be done, so you will always eventually figure out the way to go forward.
  
• You will cry your eyes out.

• The first bossfight is unintuitive; I didn't really understand how to navigate it or how to properly defeat the boss. Also, there's no tell that the next area is a bossfight and you can't go back, so you're likely going to go down the hole with a light loadout meant for exploration and picking up items, when you really need to bring a loadout focused on raw combat.
  
• At some point for a particular section, the game removes your map. There is no alternative for this like there is with the in-game screenshot mechanic; I can only assume that you are meant to mentally map out the entire LARGE area in your head, which feels genuinely insane. I ended up creating a map in Photoshop as I played[i.imgur.com]. I find this incredibly annoying and awful. The problem with removing a map like this is that it causes me to view many of the OTHER game systems in a much more mechanical way. You've inconvenienced me so much that now I'm willing to throw away my life repeatedly to see what certain things lie ahead and metagame it. So the Hole drop down boss in Nothing loses all impact for me.
  
• You can't finish off enemies if they're next to locked doors. The "enter door" input and "finish off enemy" input are the same, so the game prioritizes "enter door" instead of the enemy. There should be a dedicated melee button to resolve this issue.
  
• I didn't realize until pretty late in the game that if you keep on clicking on NPCs you can talk to, they have more to say until they run out of dialogue. There's nothing that really indicates that. Lost out on some dialogue in the early game. Thankfully it wasn't anything too important, but it did prevent me from seeing some side stories.
  
• The stopgaps for the fakeout ending should be clearer
  
• The secret ending is the true ending (imo), but there's no achievement for it when there really should be

I ended up barely using weapons besides the shotgun (rarely) and the pistol (mostly). I chose to use items very sparingly and only when I needed to. Towards late game, I started using the revolver over the pistol until I ran low on ammo for that, then I switched back to pistol. I only healed when I was close to death and played to mostly avoid fights when possible. I used the lowest tier of healing items when I could; I never used an autoinjector until the final boss (only because I knew it was the final boss).

Afterword
Regarding interpretations of the story, this video on the subject did a really good deep dive on the story and possible interpretations that I mostly agree with plus it gives more context. Must watch if you've finished the game.
I got the PROMISE ending.
See full results and extras in comments.

Signalis is my first experience playing a Resident-Evil-like, and it's the best horror survival game I've ever played. Personal annoyances aside, it's a game I'll remember for a long time. It will stomp all over your heart and then Run That ♥♥♥♥ Back and stomp all over it again. Even thinking about this game makes me want to sob violently, and despite its incredibly engaging systems, thoughtful game design, and gorgeous stylistic visuals and sound, I hope I never play it again. Elster x Ariane 4Eva.

[h1]Signalis is an excellent survival horror with a compelling world and abstract story, all of it drenched in misery and violence. It's truly a gut-wrenching experience, one that I am ultimately happy I went through.[/h1] [i]Foreword[/i] I know the white-haired girl and I [spoiler]were in a relationship, but she's already dead. I also know that this game is incredibly tragic.[/spoiler] [i]Settings[/i] VSync OFF Brightness slider doesn't seem to work? I can still see the first emblem but I'm unable to go any lower and going lower seems too dark; the text is too hard to read [h2]Pros[/h2] [list] [*] Constant excellent tests of skill and decision making all throughout the game; eg should you attempt a pass beyond enemies and potentially block off your exit later (since they idle around doors if you exit near them and they notice you) or should you attempt to take them out, or stun them? Certain options require more skill to accomplish than others, and all of them require thoughtful gameplay. [*] Combat is engaging [*] UI is pleasant and intuitive; mechanics are also intuitive [*] Soundtrack is very fitting and also really pleasant at times [*] Very enjoyable to piece together stories and info [*] Extremely strong intro with compelling visuals and interesting perspective shifts for various actions [*] Cool visuals and perspective with how characters are 3D [*] Puzzles are present but they are relatively simple while still being engaging. If you can't figure out a puzzle (I could not figure out the pump room puzzle lmfao), there was a solution nearby that allowed me to give up on the puzzle and continue on with the rest of the game. Additionally, there is an in-game screenshot mechanic so you can take pictures of clues. This is really thoughtful design. [*] The game is good at keeping you going; maps are extremely clear at showing what still needs to be done, so you will always eventually figure out the way to go forward. [*] You will cry your eyes out. [/list] [h2]Cons[/h2] [list] [*] The first bossfight is unintuitive; I didn't really understand how to navigate it or how to properly defeat the boss. Also, there's no tell that the next area is a bossfight and you can't go back, so you're likely going to go down the hole with a light loadout meant for exploration and picking up items, when you really need to bring a loadout focused on raw combat. [*] At some point for a particular section, the game removes your map. There is no alternative for this like there is with the in-game screenshot mechanic; I can only assume that you are meant to mentally map out the entire LARGE area in your head, which feels genuinely insane. [url=https://i.imgur.com/jGGFP2e.png]I ended up creating a map in Photoshop as I played[/url]. I find this incredibly annoying and awful. The problem with removing a map like this is that it causes me to view many of the OTHER game systems in a much more mechanical way. You've inconvenienced me so much that now I'm willing to throw away my life repeatedly to see what certain things lie ahead and metagame it. So the [spoiler]Hole drop down boss in Nothing[/spoiler] loses all impact for me. [*] You can't finish off enemies if they're next to locked doors. The "enter door" input and "finish off enemy" input are the same, so the game prioritizes "enter door" instead of the enemy. There should be a dedicated melee button to resolve this issue. [*] I didn't realize until pretty late in the game that if you keep on clicking on NPCs you can talk to, they have more to say until they run out of dialogue. There's nothing that really indicates that. Lost out on some dialogue in the early game. Thankfully it wasn't anything too important, but it did prevent me from seeing some side stories. [*] The stopgaps for the [spoiler]fakeout[/spoiler] ending should be clearer [*] The [spoiler]secret[/spoiler] ending is the true ending (imo), but there's no achievement for it when there really should be [/list] [h3]My Playstyle[/h3] I ended up barely using weapons besides the shotgun (rarely) and the pistol (mostly). I chose to use items very sparingly and only when I needed to. Towards late game, I started using the revolver over the pistol until I ran low on ammo for that, then I switched back to pistol. I only healed when I was close to death and played to mostly avoid fights when possible. I used the lowest tier of healing items when I could; I never used an autoinjector until the final boss (only because I knew it was the final boss). [i]Afterword[/i] Regarding interpretations of the story, [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAR6I2ul1Ls]this video on the subject[/url] did a really good deep dive on the story and possible interpretations that I mostly agree with plus it gives more context. Must watch if you've finished the game. I got the [spoiler]PROMISE[/spoiler] ending. See full results and extras in comments. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Signalis is my first experience playing a Resident-Evil-like, and it's the best horror survival game I've ever played. Personal annoyances aside, it's a game I'll remember for a long time. It will stomp all over your heart and then Run That Shit Back and stomp all over it again. Even thinking about this game makes me want to sob violently, and despite its incredibly engaging systems, thoughtful game design, and gorgeous stylistic visuals and sound, I hope I never play it again. Elster x Ariane 4Eva.