History VideoGame / Signalis

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Elster is one big homage to survival horror protagonists, being a {{Determinator}} in search of someone close like James from ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and a skilled engineer that can also fend for herself like Isaac from ''VideoGame/DeadSpace''. [[spoiler:Except she's a DoomedProtagonist; she seemingly died before the game even began, and no matter how far she goes, she'll inevitably die yet again and be sent back [[GroundhogDayLoop to start it all over]] - perhaps even if she does fulfill her "[[MercyKill promise]]" with Ariane. Adler implies that Elster's endless repetition of her [[IWillFindYou search for Ariane]] is destabilizing reality itself. Thus, unlike her inspirations, Elster may well be unable to die for good nor find closure, for herself or anyone else.]]

** A note found aboard the Penrose is a message to the pilot informing them that if their mission has gone on for a certain amount of time, the mission is deemed a failure and they are going to die as the ship deteriorates and life support systems fail. The briefing warns against trying to stave off the end by using spare parts to keep the ship going or [[EatTheDog eating their LSTR copilot]] and instead encourages either permanently interring themself in the ship's cyro pod or having the LSTR euthanize them. [[spoiler:This is exactly what happened to Elster and Ariane, and they ignored the warning to try to keep the ship operational. Ariane ultimately became so sick she extracted a promise from Elster to MercyKill her, and is waiting for her aboard the Penrose in the cyro pod.]]

* DarkWorld: There are two towards the end of the game. Initially, it seems that the S-23 Sierpinski mining station is being overrun by a typical zombie plague, with one case of MeatMoss in a kitchen. By the time the Elster jumps into the depths of the mines, she enters a nightmare realm made almost entirely of non-Euclidian rooms and hallways, meat moss everywhere, and distorted versions of prior locations, identified only as Nowhere. [[spoiler:The final act of the game takes place in a recreation of an apartment complex in Rotfront, which is steadily overtaken by the flesh as Elster collects important items and solves puzzles.]]

* RetGone: Seemingly the fate of [=LSTR=]-S2301, who only showed up in one loop instance of Adler's journals and never again once the GroundhogDayLoop started. A note penned by a Kolibri unit found in the dorms implies that Falke's neural degradation and corruption during the later loops prevented S2301's requisition. [[spoiler:The playable character is strongly hinted to be S2301 imprinted with the memories of the "real" Elster via Ariane's bioresonance, as revealed by the unit serial number in the bluescreen of death up until the false ending, as well as her orange chest place in lieu of the model's standard-issue combat armor, as noted by Adler.]]

* RetGone: Seemingly the fate of [=LSTR=]-S2301, who only showed up in one loop instance of Adler's journals and never again once the GroundhogDayLoop started. A note penned by a Kolibri unit found in the dorms imply that Falke's neural degradation and corruption during the later loops prevented S2301's requisition. [[spoiler:The playable character is strongly hinted to be S2301 imprinted with the memories of the "real" Elster via Ariane's bioresonance, as revealed by the unit serial number in the bluescreen of death up until the false ending, as well as her orange chest place in lieu of the model's standard-issue combat armor, as noted by Adler.]]

* RetGone: Seemingly the fate of [=LSTR=]-S2301, who only showed up in one loop instance of Adler's journals and never again once the GroundhogDayLoop started. [[spoiler:The playable character is strongly hinted to be S2301 imprinted with the memories of the "real" Elster via Ariane's bioresonance, as revealed by the unit serial number in the bluescreen of death up until the false ending, as well as her unique orange chest place in lieu of the model's standard-issue combat armor, as noted by Adler.]]

* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: [[spoiler:In the game's final chapter, Elster is revealed to have been in a [[SleepingWithTheBoss relationship]] with her Gestalt Officer [[{{Robosexual}} Ariane]]. Elster is a cold and stoic RobotSoldier, while Ariane is a warm and passionate human non-combatant.]]

* TheseusShipParadox: Invoked by name through an achievement granted for dying at least 16 times during a single playthrough. As Elster is given a permanent health buff upon dying and loading a save, effectively obtaining an "upgrade" part in so doing that's visualized by the grid of triangles in her diagnostics screen, the question is thus are you still really "you" after replacing every single component of your body throughout the course of your journey? [[spoiler:You're not, as dying enough times to unlock this achievement finally clears up the glitched [=LSTR=] serial number on the blue screen of death from then on out to be ''S2301'', [[https://www.reddit.com/r/signalis/comments/12nmbv6/fun_thing_i_saw_on_the_bsods_first_one_is_taken/ the ID of the unit mentioned in Adler's journals.]]]]

* TheseusShipParadox: Invoked by name through an achievement granted for dying at least 16 times during a single playthrough. As Elster is given a permanent health buff upon dying and loading a save, effectively obtaining an "upgrade" part in so doing that's visualized by the grid of triangles in her diagnostics screen, the question is thus are you still really "you" after replacing every single component of your body throughout the course of your journey?

** Heck, even the game's three ''normal'' endings can be rather obtuse to figure out. To wit, ''Signalis'' uses a points system to determine which ending you'll get based on the tally you have at the end of the game, with different actions accumulating points towards different endings. The problem lies in how obscure and counter-intuitive some are to obtain, such as the one Death point contributing towards the Promise ending requiring the player to deliberately drag their playthrough out to ''twelve plus hours'' to get, while progressing through the game at a natural pace and being conservative with one's resources will steadily accumulate points towards the Leave ending instead. As the Memory ending is given higher point priority than either of the other two, and is as a result the "default" ending one will likely achieve in a typical playthrough, the only way to achieve them instead would be to deliberately go out of your way to farm points for them, which would be near-impossible without a guide on hand or datamining.

** Heck, even the game's three ''normal'' endings can be rather obtuse to figure out. To wit, ''Signalis'' uses a points system to determine which ending you'll get based on the tally you have at the end of the game, with different actions accumulating points towards different endings. The problem lies in how obscure and counter-intuitive some are to obtain, such as the one Death point contributing towards the Promise ending requiring the player to deliberately drag their playthrough out to ''twelve plus hours'' to get, while progressing through the game at a natural pace and being conservative with one's resources will steadily accumulate points towards the Leave ending instead. As the Memory ending is given higher point priority than either of the other two, and is a result the "default" ending one will likely achieve in a typical playthrough, the only way to achieve them instead would be to deliberately go out of your way to farm points for them, which would be near-impossible without a guide on hand or datamining.

* GuideDangIt: There's a secret ending that's ''ridiculously'' hard to find. If you aren't into amateur radio transmission, it's almost impossible to figure out on your own. [[spoiler:The Artifact ending, which is as close to a GoldenEnding as ''Signalis'' gets, requires the player to collect three very well-hidden Keys from three different sections of the game, which are only available if Elster's radio is on and tuned to a specific frequency. The only in-game hints to the keys' locations are ''SSTV radio signals'' that can be picked up via the radio, then decoded via third-party programs into pictures.]]

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Putting the Photograph item in the storage box will have Elster pulling out another one during Adler's introductory cutscene as if she still has it on her person.

** The carpet pattern in one of the game's save rooms bears a near-perfect match to the pattern used in ''Film/TheShining''.

* TechnoDystopia: The game is set within a RetroUniverse where most of humanity has fallen under the banner of a [[TheDictatorship totalitarian regime]] known as the Nation of Eusan, which has overthrown the Empire of Eusan and rapidly expanded its sphere of influence across the entire solar system, while maintaining an iron grip on its territories through [[BigBrotherIsWatching aggressive surveillance]] and [[PropagandaMachine 24/7 propaganda]]. Humanoid androids known as Replikas also live among the populace, acting as workers, civil servants, and "Protektors" alongside the citizens they are designed to resemble.

** The camera eye tool allows you to take snapshots of the game screen at any time that you can refer back to while solving puzzles.