We Have To Go Deeper
Fans of mind-bending cinema like Christopher Nolan’s Inception or Memento will surely get a kick out of the new release from Chilean indie Playmestudio. The Signifier is a thrilling tech-noire available today on PC and Mac.
The setup for The Signifier is classic point and click stuff; a wealthy executive has been found dead in her home, and you need to figure out what really happened. The method of investigation is where things get really interesting, in The Signifier you will be jumping between three different realms; reality, objective memories, and subjective feelings. The player will be in the shoes of Frederick Russel, a psychologist and AI expert who is behind an experimental technology called the DreamWalker, which allows Russel to delve into the deep recesses of the mind.
The world of The Signifier sounds like a pitch for an episode of Black Mirror; a world on the brink of an AI revolution, a shady corporation, and a technology that hacks into your memories, Playmestudio is asking some big questions with this game, such as “can you find truth in a subjective world”? The game is beautifully designed, with the reality section looking like something out of Architectural Digest, full of clean lines and gorgeous interiors. Things get weirder when you enter the subconscious, fractal images reflect raw data, while abstract figures haunt the fringes of the screen as you get into the really subjective stuff. If you enjoyed the design approach of Control, then The Signifier could definitely be something you want to check out.
The developer is staying tight-lipped on the story details, but what we can gleam from the trailers is that the investigation into the executive’s death will lead down some dark corridors in the human psyche, dark and grungy environments ripped straight out of horror cinema represent the pain and suffering of the human condition, and there is surely a deeper mystery to uncover at the dark heart of The Signifier.
The game has an intriguing concept and some gorgeous visuals, and you can check it out right now on Steam, GOG, and Humble, while a PS4 and Xbox One version are planned for some time in 2021.
If you could hack your subconscious, what would it look like? Let us know in the comments!