September 30, 2025

Perhaps, this is Signalis (Animated)

Achtung! This fan short is a beautiful tribute to 2022's most haunting survival horror game.

by Toussaint Egan

Signalis is one of my favorite games of the 2020s so far, and, if my combined social media feeds are any indication, I'm far from the only one that holds that opinion. The top-down survival horror shooter, created by two-person studio "rose-engine" (Yuri Stern and Barbara Wittmann), was released in 2022 to critical acclaim after more than eight years of development, earning multiple year-end nominations and awards including "Best Hidden Gem" at the 12th Annual New York Game Awards and "Best Indie Horror" at the 2023 Horror Game Awards.

Inspired by a melange of influences including 1996's Resident Evil, 1999's Silent Hill, and the "cosmic horror" fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers, as well as the visual motifs of animators like Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion), Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), and Tatsuya Oishi (Kizumonogatari), the game centers on a cyborg ship technician named LSTER-512 (aka "Elster") who embarks on a phantasmagorical journey into the depths of an abandoned mining facility afflicted with a mysterious psychic virus.

Signalis is exactly what I yearn for when it comes to psychological horror fiction: erudite, open to interpretation, and haunting in the truest sense of the word. I can't wait to see what Stern and Wittmann dream up next. In the meantime though, there's no shortage of beautiful and inspired fan works that have spawned in the wake of the game's release, including everything from fan art, comics, and yes, even animations.

Remember Our Promise is one of the most impressive examples of the latter to date, the 4-minute fan animation was released this year on May 12, a date with recurring symbolic significance within the context of Signalis' narrative. The short is essentially a condensed version of the game's opening minutes, told from the point-of-view of Elster relating the events to their partner Ariane as though they were from a strange dream… or are they?

The production quality of Remember Our Promise is remarkable, recreating the background art, character designs, and overall aesthetic of the game with loving attention to detail. The principal staff of key animators and animation directors are credited by their online handles, but going off of what I was able to gather through a bit of internet sleuthing, the team is mostly situated in Thailand. The score and sound design for the short are spot-on, particularly the usage of Chopin's "Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15," and Schubert's "Schwanengesang, D.957: 4. Ständchen In D Minor (Serenade)," both of which can be heard during several of the game's most significant moments. It's a beautiful short film in and of itself, as well as an enduring testament to the staying power Signalis has exerted — and likely will continue to exert —  in the years ahead.

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/out of frame

🥚 Kambole: I rewatched Angel's Egg last night, for work reasons. Still as hard to pin down as ever beyond its overwhelming mood and enthralling design – of a world that feels frozen in place due to the ravages humanity (and god?) have wrought upon it, but looks fluid enough in motion that it feels like change is still possible.

🤖 Rollin: I revisited Robot Dreams with the family over the weekend, and my kids kept asking why there was no talking. Still, a lovingly emotional film – and timely given the importance of September.

⚔️ Toussaint: Last Friday, Genndy Tartakovsky leaked test footage for Black Knight, an adult animated action movie that's been in the works for over six years, in an attempt to generate "a ground swell of excitement" to convince the studio to move forward for the project. The footage looks fantastic, and I can't imagine why any studio would say no to an action movie from the man behind Samurai Jack and Primal. Please, please don't let this go the way of his long-delayed Popeye film (RIP).