The Signal State is a logic-based simulation puzzle game developed by Reckoner Industries and published by The Iterative Collective and Indienova. The premise of the game is that the player is a member of a post-worldwide disaster community, who attempts to get a farmhouse and its machinery back up and running. In this disaster, all the machines in the world suddenly shut down, leaving humanity without computers, cars, and every other convenience we’ve constructed for ourselves. The player leaves their community to branch out at this second farm, where the higher-ups hope can provide more shelter and resources for the community. They hope to begin to rebuild communities, as it has been decades since machines stopped working.
Gameplay involves working through all of the electrical components of the farm, whether that be turning on the lights to more complicated elements along the way. The player repairs these components through levels of logic puzzles that represent electrical wiring. Some math is involved, but logic plays a large part as the player’s toolkit increases and gets more and more complicated.
The first thing I noticed while playing this game were the beautiful environmental backgrounds. Though they are relatively few and simple, they were incredibly atmospheric. They look like paintings, which is a very interesting juxtaposition to the very logic-heavy gameplay. The soundtrack is also excellent. The sound effects for the different components are satisfying, and the music that plays during gameplay is pleasant, and while I struggled to complete puzzles, I never got tired of the repeating music!
The tutorial elements and chat features with the other characters in The Signal State are helpful and add a bit of humor and flair to the relatively limited storytelling. As someone who is not so familiar with this genre and does not traditionally play similar puzzle games, I felt that I wanted a bit more from the tutorials. The language used was a bit too technical or complex for me at times, so I struggled to understand even when asking for hints.
This being said, I feel that The Signal State is for people familiar with the genre, who are really looking for logic puzzles of this kind. If I was more keyed into this kind of game, the hints would have likely helped me much more. Therefore, this game seems like it is suited for a very specific audience, and for that audience, I expect it would be very well-liked and successful. One interesting aspect of this game that draws on that community is a built-in Discord feature. If the hints aren’t helpful enough, the game suggests that the player connect to the Discord server for the game, which I thought was an interesting option, and great for community building. Knowing what I know about these communities, it seems like this would definitely be a viable option for getting more help on the levels.
In playing The Signal State, I found myself thinking that if only I was more immersed in this genre, I would really enjoy it. I did have a positive experience, but I felt a level of disconnect in my understanding that felt mostly like my lack of understanding and somewhat a limited tutorial feature of the game. For these reasons, I’m giving The Signal State an 8/10. If I ever get into this genre more fully, I would be sure to revisit the game, and I’m sure I would be able to appreciate it fully!
You can check out The Signal State Trailer here – https://youtu.be/AQFTvuyfve8
The Signal State is available for Windows PC and Mac via Steam.
Steam Review
I have been playing video games since I got my first pink Gameboy Advance SP when I was six years old. From that point on, video games have held a special place in my heart and I have been fascinated by the way games involve the player in the narrative and how their mechanics interact with that narrative. As an aspiring video game narrative writer, I jump at the opportunity to play any and all games at my disposal.
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