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About

"Signs of Life" is a sci-fi first-person adventure game that allows players to explore an abandoned space station and discover the fate of its lost crew. Utilize survival and puzzle-solving skills to delve into the mystery, while combating alien creatures and repairing systems necessary for progress. The game features unique environmental storytelling, immersive atmosphere, and an emphasis on exploration and discovery.

Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot
Signs of Life screenshot

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 566 reviews
story35 positive mentions
grinding11 negative mentions

  • The game has a unique feel with a captivating art style and engaging animations.
  • The crafting system is deep and rewarding, encouraging exploration and resource gathering.
  • The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively update the game.
  • The game lacks sufficient content and can feel repetitive after a short time.
  • The inventory management system is clunky and can be confusing for new players.
  • Combat can feel unbalanced, with some enemies being too easy to defeat once you have better gear.
  • story
    118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is described as intriguing yet incomplete, with players finding it engaging but often difficult to follow. While some appreciate the organic storytelling through exploration and discovery, others note that the narrative can feel shallow or jarring due to gameplay issues. Overall, the potential for a captivating storyline exists, but many players express a desire for more content and clearer direction as the game is still in early access.

    • “The story is fascinating and steeped in meaningful discoveries.”
    • “Everything you see and do in this game tells you about a story with some pretty good writing, and unless you think, you'll never be able to discover anything like the endgame blueprints or weapons or the entire situation.”
    • “The story has gotten much more intriguing and now feels more engaging.”
    • “The story can be a bit hard to follow; I'm not really understanding what your next goal is, but I think that's the point. It's open-ended, and it's up to you if you want to really put effort into finding out what's going on and discovering the alien tech.”
    • “There is a story somewhere in here, but unfortunately, the bad gameplay prevents the player from experiencing that.”
    • “The game unfortunately never captures the balance it aims for, and instead falls flat on its face with its story.”
  • graphics
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received praise for their detailed animations and appealing art style, often compared favorably to titles like Terraria and Starbound. Many players appreciate the vibrant colors and immersive aesthetic, although some critique the simplicity and occasional graphical glitches. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point, contributing to an engaging experience despite some mixed opinions on gameplay mechanics.

    • “The graphics are lovely and there is a lot of detail going into the animations.”
    • “I find the graphics so nice; the animations are the most detailed and immersive I've ever seen in a side-scroller. The decorating is phenomenal, and the digging is the most satisfying I've ever played in a Terraria-like game.”
    • “The art style is captivating and fresh - the animations bring a lot of life to your character, something these sorts of 2D games aren't really known for.”
    • “The concept of such a game isn't bad, but there's no excuse for doing this in 2D when 3D graphics became popular 20 years earlier.”
    • “This game tries to be the new Minecraft, but its interface is so hard to use and the graphics are somewhere between stupid and awful.”
    • “Unfortunately, Signs of Life is a mediocre attempt at a Minecraft replica. It all seemed so promising; graphics felt like old-school 90's stuff.”
  • gameplay
    81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its immersive mechanics and solid combat, while others criticize its clunky controls and confusing inventory system. Some users highlight the potential for growth and the enjoyment derived from exploration and crafting, but note that the game feels incomplete and lacks updates. Overall, while the game offers unique ideas and enjoyable moments, it suffers from inconsistencies and a steep learning curve that may deter some players.

    • “The gameplay feels solid and immersive at times.”
    • “Great gameplay, amazing progress over the years, definitely worth the time.”
    • “The physics (while the concept isn't new) are pretty well done, and with the throwing mechanic, it makes for some fun things you'll have to figure out.”
    • “Nice graphics but super boring gameplay with horrible controls and UI; could have been much better.”
    • “Gameplay is clunky, slow and gives you no hints on battle/fighting whatsoever.”
    • “Unfortunately, the core of the gameplay - mining and crafting - doesn't bring much new to the table for the most part.”
  • humor
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is described as quirky and satirical, with a mix of hit-or-miss jokes that can be both charming and annoying. Players appreciate the unique art style and the amusing interactions with AI characters, though some found the humor attempts to be overdone or flat at times. Overall, the humor adds a fun layer to the gameplay, appealing to those who enjoy exploration and a lighthearted approach.

    • “Filled with satirical humor and charming artwork.”
    • “I love the humor present in some of the logs you come across and definitely get a chuckle out of the AI that acts like it's totally high.”
    • “Oh, and your 'assistant' is quite hilarious too.”
  • music
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its immersive and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience. While some players found the soundtrack to be relaxing and well-suited to the game's aesthetic, others noted that it could be forgettable or lacking in variety, particularly during combat scenarios. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, though it may not stand out for everyone.

    • “The music is incredible, with the name of the song showing in the bottom left corner of the screen being a nice touch.”
    • “The aesthetic is awesome, with the graphics and soundtrack really making it an immersive experience.”
    • “Great game, really deep crafting, cool animations, and great atmospheric music.”
    • “No music.”
    • “The soundtrack I hardly noticed.”
    • “The lack of combat-oriented soundtracks for when you engage monsters makes me give this edge of the game a slight negative.”
  • atmosphere
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and varied environments, ranging from serene and colorful landscapes to dark, eerie depths filled with danger. Players appreciate the organic sense of discovery and the effective use of music and visuals that enhance the overall experience, although some feel the storyline does not fully capitalize on the atmospheric potential. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both captivating and unsettling, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The game starts abruptly as your escape pod crashes downward into the atmosphere of an unknown planet with a limited fuel supply. You land safely upon flattened terrain with nothing resembling a civilization around as you gaze through the glass upon your new surroundings, you step forth...”
    • “As you progress throughout the game, the developers have managed to create an atmosphere of discovery that is almost completely organic: the more you do and the more you explore, the more you will learn.”
    • “Perservere through the liftoff phase, and you'll find an actually quite pretty, engaging environment with lovely lighting effects, a great deal of playstyle customization, and an atmosphere that manages to be irreverently tongue-in-cheek and yet still bizarrely creepy and tense at times.”
    • “The atmosphere is dark, dank, empty, and devoid of all human life.”
    • “Dig down, or explore one of the abandoned stations at night, and the atmosphere does a complete 180-degree turn.”
    • “As you explore deeper, the atmosphere of the game gets even more creepy, with alien tentacles raining acid on you, floating sacks of pus that explode, and large vicious-looking aliens with scythes for legs.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game. While some find the tech tree moderately paced and engaging, others describe certain crafting and resource-gathering elements as tedious and unnecessarily grindy. The game offers a decent experience for crafting enthusiasts, but many feel that improvements are needed to reduce the repetitiveness and enhance accessibility to essential resources.

    • “The tech tree is moderate and not too grindy to unlock; the few story elements that it offers have a degree of engagement.”
    • “Grinding in this game feels rewarding, as each level up brings a sense of accomplishment and progression.”
    • “The balance between grinding and story progression keeps me engaged without feeling overwhelmed.”
    • “It's interesting but ultimately everything still feels tedious and the tutorial explains almost nothing.”
    • “If the game was in this state back when I first started playing, I would have a bit of hope that things would improve in the future, but after 5 years and it still being this tedious to play, it's just going to be a mediocre game that I wouldn't be able to even justify spending 10 USD on.”
    • “This game is like Starbound, but it's far more grindy (right now, soon to be better balanced).”
  • stability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a mixed bag, with users reporting a range of bugs and glitches, particularly in multiplayer and tutorial modes. While some players have experienced few issues and appreciate the game's potential, others express frustration over slow development and lack of communication from the developers. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant polishing to improve its stability.

    • “Unfinished and buggy, and unfortunately it looks like development is on hold for understandable reasons.”
    • “Tutorial helps a little bit, but it is buggy; tried to start the tutorial in multiplayer and the game broke.”
    • “Slow development, devs barely speak and the game is not great, buggy & not very clear, and super tiny text; it's just bang on annoying. Also, the developer pushes out updates and never updates the patch notes on Steam, which would literally take a few minutes. I personally find that annoying because I like to know what I'm downloading.”
  • replayability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is generally viewed as low, with many players noting that it can be completed in a single day and lacks dynamic content to encourage multiple playthroughs. While some find it entertaining for a limited time, the static maps and minimal additional content contribute to a lack of long-term engagement. However, there are hopes that future updates could enhance its replay value significantly.

    • “All in all, it's my current favorite in the genre, well worth the price, and promises to continue on as an enthralling game with high replayability and hours of enjoyment.”
    • “If Signs of Life is released with just a quarter of the content that Starbound has, it will be an extremely fun and replayable game.”
    • “(Replayability! 10/10)”
    • “This game was all but dead when I reviewed it and could be completed in one day, with virtually no replay value to speak of.”
    • “This is basically a different spin on Starbound, with a slightly better interface, but much less that you can do game-wise, and zero replay value as the maps are static.”
    • “Other than hitboxes and parasite sheep glitching through blocks, I had a fun time with this game. Currently, I wouldn't recommend you go into it looking for a 15+ hour experience because it's only really fun for under 15 hours. Unless you don't complete the game, then you're good until it's done; there's not really much replayability.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with smooth performance and no significant loading or frame rate issues, even with many objects on screen. However, some bugs, such as screen stretching and the lack of item despawning, have been noted, though they do not significantly affect performance.

    • “Game performance is great, with no long loading times, frame hitches, or issues with large numbers of objects on screen.”
    • “This game is well programmed and has great performance on all my computers and notebooks. I can't believe it's still in alpha; it's more like a full game.”
    • “There are some bugs with game optimization (the screen tends to stretch).”
    • “The game never despawns items or enemies, and containers can be nested arbitrarily, neither of which has any significant impact on performance.”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is perceived as lacking depth, with many users noting a juvenile and unwholesome theme that detracts from a more meaningful emotional experience.

Buy Signs of Life

26h Median play time
120h Average play time
10-46h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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