Endings
SIGNALIS has four endings, as well as a false ending.
False ending[edit]
After exploring Nowhere, Elster climbs up a hole and arrives at the red gate where she finds Adler. Adler warns her of the dangers past the gate, telling her that Falke crossed the gate and saw something that made her fall sick. Elster continues alone.
Elster walks past several dead Elsters and arrives at the Penrose-512. Two questions appear on screen, directed at Elster:
Who are you?
What are you looking for?
Elster believed she was looking for Alina Seo, but she is actually looking for Ariane Yeong, who is the gestalt pilot of the Penrose-512. Elster experiences the memories of her gestalt life as a soldier who met Alina.
Elster climbs the Penrose-512 and tries to open the door, but she tears off her arm and falls off the ship. Having suffered critical injuries, the luster in Elster's eyes disappears and the scene fades to black.
A shortened version of the game's credits plays out. After the credits, the player is seemingly returned to the main menu. While the menu normally shows a close-up of Elster's eye, this time she appears to be dead, and her eye does not follow the cursor. Pressing "Begin", "Credits" or "Quit" results in the game starting again, with Elster waking up on the Penrose-512. As Elster explores the ship, it is revealed that the game's story is continuing where it left off.
Endings[edit]
After completing the North Wall Puzzle in Rotfront, Elster cannot leave the wall and must enter the bedroom, where she finds a safe and The King in Yellow.
If Elster opens the safe and picks up the potted Flower, the game immediately ends with the Artifact ending.
If Elster picks up The King in Yellow, the game will lead to 1 of 3 endings: Leave, Memory or Promise.
Leave[edit]
Elster is unwilling to enter Cryogenics, and leaves the ship. She removes her armor plating and walks on the planet's surface. She collapses and dies.
Memory[edit]
Elster finds Ariane in the Cryogenics pod and wakes her up. Ariane is unable to remember Elster or their promise. Elster stays by Ariane's side until she succumbs to her wounds, while Ariane remains alive.
Promise[edit]
Elster finds Ariane in the Cryogenics pod and wakes her up. Ariane remembers Elster and their promise. Elster carries out the promise and kills Ariane. Having suffered critical injuries, the luster in Elster's eye disappears and she dies next to Ariane.
Artifact[edit]
The safe in Ariane's Bedroom has three padlocks which require three keys:
These keys must be collected throughout the game. All three keys must be in the inventory when the North Wall Puzzle is solved.
After removing the padlocks, the safe itself must be opened by entering a 20-digit code:
39486 60170 24326 01064
This code was displayed the first time Elster was in Ariane's room.
Opening the safe reveals a potted plant of white lilies.
Elster picks up the lilies and is seen placing them at a ritual site in a dark, fleshy landscape. She dies, and five other dead LSTRs are shown surrounding the site, making a total of six dead LSTR units. At the center of the ritual is a glowing object.
The scene returns to the Penrose-512, with a red eye dangling overhead. Inside the wrecked Penrose, Elster and Ariane are seen dancing together in Ariane's quarters.
Requirements for each ending[edit]
Information on the requirements for each ending can be found in this Steam guide.
What affects the ending[edit]
There game keeps track of values named "Leave", "Circle" (for Memory ending) and "Death" (for Promise ending) which are scored based on the player's statistics. The game starts with 2 points in "Circle".
| New game | +2 Circle |
| Total Active Play Time (hours) | |
|---|---|
| Less than 6 | +1 Circle |
| Between 6 to 12 hours | Nothing |
| More than 12 hours | +1 Death |
| NPC talks | |
| More than 25 | +1 Leave |
| More than 35 | +1 Leave
(2 total) |
| Healing Time Fraction
(calculated as healedTime / healedTimeSegment) | |
| More than 60% | +1 Leave |
| More than 80% | +1 Leave
(2 total) |
| Regen Time | |
| More than 5 minutes | +1 Death |
| More than 5 minutes
(again, bug or just for+2?) |
+1 Death
(2 total?) |
| Damage Taken | |
| More than 1900 | +1 Death |
| Near Death Survives | |
| More than 8 | +1 Death |
| Deaths | |
| More than 5 | +1 Death |
| Enemies Killed | |
| More than 90 | +1 Death |
| More than 120 | +1 Death
(2 total) |
| Memory Time
(time spent in memory scenes?) | |
| More than 5 minutes | +1 Leave |
| Door Checks | |
| More than 40 | +1 Leave |
If Death(Promise) = Leave you get the Promise ending otherwise you get ending with the highest score. (Nothing is written about when Circle(Memory) = another ending)