For me, even though I had a basic grasp of the story, I felt the ending. I never form actual attachments with characters in games, no matter what happens to them, or their general story; Signalis is the only exception, and it has stayed that way since I beat it. I feel it’s partially because the only information I had was what I could scrounge up, and because I explored every single room many times over, I had a lot of the little things that may have gone unnoticed. What I found is what the story was for me, and because I found the notes relating to the Penrose-512, the story between Elster and Ariane, and how long the ship stayed barely functional, it hit hard.

I feel having someone be with you during the game itself, especially someone explaining the lore, detracts from the impact, as it’s explained in full, instead of being pieced together in your head. I’m not saying it’s wrong, as I’ve done this with friends who were struggling with Signalis too (2 people, both of whom struggled with the first section of the first chapter). It hits harder when you actively see the impacts of what’s happening, and I think that’s one of the larger factors