Signal Veil Blends Anime Visuals with Survival Horror in Upcoming Psychological Thriller

Signal Veil, an upcoming psychological horror game from Time Hunters and Serafini Productions, aims to merge anime aesthetics with survival horror fundamentals. The game follows Aki, a girl experiencing supernatural phenomena after inheriting her mother's old phone. Her school begins revealing a disturbing past buried beneath false memories, forcing Aki to navigate grotesque spirits, broken timelines, and impossible messages.

Development began in August 2025 with early prototypes exploring how to combine anime visual language with psychological horror. The team drew inspiration from classic survival horror titles like Resident Evil and anime series such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Another. "We started asking ourselves: what would happen if we took the atmosphere and tension of classic survival horror and combined them with the visual language and character-driven storytelling of anime?" the developers explained.

The phone serves as a central gameplay mechanic rather than merely a story element. Players use it as an inventory system that doesn't pause the game, maintaining tension and vulnerability. A standout feature allows the phone to parry enemy attacks, a mechanic the team initially found unconventional but ultimately embraced as core to Signal Veil's identity.

Aki's sanity system forms another pillar of the experience. As her mental state deteriorates, her combat approach becomes more desperate and aggressive, increasing vulnerability but offering greater rewards for risk-taking players. The sanity mechanic extends beyond narrative, directly influencing gameplay and environmental perception. "The goal is for that deterioration to feel gradual and personal, to the point where players begin questioning what they're seeing, what they're hearing, and sometimes even whether they can trust the game itself," the developers said.

The shift to third-person perspective presented significant development challenges. This viewpoint increases player awareness of the protagonist and surroundings, requiring the team to balance classic survival horror tension with modern controls and reactive combat. The developers noted the project's scale and ambition exceeded their previous work, demanding experimentation across environment design, animations, enemy design, and interconnected gameplay systems.

Signal Veil is currently wishlistable on Steam.