SOS
Imagine playing the Inverted Castle in SotN without double jump or the bat familiarGenre: adventure - platform
Publisher: Vic Tokai
Year: 1993
System: SNES
Gameplay Score: 1
Gameplay Notes:
The objective is to collect 7 other passengers and escape the sinking boat in under 1 hour. So yeah, it's one long escort mission with the dumbest, least nimble NPCs of all time. Thankfully you can generally just go to the next room and call everyone through the door but I still find myself losing people constantly. I feel like I have virtually no control over my movement because it's so restricted by my companions. Saving passengers is accomplished by simply pressing the X button repeatedly. There's no strategy or design to these conversations so they are extremely shallow and boring. The entire thing feels like a great idea that was at least a decade too early to be fully realized.
Level Design Score: 2
Level Design Notes:
The OG randomizer. The ship lists and twists randomly making it extremely challenging to figure out how to get around. This is novel, but wow is it annoying. You routinely get stuck in spots where you cannot go anywhere because of the orientation of the ship. Very difficult to figure out what door and platforms can be traversed. The game is absolutely unplayable without an in-game map and even with a mask it's painfully difficult to get around.
Theme Score: 3
Theme Notes:
The Poseidon Adventure was before my time so I have no nostalgia for the setting and setup. You also get only the briefest of introductions to your character so it's hard to feel invested in their plight. The idea is solid but again it just doesn't have a strong hook to grab your interest.
Art Style Score: 3
Art Style Notes:
Decent sprites and animation. The dark and ever changing backgrounds immerse you in the setting. It's claustrophobic and unnerving which is the whole idea.
Audio Score: 4
Audio Notes:
Nice music has an epic feel to it. Some rooms have no music and instead are filled exclusively with drips and bangs from the dying ship.
Overall Score: 37
Review ID: 478
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