Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

SOS puts you in the shoes of one of four survivors aboard the doomed Lady Crithania, each with unique abilities and motivations. Whether you choose Capris Wisher the architect, Redwin Gardener the counselor, Luke Haines the sailor, or Jeffrey Howell the doctor, your approach to survival will differ dramatically. Early on, you’ll learn to leverage each character’s exclusive skillset—Capris can jury-rig improvised bridges, Redwin excels at rallying NPCs, Luke handles physical obstacles with ease, and Jeffrey can patch up both himself and slower allies.

(HEY YOU!! We hope you enjoy! We try not to run ads. So basically, this is a very expensive hobby running this site. Please consider joining us for updates, forums, and more. Network w/ us to make some cash or friends while retro gaming, and you can win some free retro games for posting. Okay, carry on 👍)

The core mechanic that sets SOS apart from its platform-puzzle contemporaries is its ingenious use of Mode 7 perspective shifts. As the ship heels over, water rushes through corridors and ceilings become floors. You’ll navigate through upright, inverted, and skewed sections of the vessel, uncovering new pathways while losing access to familiar routes. This environmental tilting demands constant spatial awareness, turning even a simple hallway into a dynamic puzzle.

Time is your most precious resource: a strict one-hour countdown ticks away as you explore the ship, rescue survivors, and solve environmental riddles. Injuries don’t kill you outright; instead, each wound costs you five crucial minutes. Every encounter with jagged metal, collapsing beams, or rushing water must be planned carefully, especially when escorting slower NPCs whose survival depends on your guidance.

Rescue operations form the heart of SOS’s strategic depth. Locating stranded survivors is only half the battle—you must safely shepherd them past hazards, often retracing your steps as the ship’s internal geometry shifts unpredictably. With multiple endings determined by how many lives you save (and which ones), every decision matters. You’ll replay the scenario repeatedly, experimenting with different characters and routes to achieve the optimal evacuation.

Graphics

On its platform, SOS delivers a striking visual experience that elevates the ship’s doomed grandeur. The Lady Crithania’s lavish wood-panel corridors, brass fixtures, and grand staircases are rendered with impressive detail, while the stormy sea outside the windows rages with turbulent waves and flashes of lightning. The art direction captures both the opulence and the impending doom of Paul Gallico’s inspiration.

The real showstopper is the Mode 7 tilting effect. As the ship rolls, the environment distorts in real time, with walls stretching and floors tilting convincingly under the weight of the virtual ocean. These shifts not only serve gameplay but also heighten the sense of vertigo and disorientation you feel as the vessel capsizes. It’s a technical marvel that few platformers of the era attempted.

NPCs and character sprites are equally well-animated. Survivor models exhibit expressive animations as they scramble over debris, clutching injured limbs or scrambling to keep their balance. The water’s edge, rendered in translucent layers, laps realistically around obstacles, and flickering lanterns cast dancing shadows that enhance the atmosphere. Subtle details—like oil lamps shattering and furniture toppling—add to the immersion.

Complementing the visuals is a clean, unobtrusive HUD that keeps track of your remaining time, health (expressed as time deductions), and number of survivors escorted. Menus echo the ship’s Art Deco styling, reinforcing the 1921 setting without ever feeling tacked on. Performance remains smooth even during the trickiest tilt sequences, ensuring that visual flair never compromises the gameplay flow.

Story

Set on a storm-tossed night in 1921, SOS weaves a dramatic tale of survival aboard the ill-fated Lady Crithania. From the moment the wave strikes, the narrative tension never lets up: you witness the deck shudder, hear the screams of frightened passengers, and feel the world flip upside down. It’s a visceral retelling of the moment before disaster, inspired by Paul Gallico’s The Poseidon Adventure but told through the interactive medium of a platform-puzzle game.

Each playable character brings a distinct backstory and personal stakes to the evacuation. Capris Wisher, haunted by past engineering failures, sees this catastrophe as redemption. Redwin Gardener, a counselor sworn to protect passengers, must reconcile his professional duty with his own fear. Luke Haines fights to save his former crewmates, while Jeffrey Howell’s medical oath drives him to risk everything for others. These motivations are revealed through brief in-game dialogues and mission prompts, giving weight to every rescue attempt.

As you progress, environmental storytelling deepens the drama: a tipped grand piano, scattered deck chairs, and overturned dining sets serve as silent witnesses to the initial chaos. Survivors you find often share snippets of their own ordeal—an elderly couple clinging to life, a child lost in the flooded ballroom—tying each rescue to an emotional thread. The game’s multiple endings hinge on how many and which people you save, lending a genuine narrative urgency to your every move.

While SOS doesn’t feature lengthy cutscenes, it uses in-level events to maintain momentum. A sudden cascade of water, a creaking bulkhead about to give way, or a companion’s panicked plea can occur at any moment. These spontaneous sequences keep you on edge, reinforcing the story’s stakes without breaking the gameplay rhythm. It’s a masterclass in emergent storytelling through level design.

Overall Experience

SOS offers a rare blend of pulse-pounding action, cerebral puzzle-solving, and heartfelt drama. Its unique tilt-and-rotate mechanics breathe new life into the platform genre, challenging you to think in three dimensions as the environment contorts around you. The combination of a one-hour time limit and realistic penalties for injury ensures that every second counts, heightening the tension without tipping into frustration.

The game’s replayability is exceptional. Four distinct protagonists, multiple rescue routes, and a variety of possible endings invite you to return again and again. Each playthrough feels fresh, as you refine your strategy, uncover hidden corridors, and chase a perfect evacuation. Even seasoned platform-puzzle fans will find themselves marveling at the ship’s ever-shifting architecture.

While the difficulty can spike during the most disorienting tilt sequences, SOS strikes a fair balance by providing generous checkpoints and clear visual cues. The evocative graphics and atmospheric sound design—creaking metal, rushing water, distant cries—keep you invested from the opening wave to the final lifeboat launch. It’s an emotional, edge-of-your-seat experience that stays with you long after the credits roll.

For anyone seeking a platformer with intellectual challenge, narrative depth, and cinematic flair, SOS is an unmissable voyage. It honors its literary inspiration while carving out its own identity as a gripping, elegant survival adventure. Prepare to be submerged in one of gaming’s most inventive disaster scenarios—and fight your way to the surface before time runs out.

Retro Replay Score

6.4/10