Since Alice in Wonderland was written in 1865, several different mediums have adapted or been inspired by the story to varying levels of success. The newest video game to take inspiration from the classic story is Cortopia Studios' Down the Rabbit Hole. This isn't a direct adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, but players will find the setting and characters very familiar. The creepy Cheshire Cat hangs out in the forest spouting nonsense, while the opium smoke caterpillar shows the player how to navigate the game world using portals. Down the Rabbit Hole is an entertaining yet short experience that plays unlike any other game out there, for better or worse.
Down the Rabbit Hole begins before Alice arrived in Wonderland, with a new and unnamed main character searching for her pet who got lost in the titular rabbit hole. The girl finds herself descending deeper and deeper into Wonderland as she solves puzzles and interacts with the odd creatures that reside there. She eventually begins working together with a playing card named 4 1/2 as they try to rescue the girl's cat from the Red Queen. For a story that has been told hundreds of times, Down the Rabbit Hole manages to make Alice in Wonderland seem fresh and engaging without straying too far from the source material.
Gameplay is very similar to PSVR titles Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Moss. Players control an invisible entity that views the environment from a third person perspective. The left stick is used to move the character around, but players can also move the controller around in the environment to interact with things that the girl is incapable of reaching. The controls are tight and responsive, and players will be able to move objects, ring bells, make flowers sing, and more to navigate Wonderland. Down the Rabbit Hole is very comfortable to play as well. There are no sharp turns or jostling movement so players won't experience some of the ill effects that virtual reality experiences sometimes provides.
Down the Rabbit Hole has a vaguely point-and-click adventure game feel to it. The majority of the gameplay time involves finding objects to solve puzzles that help progress the girl's adventure. The puzzles in Down the Rabbit Hole are all very intuitive, and it could even be argued that the game does a little too much to help the player. None of the puzzles present much of a challenge, which would become an issue if the game were longer than about two hours. Before players can become too frustrated with how easy the puzzles are, Down the Rabbit Hole will most likely be entering its final moments.
There are a few bugs to be aware of before playing Down the Rabbit Hole. Occasionally the game will stop allowing the player to interact with certain parts of the environment. This can make it impossible to progress any further without restarting the game. Sometimes the dialog has some odd issues as well. There were several times where audio subtitles can be positioned above or below the player's line of sight, making them difficult to read. It was also hard to understand some characters because they would talk at the same time as the protagonist and answer questions as they were being asked.
Down the Rabbit Hole is a beautiful Alice in Wonderland story. The positioning of the camera helps the player feel like as much of an outsider in Wonderland as the girl, and all the characters are very well animated and voiced. The gameplay and puzzles aren't as fun or complicated as they could be, but ultimately the short length of Down the Rabbit Hole prevents this from being too much of an issue. Those who are fans of Alice in Wonderland or unique adventure games should check out Down the Rabbit Hole whenever they have a chance.
Down the Rabbit Hole can be played on PC and PSVR. A PlayStation 4 code was provided for the purpose of this review.