Escaping Wonderland arrives subsequent month on Quest and Pico, and we went hands-on with this puzzling journey. Listed below are our full impressions.
As VR gaming continued discovering its toes, Down the Rabbit Hole provided one thing distinctive again in 2020 to the purpose the place our review said its “sheer existence looks like lunacy.” Third-person VR video games aren’t extraordinary, normally with platformers like Max Mustard or Moss, but Cortopia Studios introduced an fulfilling journey from a diorama perspective.
Set earlier than Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, I am happy to see this gameplay premise return with a brand new standalone journey, and prior data of Down The Rabbit Gap is not obligatory. Enjoying the Quest 3 model throughout Gamescom 2024, I guided our new amnesiac heroine, Molly, throughout a brief demo.
My journey started on the recreation’s very starting, encountering Mr Mole after Molly’s descent into Wonderland. As a 2.5D aspect scroller, Molly strikes by way of the analog stick in your Contact Controllers however grabbing the vines with movement controls allows you to regulate the way you see your environment. This allows you to examine every scene with nearer element, letting you recognize the robust artwork fashion whereas offering a greater vantage for determining puzzles.
Your preliminary objective includes discovering an merchandise for Mr Mole, which leads into an early demonstration of how puzzle mechanics work. One part switched to a first-person perspective as I started reassembling a set of pipes, utilizing solely pre-determined shapes in limitless portions. Simple however not particularly thrilling, so I am hoping for extra advanced puzzles afterward.
One other part continued utilizing the diorama perspective. Finding out the scene intently finds potential clues, and a touch system is helpfully accessible if you happen to’re struggling. Figuring this out primarily based on environmental particulars works effectively with out feeling overtly signposted, and it did not develop into overly sophisticated.
Carroll’s novel has seen varied interpretations throughout the a long time, and I am curious to see what kind of story Cortopia can ship in Wonderland this time. Since I solely performed for roughly quarter-hour, it is troublesome to kind extra in-depth opinions of Escaping Wonderland. That mentioned, the preliminary indicators look good.
Escaping Wonderland arrives on September 26 on the Meta Quest platform and Pico.
