Escaping Wonderland arrives next month on Quest and Pico, and we went hands-on with this puzzling adventure. Here are our full impressions.
As VR gaming continued finding its feet, Down the Rabbit Hole offered something unique back in 2020 to the point where our review stated its "sheer existence seems like lunacy." Third-person VR games aren't unheard of, usually with platformers like Max Mustard or Moss, yet Cortopia Studios presented an enjoyable adventure from a diorama perspective.
Set before Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, I'm pleased to see this gameplay premise return with a new standalone adventure, and prior knowledge of Down The Rabbit Hole isn't mandatory. Playing the Quest 3 version during Gamescom 2024, I guided our new amnesiac heroine, Molly, across a short demo.
My adventure began at the game's very beginning, encountering Mr Mole after Molly's descent into Wonderland. As a 2.5D side scroller, Molly moves via the analog stick on your Touch Controllers but grabbing the vines with motion controls lets you adjust how you see your surroundings. This lets you inspect each scene with closer detail, letting you appreciate the strong art style while providing a better vantage for figuring out puzzles.
Your initial goal involves finding an item for Mr Mole, which leads into an early demonstration of how puzzle mechanics work. One section switched to a first-person perspective as I began reassembling a set of pipes, using only pre-determined shapes in unlimited quantities. Straightforward but not especially exciting, so I'm hoping for more complex puzzles later on.
Another section continued using the diorama perspective. Studying the scene closely unearths potential clues, and a hint system is helpfully available if you're struggling. Figuring this out based on environmental details works well without feeling overtly signposted, and it didn't become overly complicated.
Carroll's novel has seen various interpretations across the decades, and I'm curious to see what sort of story Cortopia can deliver in Wonderland this time. Since I only played for roughly 15 minutes, it's difficult to form more in-depth opinions of Escaping Wonderland. That said, the initial signs look good.
Escaping Wonderland arrives on September 26 on the Meta Quest platform and Pico.
