The Rivers of Alice Review

Dreams often don’t make sense. And yet, when you are lost in your nonsense dream world, you don’t care. You accept the senselessness and meandre with no destination, no expectations. Alice from Alice in Wonderland did not waste too much time questioning why there was a talking rabbit, or a murderous queen; she merely journeyed onwards through the madness. And Alice from The Rivers of Alice follows suit. Perhaps it is in the name.

I sat down to begin my journey in The Rivers of Alice on a rainy day, with a hot cup of tea steaming in my hand, and the sound of raindrops on my window. It quickly became evident that dark rainy days are the perfect backdrop for a game like this: a tranquil, point-and-click puzzler. Alice is exploring her dream world, a fantastic environment hand-drawn with detail, to contrast starkly with the blank, white pencil sketch that is Alice herself. A soundtrack composed by Spanish band Vetusta Morla provides a wonderful, acoustic background that is pleasing to listen to and compliments this intricate, artistic world perfectly.

Sketch work and art is a running theme. The Rivers of Alice is extremely visual; the characters do not speak in words, but in sketches which are recorded in Alice’s sketchbook for future reference. Puzzling over what the characters are saying, and what clues they are offering, is a small challenge in itself.

Everything moves very slowly. There is a complete absence of urgency. Clicking in a direction nudges Alice into a leisurely amble in that direction. It is, at times, frustratingly slow, but Alice’s imagination is a constricted space. The Rivers of Alice is a very small game, so the slow pace eeks out the very most of your time within its world. Alice’s steady plod only becomes cumbersome as you wander, attempting to solve a puzzle, and must trek to and fro repetitively from one path to another with no means to speed her up at all.

Alice is faced with puzzles immediately; she encounters many a situation in which you must explore further areas or experimentally click various hotpoints to figure out exactly what is being asked of you. Some puzzles are not immediately solvable, forcing you to venture further.

Various characters are scattered among the different scenes of Alice’s dream, and are as weird and diverse as dreamworld characters can be - from a spider girl, to a metallic tripod with a nest of eyes hanging from its underbelly. Meeting and interacting with them is a pleasure, and the prospect of meeting a new wonderful crowd piques the interest throughout. This fantastical cast seem to represent points of Alice and her life; her fears, her imagination and her personality. Their appearance in her dreams not only shape the game, but they construct our image of the black-and-white protagonist, offering an insight into her mind.

However, the puzzles become less original as the game continues. Where they begin simply enough, and involve much interaction with characters and the environment, it appears that developers Delirium copped out somewhat near the end. They had spent up their puzzle ingenuity on the earlier parts of the game, and stuck frustrating picture-tile puzzles, and others that no longer require the input of the brain, but of tedious time spent fiddling and adjusting until pieces fit together. It feels out of place in this land, to suddenly be faced with a puzzle so unoriginal.

Additionally, the environment, although beautiful, feels a little too much in the background. The contrast of art style between Alice and the landscapes is a separation device enough, but there are also very few hot points to interact with. Often, you find yourself roaming your cursor over an intriguing looking object, only to discover that you cannot explore it or interact with it at all. This dreamscape is full of oddities and trinkets; it would be better to be able to examine them closer.

There is little in the way of a narrative. Alice is searching for her four dragonflies which have flown free from her locket, but this often feels like a side-thought. The conclusion to the game is abrupt, and unsatisfying, although it is reminiscent of the feeling of waking suddenly from an interesting dream without ever discovering what happens next.

The Rivers of Alice feels like stepping into a watercolour painting, and wandering idly as it comes to life around you. The puzzles are very beginner-friendly, albeit at times needlessly frustrating, and the graphical style and soundtrack are immersive and unique. There is little storyline, and little challenge - but this does reflect the simplicity and nonsensical nature of dreams.