There are a lot of eccentric games with special artistic style as one of their main selling points. Few titles, however, execute this as well as The Rivers of Alice: Extended Version does. Delirium Studios invites players into a wonderful and hypnotic puzzle-filled dream world. Cubed3 lets the sandman in and delves deeper into the surreal dream that is The Rivers of Alice: Extended Version!
When taking the first steps into the dream world inside the mind of Alice, it is hard to not be mesmerized by the beautiful and surrealistic hand-drawn art and dreamy background music. Breathe in, breathe out, and let the relaxation caused by the wonderful surroundings in. There is no hurry, none at all. No dangers, no enemies. Just Alice and her imagination.
Delirium Studios deliver a beautiful experience, and every single detail is wonderfully thought out and executed to enhance the surreal feeling of the title. Everything from the characters (who range between everything from a sloth to a giant monster with way too many eyeballs) to background details. Every single screen in the game is a beautiful and artistic masterpiece filled with symbolism and small mood-defining details. From start to finish, The Rivers of Alice: Extended Version keeps on impressing the player with its wonderful visuals.
After taking in the beautiful surroundings and music, it's time to start solving puzzles. These are equally creative as the art-style, and have a wide range. Some puzzles are simple point-and-click sequences that have to be done to pick up and use specific items, while others require things like connecting a machine by sliding pieces of wire around. Later ones especially might leave people thinking for a while, and the relaxing background music and wonderful visuals are a great help staying relaxed through the sometimes frustrating, yet enjoyable, puzzles.
The Rivers of Alice: Extended Version does wonderfully entwine the gameplay and art-style into a beautiful and unforgettable adventure that, due to its beautiful art style and music, has a lot of replayability. It is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone, young and old, due to its wonderful ageless approach and design. It is beautiful, relaxing, and makes the grey cells work on complex puzzles in a relaxed state. This adds up to a meditative, surreal experience that is approachable for anyone not in a hurry, because time will move on faster than expected once trapped inside the mind of Alice.
