Ratings and Reviews by Felix Pleșoianu

For some reason, Alice in Wonderland tends to inspire dark, gritty reinterpretations, like Tim Burton's film adaptation, or the acclaimed Alice is Dead series of room escape games. Perhaps it's what people read between the lines of the original -- and perhaps it's better that way, because straight adaptations have been historically just bizarre and/or bland.

Nootropic Wonderland is a linear (and seemingly unfinished) Twine that needs another round of proofreading, but these are minor quibbles. More importantly, it's a cyberpunk take on the story, which could be great if it was either less generic or else took itself less seriously. I'm afraid simply rehashing 35-year-old tropes doesn't quite cut it in 2017, especially when there's no substance to back them up. Why are people so afraid of the patrolling drones with their searchlights? Is police brutal? Is there supposed to be a curfew at night? Or maybe they're just a symbol of the uncaring rich people living atop those silvery spires while the street crumbles? At least a gang beating up on anyone passing by, human or android, could be explained as a show of force that announces bigger trouble -- as the ending, such as it is, in fact seems to suggest.

But that's very little to go by. The story needs to be seriously fleshed out, and could use a little interactivity as well. Even just being able to click on things and get progressively detailed descriptions before moving on would help a lot. Luckily it seems to be a work in progress, so that's not out of the question, hopefully. Until then, take with a grain of salt.