Wonderland (video game)

Did You Know?

• A similar windowing system is used in unrelated adventure games such as Deja Vu.
• The developers believed the windowing system would make the game more accessible and give it wider appeal.

Reception

Computer Gaming World reviewed the game favorably, calling it a satisfying romp through Wonderland and praising its graphics and interface. ACE gave the IBM PC version a score of 910 out of 1000, commending the puzzles, interface when used with a mouse, and graphics, while noting a lack of sound. Keith Campbell of CU Amiga described it as an outstanding game that is a pleasure to play, extremely entertaining, and with widespread appeal from age nine to ninety. In Zero, Mike Gerrard wrote that it is a very open adventure designed to appeal to newcomers, calling its window interface wondrous. Peter Olafson in Amiga World summarized the game as an almost unalloyed delight, praising its graphics, music, and interface, and finding its difficulty fair; he believed it was destined to restore interest in the interactive fiction genre. Cristina Córdova in PC Magazine wrote that Wonderland brings the best of text-based and graphics-based games to Alice and her adventures, praising its combination of complexity and detail with visuals and the ease-of-use of its interface. Theo Clark of Strategy Plus noted significant pre-release hype and believed the game lived up to expectations, praising its interface and parser as very close to ideal; he was let down by limited music but found the visuals a feast and enjoyed the hint system. The magazine's editors later named Wonderland the best adventure game of 1990, with other nominees including The Secret of Monkey Island. Editor-in-Chief Brian Walker wrote that it proved the text adventure is not dead after all and believed it destined to be a classic. In 1991, PC Format placed Wonderland on its list of the 50 best computer games of all time, describing it as a very impressive windowing system that takes you through Wonderland in the company of Alice and cronies.