Alice in Wonderland: A New Champion Review

Alice in Wonderland: A New Champion is a free-to-play adventure game that takes every bit of inspiration from the 2010 "Alice in Wonderland" movie starring Johnny Depp. With a brand new story, but featuring the same well-known and loved characters from the series, does this game truly capture the world created by Lewis Carroll as we know it and is it worth a closer peek?

Although Alice does appear in the adventure she is not a playable character, and instead (along with the White Queen) she will aid the new “Alice” in their journey and help them along the way in their quest to defeat the Red Queen. From the very beginning, Alice in Wonderland: A New Champion starts out with a not too subtle nod to the author, and players have the choice of playing as one of two characters, namely Lewis or Carol.

The gameplay itself isn't overly exciting. As either Lewis or Carol (there is the option to rename), players walk around spending the most of their time completing tasks that earn stars and currency. The more stars collected, the more the chance of leveling up. And so to accomplish this, nearly all of the time spent in the game goes towards fulfilling simple quests; whether it be brewing tea for the Mad Hatter or gathering ingredients to bake a cake. It's downright simple to the point where the game will point out where players should be looking or where the character or place they are searching for is, and it's very obvious to see that the app is designed for the younger player.

The game does tend to lean towards encouraging players to spend real money on in-app purchases, and there is no shortage of reminders throughout gameplay itself. Each task takes a various amount of time until completion, with some of them even taking up to an hour, and these are the tasks in which advancing in the game either costs time or money. That said, however, I managed to accomplish a whole number of missions without spending a single penny. The developers should surely be credited for creating a game where, while in-app purchases are available, they are also not necessary to fully experience the adventure.

Although it's not the most complex game to play, Alice In Wonderland: A New Champion is the perfect game for the little explorers in us. The top-down view of The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is a glorious sight, and every location in Alice's world is visually impressive. Part of the enjoyment is also revisiting some well-loved characters from the world Lewis Carroll created. Likewise, Disney have managed to do a marvelous job of designing a game that not only appeals to the younger player, but to virtually anyone who has an adventurous side and anybody who wants a seat at the Mad Hatters Party.