SIMILAR VIDEO GAMES
Explore the themes of The Looking Glass Wars by experiencing the stories within these popular video games:
American McGee's Alice (2000)
![American McGee's Alice](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/7943651.png)
Only a few find the way, some don’t recognize it when they do— some don’t ever want to. In this retelling of Alice in Wonderland, something wicked has infected Wonderland to the core. A spiritual sequel to Though the Looking-Glass & What Alice Found There, Alice Liddell is admitted to a mental asylum after witnessing the death of her family at the hands of a massive house-fire. After years in the asylum, Alice is summoned by the White Rabbit back to Wonderland, where she faces a burnt and corrupted landscape that remains dominated by the Red Queen of Hearts. Equipped with weapons of raw violence and imagination, Alice sets out to challenge various foes and once-noble inhabitants of Wonderland in search for the Red Queen.
This particular version of Alice in Wonderland dives into the realm of surrealistic insanity and carnage. Made specifically for mature audiences in mind, this Wonderland is a rabbit hole not made for the faint of heart. The game deals with themes of maturity, corruption, self-esteem, insanity, self-reliance, and man vs. authority. While the concept might seem simple, the gothic twist on Wonderland provides audiences with a newfound way to analyze and imagine Alice in her quest for redemption.
Developer: American McGee (Rogue Entertainment)
Published: Electronic Arts (2000)
This particular version of Alice in Wonderland dives into the realm of surrealistic insanity and carnage. Made specifically for mature audiences in mind, this Wonderland is a rabbit hole not made for the faint of heart. The game deals with themes of maturity, corruption, self-esteem, insanity, self-reliance, and man vs. authority. While the concept might seem simple, the gothic twist on Wonderland provides audiences with a newfound way to analyze and imagine Alice in her quest for redemption.
Developer: American McGee (Rogue Entertainment)
Published: Electronic Arts (2000)
American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns (2001)
![Alice: Madness Returns](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/824300.png)
My Wonderland is shattered. It's dead to me.
The sequel to American McGee's critically acclaimed violent retelling of Alice in Wonderland; this time however, there is a new problem infecting Alice's thoughts and psyche. After leaving the Rutledge Asylum from the first game, Alice is struggling to live as an orphan in Victorian London (1875). The orphanage she resides in is run by psychiatrist, Doctor Angus Bumby— a man who uses hypnotism and suggestion to alleviate the trauma that some infects the children.
Being forced back into Wonderland by the cries of her friends, Alice comes to find that another wicked force has set forth to destroy the landscape she once restored. The queen is no where to be found, and a cancer of darkness is spreading throughout the land. Alice sets out to find answers, and to eliminate the source of the infection.
While not as definitively awarded as the first game, this sequel took a basic formula and tried to appeal to a newer audience with modern mechanics. Despite glaring technical problems and plot issues, the game still lived up to the hype by delivering a dark version of Wonderland to fans of the first game.
Author: American McGee
Published: Spicy Horse Studios & Electronic Arts (2011)
The sequel to American McGee's critically acclaimed violent retelling of Alice in Wonderland; this time however, there is a new problem infecting Alice's thoughts and psyche. After leaving the Rutledge Asylum from the first game, Alice is struggling to live as an orphan in Victorian London (1875). The orphanage she resides in is run by psychiatrist, Doctor Angus Bumby— a man who uses hypnotism and suggestion to alleviate the trauma that some infects the children.
Being forced back into Wonderland by the cries of her friends, Alice comes to find that another wicked force has set forth to destroy the landscape she once restored. The queen is no where to be found, and a cancer of darkness is spreading throughout the land. Alice sets out to find answers, and to eliminate the source of the infection.
While not as definitively awarded as the first game, this sequel took a basic formula and tried to appeal to a newer audience with modern mechanics. Despite glaring technical problems and plot issues, the game still lived up to the hype by delivering a dark version of Wonderland to fans of the first game.
Author: American McGee
Published: Spicy Horse Studios & Electronic Arts (2011)
Heart of Darkness (1998)
![Heart of Darkness](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/639267.png)
What is Wonderland to a boy with nyctophobia?
Heart of Darkness is a classic PC video game focused around the drama that follows young Andy, a boy who loses his trusty dog during a solar eclipse. Andy builds a spaceship and sets off to explore the world but finds himself engulfed in a world known as the Darklands. A twisted landscape full of danger, Andy must conquer his fear of darkness and rescue his good pup!
Classic PC game with dark tones and themes, especially for the time it was released. The game actually featured very brutal violence if the player was not capable of surviving, and the immersion into the realm of nyctophobia was played out nicely.
Author: Amazing Studio
Published: Interplay Entertainment (1998)
Heart of Darkness is a classic PC video game focused around the drama that follows young Andy, a boy who loses his trusty dog during a solar eclipse. Andy builds a spaceship and sets off to explore the world but finds himself engulfed in a world known as the Darklands. A twisted landscape full of danger, Andy must conquer his fear of darkness and rescue his good pup!
Classic PC game with dark tones and themes, especially for the time it was released. The game actually featured very brutal violence if the player was not capable of surviving, and the immersion into the realm of nyctophobia was played out nicely.
Author: Amazing Studio
Published: Interplay Entertainment (1998)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (2007)
![Persona 3](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/8026342.png)
Time never waits. It delivers us all equally to the same end.
A definitive Japanese Role-Playing-Game set in modern times, this classic RPG is well known for it's core gameplay value and engaging storyline full of choices.
In Persona 3, the player takes on the role of a young high school student who is recently enrolled in a private institution. In his dorm room with his roommates, he comes to find out that they are a part of a specialized secret club known as the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES). The SEES group is responsible for protecting the city during a time of darkness— known as the Dark Hour. During this time, the world shifts and time stands still for a single hour. A large formation overtakes the school— the tower of Tartarus— and monsters known as "Shadows" become rampant throughout the city. The SEES members have a special power to help them— the power of summoning a Persona. The Persona is a psychological representation of the character's strength, and is determined by their personality as per the Tarot Cards. The SEES group allows the Main Character to join in, and help fight the Shadows to protect the area. However, the influence of the Main Character changes the game, for his Persona ability is different than the rest.
All of the Persona games in the series carry two different game types— one revolving around high-school life and study, while the other dives deep into the realm of fantasy and combat. The player must balance both of these on a timed schedule, and is limited in the amount of choices they can make and number of characters they can talk to.
Author: Atlus
Published: Atlus (2007)
A definitive Japanese Role-Playing-Game set in modern times, this classic RPG is well known for it's core gameplay value and engaging storyline full of choices.
In Persona 3, the player takes on the role of a young high school student who is recently enrolled in a private institution. In his dorm room with his roommates, he comes to find out that they are a part of a specialized secret club known as the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES). The SEES group is responsible for protecting the city during a time of darkness— known as the Dark Hour. During this time, the world shifts and time stands still for a single hour. A large formation overtakes the school— the tower of Tartarus— and monsters known as "Shadows" become rampant throughout the city. The SEES members have a special power to help them— the power of summoning a Persona. The Persona is a psychological representation of the character's strength, and is determined by their personality as per the Tarot Cards. The SEES group allows the Main Character to join in, and help fight the Shadows to protect the area. However, the influence of the Main Character changes the game, for his Persona ability is different than the rest.
All of the Persona games in the series carry two different game types— one revolving around high-school life and study, while the other dives deep into the realm of fantasy and combat. The player must balance both of these on a timed schedule, and is limited in the amount of choices they can make and number of characters they can talk to.
Author: Atlus
Published: Atlus (2007)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008)
![Persona 4](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/8324010.png)
Truth is elusive, it's nowhere to be found.
In another instance of the Persona series, new characters must face off against a brutal murder mystery that overtakes a rural Japanese town. Another unique Persona user comes to inhabit the town of Inaba, a floodplain farming down that is still developing into a bustling city.
Rumors are spreading about a strange phenomenon that occurs during the night. When midnight strikes the clock, certain televisions turn on to something known as the "Midnight Channel"— a station dedicated to showing off the raw inner personality of selected people. The Main Character becomes aware of this nightly occurrence, and becomes increasingly involved with the events surrounding it as murder mysteries start appearing throughout the town. People who are featured on the Midnight Channel are killed soon after it appears.
Along with some friends, the Main Character sets off to explore the world of the Midnight Channel, known as TV-World, and encounters Shadows similar to those found in Persona 3.
Author: Atlus
Published: Atlus (2008)
In another instance of the Persona series, new characters must face off against a brutal murder mystery that overtakes a rural Japanese town. Another unique Persona user comes to inhabit the town of Inaba, a floodplain farming down that is still developing into a bustling city.
Rumors are spreading about a strange phenomenon that occurs during the night. When midnight strikes the clock, certain televisions turn on to something known as the "Midnight Channel"— a station dedicated to showing off the raw inner personality of selected people. The Main Character becomes aware of this nightly occurrence, and becomes increasingly involved with the events surrounding it as murder mysteries start appearing throughout the town. People who are featured on the Midnight Channel are killed soon after it appears.
Along with some friends, the Main Character sets off to explore the world of the Midnight Channel, known as TV-World, and encounters Shadows similar to those found in Persona 3.
Author: Atlus
Published: Atlus (2008)
Psychonauts (2006)
![Psychonauts!](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/4499168.png)
You will be psychic soldiers, in other words— PSYCHONAUTS!
At a summer camp for kids possessing capabilities of psychic powers, runaway Razputin joins the ranks of the kids staying at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, and trains to become a world famous Psychonaut. Strange rumors of camp history appear however, and a plot to kidnap the children threatens the campers and their teachers as things become dreadfully worse. The mentor Psychonauts are distracted by a mission, and it's up to Razputin to save everyone at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp!
The game was critically acclaimed by both fans and professional reviewing centers, but suffered from poor sales at the time of it's release. Double Fine Studios however, remains one of the most influential and important video game development companies in the history of the industry. Tim Schafer is famous for his work in the video game industry, notably for video games like The Secret of Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Brutal Legend, Grim Fandango, and future critical release Broken Age.
Author: Tim Schafer
Published: Majesco Entertainment (2006)
At a summer camp for kids possessing capabilities of psychic powers, runaway Razputin joins the ranks of the kids staying at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, and trains to become a world famous Psychonaut. Strange rumors of camp history appear however, and a plot to kidnap the children threatens the campers and their teachers as things become dreadfully worse. The mentor Psychonauts are distracted by a mission, and it's up to Razputin to save everyone at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp!
The game was critically acclaimed by both fans and professional reviewing centers, but suffered from poor sales at the time of it's release. Double Fine Studios however, remains one of the most influential and important video game development companies in the history of the industry. Tim Schafer is famous for his work in the video game industry, notably for video games like The Secret of Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Brutal Legend, Grim Fandango, and future critical release Broken Age.
Author: Tim Schafer
Published: Majesco Entertainment (2006)
Silent Hill 2 (2001)
![Silent Hill 2](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/6292681.png)
In my restless dreams, I see that town... Silent Hill.
Another definitive video game straight from Japan; Silent Hill remains one of the most famous horror video games to ever grace the industry. Each game focusing on a singular character, and their internal battle of personal psychological horror and trauma.
Silent Hill 2 focuses on James Sunderland, a depressed man who receives a letter from his wife Mary, who passed away three years ago. He is drawn to the town of Silent Hill, a desolate rural town that entraps the character and forces them into a world of corruption. The town is surrounded by a blinding fog, and monsters of indescribable nature roam the streets and hallways. At night, James witnesses the world degrade around him— floors turn into rusty metal surfaces, walls peel and become bloody sheets of rust, and the fog shifts to pure darkness.
James must navigate the horrors of Silent Hill, and fight the monsters that threaten his well being.
Each Silent Hill title is critically acclaimed for it's heavy storytelling capabilities and shear horror. The game deals heavily with psychological fantasy and personal vice. The town of Silent Hill acts as a character in itself— it reflects the inner most fears and desires of the character trapped inside. The monsters all brutal representations of vice or fear from the main character. The series deals with mature themes, often of sexual nature (in a Freudian way).
Author: Masashi Tsuboyama
Published: Konami (2001)
Another definitive video game straight from Japan; Silent Hill remains one of the most famous horror video games to ever grace the industry. Each game focusing on a singular character, and their internal battle of personal psychological horror and trauma.
Silent Hill 2 focuses on James Sunderland, a depressed man who receives a letter from his wife Mary, who passed away three years ago. He is drawn to the town of Silent Hill, a desolate rural town that entraps the character and forces them into a world of corruption. The town is surrounded by a blinding fog, and monsters of indescribable nature roam the streets and hallways. At night, James witnesses the world degrade around him— floors turn into rusty metal surfaces, walls peel and become bloody sheets of rust, and the fog shifts to pure darkness.
James must navigate the horrors of Silent Hill, and fight the monsters that threaten his well being.
Each Silent Hill title is critically acclaimed for it's heavy storytelling capabilities and shear horror. The game deals heavily with psychological fantasy and personal vice. The town of Silent Hill acts as a character in itself— it reflects the inner most fears and desires of the character trapped inside. The monsters all brutal representations of vice or fear from the main character. The series deals with mature themes, often of sexual nature (in a Freudian way).
Author: Masashi Tsuboyama
Published: Konami (2001)
Yume Nikki / Dream Diary (2004)
![Yume Nikki](/uploads/2/4/5/5/24551803/2841106.png)
Sleep.
Yume Nikki is a fan-made role-playing indie game of simplistic design. The game follows a hikikomori named Madotsuki who is trapped inside her apartment. The only place Madotsuki can go, is her bed, which lets her fall asleep. While sleeping, Madotsuki awakens in a dark landscape known as the Dream World. In here she is presented with a series of doors, each leading to a vile land straight out of a gothic surrealist painting. There is no stated goal, but Madotsuki sometimes finds "eggs" that grant her special powers.
The story in Yume Nikki is completely relayed through the use of visual expression. Yume Nikki is highly praised on the internet because of its unique method of portraying characters and psychological symbols. The community revolving around the game has no concrete understanding of the story, so many fans develop elaborate "theories" for the events and visual symbols that appear throughout the game. The game ends when the player finds all of the "eggs" and places them in the nexus of the Dream World. The final moment of the game is the only occurrence of a blatant story, as the ending reveals something that makes the player question everything built up to that point.
Author: Kikiyama
Published: No Publisher (2004)
Yume Nikki is a fan-made role-playing indie game of simplistic design. The game follows a hikikomori named Madotsuki who is trapped inside her apartment. The only place Madotsuki can go, is her bed, which lets her fall asleep. While sleeping, Madotsuki awakens in a dark landscape known as the Dream World. In here she is presented with a series of doors, each leading to a vile land straight out of a gothic surrealist painting. There is no stated goal, but Madotsuki sometimes finds "eggs" that grant her special powers.
The story in Yume Nikki is completely relayed through the use of visual expression. Yume Nikki is highly praised on the internet because of its unique method of portraying characters and psychological symbols. The community revolving around the game has no concrete understanding of the story, so many fans develop elaborate "theories" for the events and visual symbols that appear throughout the game. The game ends when the player finds all of the "eggs" and places them in the nexus of the Dream World. The final moment of the game is the only occurrence of a blatant story, as the ending reveals something that makes the player question everything built up to that point.
Author: Kikiyama
Published: No Publisher (2004)