While American McGee and Burton have had their own takes on the world, Across the Wonder Lands draws it’s inspiration more from the Disney versions in a sense. It’s bright and colourful and whimsical and off the wall in plenty of good ways. Though, not much in the way of individual elements copies directly. It’s all vibes, in a way that allows the game to really stand separate, and also indulge in the other reported influences such as Wizard of Oz and with all the food-based combat, I would not be surprised if Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was included.
You’ve got a lot of survival crafting game hooks in here, but the materials are all wonky or more…Wonka. Cotton Candy is both a creature in the world and something you can use to craft with. The gear is all highly customizable with slots, making it easy to add armor and durability, or, different damage types to pieces.
Overall the demo was a blast to play, though I really had a rough time with the “boss” of the demo, which is going to be somewhat on me and not preparing properly. It’ll be interesting to see how the full game plays out. It is a bit disappointing to read that there is some AI being used in the development of the game after playing through the demo and looking at the full page. I will say that in playing through the demo, it wasn’t as apparent as some games make it seem.