Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Through the Looking Glass delivers a fresh spin on the traditional action genre by setting all of the gameplay on a three-dimensional chessboard. From the very start, you’re invited to choose one of six classic chess pieces—each conferring Alice with its unique movement patterns. Once you’ve picked your avatar, Alice emerges in a behind-the-back perspective and must systematically capture every piece on the board before they capture her.

(HEY YOU!! We hope you enjoy! We try not to run ads. So basically, this is a very expensive hobby running this site. Please consider joining us for updates, forums, and more. Network w/ us to make some cash or friends while retro gaming, and you can win some free retro games for posting. Okay, carry on 👍)

The challenge stems from the way opponent pieces hop in arcing, gravity-defying trajectories. You need to click on valid target squares that correspond to the chosen piece’s chess moves—knight’s L-shapes, bishop’s diagonals, rook’s straight lines, and so on. Timing and foresight are critical: a misstep can lead to Alice being captured, which not only ends the current run but also subtracts from your hard-earned points.

Scoring is straightforward yet deep. You gain points equal to each piece’s chess value, and a special accolade awaits players clever enough to let pawns advance to queens before capturing them, unlocking the only path to the perfect 999 score. This simple but elegant system encourages experimentation with different strategies and piece selections on each playthrough.

Adding another layer of play customization, the Cheshire Cat appears when you hover over your score. This brings up an options screen where you can accelerate or decelerate game speed, flip the entire board upside-down, or activate randomly appearing “holes” that swallow any piece unfortunate enough to land on them. It’s a delightful way to tailor difficulty and replayability without overwhelming newcomers.

Graphics

For an early Macintosh title developed in-house at Apple, Through the Looking Glass stands out with its crisp monochrome visuals and a clever use of depth perspective. The squares and pieces scale seamlessly as they recede toward the horizon, creating a pseudo-3D effect that was groundbreaking on the original 1984 hardware.

The game’s art style leans into the whimsical atmosphere of Lewis Carroll’s world. Alice’s sprite is simple yet expressive, and each chess piece—from rooks to queens—casts a clean silhouette against the checkered board. Despite the hardware limitations, these minimalist visuals never feel clunky; rather, they reinforce the game’s focus on precise spatial reasoning.

Animations are smooth for the era, with pieces leaping in graceful arcs and Alice herself pivoting fluidly between moves. The transitions when toggling options via the Cheshire Cat menu are also surprisingly polished, demonstrating the attention to detail that Apple brought to its early software lineup.

Story

Through the Looking Glass doesn’t follow a traditional narrative arc, but it does draw heavily from Lewis Carroll’s famous novels by placing Alice at the center of a surreal chessboard world. The entire premise serves as a loose adaptation of the original story, wherein chess symbolizes progression through Wonderland’s bizarre challenges.

While there’s no text-driven plot development or cutscenes, the thematic framing is nonetheless effective. Each game session feels like a new chapter in Alice’s odyssey, as you guide her through hostile ranks of animated chess pieces. The Cheshire Cat’s appearance to reveal gameplay options further cements the Carrollian ambiance.

This narrative minimalism works to the game’s advantage: it keeps players focused on the tantalizing puzzle-action blend without bogging them down in lengthy exposition. For fans of Carroll’s work, the echoes of Wonderland are enough to spark the imagination, even without direct storyline beats.

Overall Experience

Through the Looking Glass is an exceptional blend of strategy, action, and thematic charm—especially remarkable considering it was one of the very first titles released for the Macintosh. Its clever use of perspective, intuitive controls, and layered difficulty options make it an enduring piece of gaming history.

Newcomers might be surprised at how demanding the precise mouse clicks can be, particularly on period-correct hardware, but the learning curve is part of the appeal. Veterans of chess or puzzle-action hybrids will find plenty of depth in mastering each piece’s capabilities and chasing that elusive perfect score.

Beyond the main game, the inclusion of bonus materials on the disk—such as custom fonts and a maze-generator game called Amazing—adds extra value and showcases Apple’s commitment to making even its early software releases feel like complete multimedia experiences.

Whether you’re a retro gaming enthusiast, a Lewis Carroll fan, or simply curious about the origins of Macintosh gaming, Through the Looking Glass remains a delightful journey down the rabbit hole. Its charming simplicity, combined with surprisingly deep strategic layers, ensures it still holds up as an engaging port of call for anyone exploring gaming’s formative years.

Retro Replay Score

null/10