Slay the Alice

A tiny, gorgeous trip down the rabbit hole

Slay the Alice follows its title character chasing a rabbit into a land of talking plants, presented as a short visual novel wrapped in detailed pixel art and cute animation. Based on the available English-language review sample of 109 reviews — 107 positive, 2 negative, landing at an overall Very Positive rating — the single most consistent, most enthusiastically repeated point of praise concerns the presentation itself. "Soo adorable, the art probably tastes like cotton candy," one reviewer writes, and a separate reviewer offers a more considered version of the same reaction: "Gorgeous little game! Beautiful pixel art, well-done animations, and the OST is also very beautiful." A third reviewer specifically recommends slowing down to appreciate the music: "I recommend waiting for the music to loop before continuing, as it's very beautiful and usually lasts longer than the game's short, albeit beautiful, cutscenes."

The game's take on its Alice in Wonderland inspiration draws particular praise for finding a genuine, well-judged tonal balance rather than leaning purely into either whimsy or horror. "Cute game inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice, with neat pixel art and some lightly creepy/unsettling moments," one reviewer writes, and a separate reviewer frames the same balance as the game's most lasting quality: "A surprisingly memorable take on Alice in Wonderland. The art style pulls you in, but the atmosphere is what really sticks with you. It's unsettling enough without overdoing it." One especially detailed reviewer situates the game precisely within its genre lineage: "Slay the Alice... presents a compact yet memorable visual novel experience that deftly blends whimsical fantasy with an underlying sense of mystery and subtle unease. The game draws inspiration from classic fairy tale motifs, particularly echoing the surreal journey of Alice in Wonderland."

Multiple endings that genuinely reward finishing the puzzle

Beyond the presentation, several reviewers specifically credit the game's branching-ending structure for delivering real narrative payoff despite the short overall runtime. "As you progress through the game, you uncover more and more and slowly everything kinda clicks. It's truly addicting and definitely recommend it either to play it or even gifting it to other people," one reviewer writes, describing the specific satisfaction of piecing together a fuller picture across multiple playthroughs. A separate reviewer frames a similar experience more concisely: "cute and adorable and short!!!!! lovely game with awesome soundtrack and a surprising story twist!!" — with the twist specifically singled out as a highlight worth experiencing directly rather than being spoiled in a review.

A price tag that almost every review pushes back on

Set against all of that praise, this review sample converges on a single, near-universal caveat with striking consistency: the game's length simply doesn't match its full asking price, in the judgment of nearly every reviewer who addresses the topic at all. "Given the content and length of the game, I would recommend it on sale. I hate to say it, but at full price, it's a bit pricey," one reviewer writes, a sentiment echoed almost word for word by a separate reviewer: "It's way too short and simple to be bought at full price, though." A third reviewer offers a specific, concrete completion time that grounds the complaint in a real number: "I got all achievements/endings in about 45 mins, but totally worth it if you can get it on sale." That degree of near-unanimous, specifically-worded agreement — not a vague "it's short" complaint, but a repeated, explicit recommendation to wait for a discount — is worth taking seriously as the clearest actionable guidance in this entire review sample.

One reviewer offers a useful, forward-looking framing of the length issue rather than treating it as purely negative: "It is extremely short, you could definitely squeeze out more if you tried to 100% but even then it would still be short. But, it does have really pretty visuals and the ideas for the gameplay are really well made. I think there is definitely potential for a fuller sequel and I don't regret playing it." That's a fair way to read this release: less a complete, fully-realized game and more a polished, well-crafted proof of concept that leaves its own fans wanting a longer follow-up.

A dissenting voice on the story itself

It's worth including the negative side of this review sample directly, since it offers a genuinely different read on the writing than the otherwise strong consensus. "I think I got 2 or 3 endings and told myself well that's a waste of time. I'm all for whimsical Alice inspired games but honestly this is a whole lot of nothing. These stories just don't mesh with me and the narrative just reads weird. Maybe lost in translation, who knows," one reviewer writes, raising a real possibility — translation quality affecting how the narrative lands — that the largely positive sample doesn't otherwise flag as a concern. That's a useful counterpoint precisely because it's rare within this sample, and it's fair to note that story reception, unlike the art and music, isn't quite as uniformly agreed upon.

The achievement data strongly corroborates the "short and highly completable" picture painted throughout this review sample. Across 20 total achievements, even the hardest sits at 33.5% completion, with most others comfortably above 50% and several above 90% — an unusually gentle, tightly-clustered spread that confirms nearly everyone who buys this game sees the bulk of its content, consistent with the many specific 45-minute-to-one-hour completion reports.

Where this leaves it

Slay the Alice is a genuinely beautiful, well-crafted short visual novel that succeeds completely at what it sets out to do — evoke a whimsical, subtly unsettling fairy-tale atmosphere with striking pixel art and a memorable soundtrack — while running into the one problem nearly every one of its own fans independently flags: its asking price doesn't comfortably match its very short length. Recommended readily on sale for fans of atmospheric, art-forward visual novels with genuine narrative twists to uncover across multiple endings; worth waiting for a discount at full price given how consistently the game's own admirers say exactly that themselves.