This game was released in 2011. It is a sequel to a game that came out in 2009 called American McGee’s Alice. But, more importantly, these games were based on the character Alice whom we all know to be the character from Alice in Wonderland.
These games were meant to be set after ‘Alice Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’.
In Alice Madness Returns, the story is set around 1874, where Alice Liddell is 19 years old. But Alice is not the innocent girl we once knew. Not only has she got jet black hair and a gothic look to match, she has quite a dark personality however, her intelligence and witty remarks balance her character out so she doesn’t come off as an evil girl with major issues.
After spending many years in Rutledge Asylum (mainly because everyone thinks she is crazy – going on about wonderland), she continually visits a therapist as she wishes to find out the truth about a house fire when she was 8 years old that killed her parents and sister. With no help from them and convinced the fire was no accident, Alice becomes obsessed in finding the truth. With all her emotions running wild it is no wonder she ends up going back to wonderland. But wonderland (much like herself) has become very dark, and is filled with many horrors.
Old characters are back including the Mad Hatter but just like everything else, they have become corrupted and twisted. Not only this, but There is a mysterious horrifying steam train roaming around wonderland which seems to be the source of the problem. In order to save Wonderland and herself, Alice must destroy the train and discover the truth behind the fire.
This is a very unique story and very disturbing. WARNING: THIS IS NO KIDS GAME. If children did play this you would not get them to sleep for weeks. Filled with gore, bad language and other disturbing factors… This truly is an animated cartoon horror video game to be admired.
The game play is very unique. I have never played a game with this type of style.
You wield weapons so that Alice can fight enemies including the Vorpal blade, the Hobby Horse, the Pepper Grinder and the Teapot (which are more deadly than you think). You can upgrade these crazy weapons to make them more powerful. Also, when you unlock these weapons, you can use one in order to get to secret areas in which you can find optional collectables. These collectables help to understand parts of Alice’s past. There are many other features but there is so much I could go on for hours so you will just have to experience it yourself.
Also just to let you know, this is a very long game. Certainly one of the longest games I have ever played. Sometimes the levels can go on for too long but I find the dynamic changes in the environment help to keep you intrigued.
The graphics are breathtaking. So much colour, so much detail, so much of everything. This is definitely something that can not really be explained but experienced. That is always a good sign for a video game or indeed any media in general.
The music as you would imagine is dark and creepy but is only slightly hinted throughout the game just to add with the dramatic atmosphere. Below is an example of the music.
Alice: Madness Returns Home Intro Music
So all in all a very disturbing, horrifying, shocking and addicting game. This truly is a piece of mastery even if it is not everyone’s cup of tea. That is why I have decided to give this game 9/10
