Sequel to 2000s America McGee's Alice you take on the role of Alice as she ventures back into Wonderland which to no one's surprise, has seen better days. Corrupted by the memories of a great tragedy Wonderland has become a twisted and evil mirror image of its former self. It's your job as Alice to fight back this corruption with your vorpal blade and a small collection of other tea pot-based weaponry to carve your way to sanity and the truth.

The game's biggest draw is its environment and style. This is the most unique and disturbing portrayal of Wonderland with vibrant and colorful gardens mixed in with completely meat-based castles. A constant change of location assures that you'll never see the same place twice and every single world has a unique theme and style which also changes Alice's dress to match. Combat is Devil May Cry esque with you switching between two different ranged and melee weapons for heavy and light attacks. It's a much simpler system that relies more on constant switching between weapons than making combos as there is only one type of attack for almost all the weapons. Though simple, it does get the job done and only starts to feel dull as the game ends. To counter the simple combat there are a great variety of enemies all with different moves that force you to change up how you handle each one and which to prioritize. Sadly the game hesitates to throw that many enemies at you at any given time which could have added some much-needed excitement and challenge.

The story is told through both the real world and through the creatures of Wonderland with Alice jumping between the two as you slowly piece together the truth of her past and hopefully her sanity. It took me about 14 hours to get through the whole game and besides the final boss being a bit annoying it was a fun ride throughout.

Sequel to 2000s America McGee's Alice you take on the role of Alice as she ventures back into Wonderland which to no one's surprise, has seen better days. Corrupted by the memories of a great tragedy Wonderland has become a twisted and evil mirror image of its former self. It's your job as Alice to fight back this corruption with your vorpal blade and a small collection of other tea pot-based weaponry to carve your way to sanity and the truth. The game's biggest draw is its environment and style. This is the most unique and disturbing portrayal of Wonderland with vibrant and colorful gardens mixed in with completely meat-based castles. A constant change of location assures that you'll never see the same place twice and every single world has a unique theme and style which also changes Alice's dress to match. Combat is Devil May Cry esque with you switching between two different ranged and melee weapons for heavy and light attacks. It's a much simpler system that relies more on constant switching between weapons than making combos as there is only one type of attack for almost all the weapons. Though simple, it does get the job done and only starts to feel dull as the game ends. To counter the simple combat there are a great variety of enemies all with different moves that force you to change up how you handle each one and which to prioritize. Sadly the game hesitates to throw that many enemies at you at any given time which could have added some much-needed excitement and challenge. The story is told through both the real world and through the creatures of Wonderland with Alice jumping between the two as you slowly piece together the truth of her past and hopefully her sanity. It took me about 14 hours to get through the whole game and besides the final boss being a bit annoying it was a fun ride throughout.

A good bit of crazy fun

Let me start this review by talking about the prequel, the cult classic, American McGee's Alice. That was one of the first games that really made me fall in love with gaming. I love the darkness and the overall weirdness in this franchise. The way American McGee twists the childhood stories we grew up with in his work (See also American McGee's Grimm) is something that I have always admired. After I finished the first game when I was in highschool (yes, I discovered the game late). I ached for a sequel. When Alice: Madness Returns was first teased, I was extremely excited. I wanted so badly to go back to Wonderland. The visuals, the weirdness and the story did not disappoint me. I especially loved the different outfits and what they do. I loved the upgrade in the combat system. It had a few glitches here and there (like the umbrella being unusable for some players, even those who purchesed the game legally. I heard a rumor the umbrella being unusable was supposedly a trap for the pirated copies) that made the game somewhat unplayable. My friend did manage to finish the game without using the Umbrella. Cause she's a boss. I, on the otherhand, had to reset and replay until finally my savefile let me have an umbrella. However, when I finally played the game, something stuck out to me so blatantly. I don't really think other players have pointed it out, but, while I am not the most skilled gamer, I didn't like how much this game spoonfed me with tutorials and such. The first game literally starts off by pushing you to Wonderland without much explanation. AMG's Alice trusted you to find your way yourself -- something that was severly lacking in Madness Returns. That being said, I still very much enjoyed this game to the point of completion, if not more than. I played this game about 2.5 times, while I played the original game to completion upwards of 5 times. I love this game -- but I must point out that I do have a nostalgic bias for it. I just really think that it had a lot of unrealized potential.

Let me start this review by talking about the prequel, the cult classic,  American McGee's Alice.  That was one of the first games that really made me fall in love with gaming.

I love the darkness and the overall weirdness in this franchise.  The way American McGee twists the childhood stories we grew up with in his work (See also American McGee's Grimm) is something that I have always admired.

After I finished the first game when I was in highschool (yes, I discovered the game late).  I ached for a sequel.  When Alice: Madness Returns was first teased, I was extremely excited.  I wanted so badly to go back to Wonderland.

The visuals, the weirdness and the story did not disappoint me.  I especially loved the different outfits and what they do.  I loved the upgrade in the combat system.  It had a few glitches here and there (like the umbrella being unusable for some players, even those who purchesed the game legally.  I heard a rumor the umbrella being unusable was supposedly a trap for the pirated copies) that made the game somewhat unplayable.  My friend did manage to finish the game without using the Umbrella.  Cause she's a boss.  I, on the otherhand, had to reset and replay until finally my savefile let me have an umbrella. 

However, when I finally played the game, something stuck out to me so blatantly.  I don't really think other players have pointed it out, but, while I am not the most skilled gamer, I didn't like how much this game spoonfed me with tutorials and such.  The first game literally starts off by pushing you to Wonderland without much explanation.  AMG's Alice trusted you to find your way yourself -- something that was severly lacking in Madness Returns.  

That being said, I still very much enjoyed this game to the point of completion, if not more than. I played this game about 2.5 times, while I played the original game to completion upwards of 5 times.

I love this game -- but I must point out that I do have a nostalgic bias for it.  I just really think that it had a lot of unrealized potential.

Alice: Madness Returns review

PS3 Review – Alice: Madness Returns

Alice Madness Returns Review

Alice: Madness Returns Review

Review: Alice: Madness Returns

A memorable peek through a flawed looking glass.

Alice: Madness Returns

Back Down the Rabbit Hole

Alice: Madness Returns Review: Madness over method

A Shaky Trip Back Down The Rabbit Hole

Stuff it back down the rabbit hole. 

Alice: Madness Returns (PS3) Review

Análisis “Alice: Madness Returns”

Regreso al País de las Pesadillas 

Alice : Retour au Pays de la Folie

Test : Alice : Retour au pays de la folie

Um universo partido em dois. 

Recensie: Alice: Madness Returns

Alice: Madness Returns takes place 10 years after the conclusion of the original game, with Alice struggling to recover from the emotional trauma of losing her entire family in a fatal fire. After spending a decade institutionalized in an insane asylum, she is finally released to the care of a psychiatrist who just may be able to help her conquer the nightmarish hallucinations that still haunt her. Alice embarks on a mission to root out the true cause of her family's mysterious death, jumping from a gloomy and stark London to a rich and provocative Wonderland.

Playscore of Alice: Madness Returns, based on critic and gamer review scores.

Alice: Madness Returns

Platforms

Critic Reviews

Games Radar+

PS Lifestyle

The Escapist

Giant Bomb

Destructoid

PC Gamer

IGN

Game Trailers

Cheatcc

Joystiq

Community Reviews

badsoulslike

Raine

Amante Rocero Jr

Alexander Filshin

snAp_TattooHeroesCrew

Nichirin

Hami KESKİN

About the game