Set in the darker side of the Victorian Era, Alice: Madness Returns is a haunting hack-and-slash game made in 2011. The game is a sequel to American McGee’s Alice and is directed by American McGee.

First of all, there are some trigger warnings for this game. There are horror elements, hinted sexual themes (non-explicit), blood, abuse and mentioned drugs. Play to your liking and at your own risk. 

In this game, you play as Alice, a young girl who lives in an orphanage after her family died in a tragic house fire. Alice – you – will alternate between her reality and her wonderland. Wonderland is full of whacky and deadly characters that you’ll have to fight through in order for Alice to get to where she needs to be. Along the way, you come across many different weapons, along with some tactics to get out alive. 

I love the game overall, but I especially love the dresses Alice wears and the Hobby Horse. The graphics for a 2011 game are also amazing and very clear! The music is also good, it’s not the best, but it does its job of creating that twisted and wondrous atmosphere. The battle mechanics are a bit difficult for me, though I am never strategic until I have died a few times. I am very much a “keep on pressing x/a until you win” type of player. 

The chapters of the game are quite long and filled with different paths, collectibles and snippets of story content, which all come together for what felt like a frightening but deserving end. There iss definitely a lot to process once the end credits started to roll. 

So many things came to a head but left just as many holes. Alice’s story was to be continued, but unfortunately, EA strikes again and rejects the game. It has made many people upset, including myself. 

I, personally, will still hold some hope that one day, maybe, EA will accept to fund it under someone else, as McGee has retired from video game development as a whole. Though, with how the company has been, it is highly unlikely. Unless they get some major backlash.