Alice: Madness returns continues the story from the original American McGee’s Alice by EA games. It brings the same twisted story telling as its previous installment. This psychological horror game is enough to give you chills. Played in a third-person perspective, you will visit different parts of Alice’s mind and battle her long forgotten fears.

You play as Alice Liddell, free of the insanity from the first game and trusting herself to be cured of her past experiences of horror and doubt. The beginning of the game shows through reoccurring hallucinations, the wonderland Alice knew to be just as demented as she left it if not worse. To help forget the experiences of her house burning down, her psychiatrist Dr. Bumby tries to coax her into becoming a blank slate to be sold and molested for a profit. Over the course of the game you will confront different fears and corrupted wonderland characters until you learn more of the plot to defeat the source of her suffering. The story telling is very good and if you enjoy twisted themes, you will be strongly drawn to experience more. Sadly, the gameplay hinders this advantage greatly.

Gameplay is fun but repetitive. As you go through the beginning levels you will acquire different weapons used to progress in each world. There are many aspects to this game such as side scrolling platforming, side scrolling mini games, piece collecting in respect to story progress, and of course, 3D plat forming. Downside to this is it gives a feeling of pointlessness. While it is fun the first few times, the rest of the worlds are the same but with a different look. Although they mix it up, players might get tired the jump, glide, jump, collect, jump again, glide again routine. You can upgrade your weapons multiple times to increase damage and alter the appearance of them as well, but this only goes so far as the battles you use the weapons in seem repetitious as well. Battles usually consist of the same card zombies, tea pots, and goo-like enemies. With the occasional mini boss or two, and flying goo-monsters, this isn’t enough to sustain constant enjoyment.

Controls are standard for any plat former. They respond well and are accurate as well as customizable. There are also different abilities mapped to each button such as dodging, triple jumping, a near death invincibility mode, and the basic Vorpal Blade attack. The sound does not delay as they match up with actions as you jump and glide. Audio is very enjoyable to hear. The soundtracks match each level appropriately and the voiceovers are done well for each character making it a great game to listen to. Visuals are what make this game shine aside from the in depth story, not the graphics as these are standard and do not fail to be a convincing installment. The environments are vivid and imaginative as you traverse them though some may seem bland and lazily put together. Not all shine, but ones that do, happen to impress.

Considering this was a next-gen sequel with possible potential, it is very repetitious and lacks a sense of effort in its gameplay. While some creepy and tranquil vistas put you in the shoes of Alice herself and are simply gorgeous, the others seem to be again, lazily pieced together just looking to take up time and space. The unlockabale costumes with attached effects and original game included  in this title do add credibility. Though there are plot twists and many intriguing parts of the story to cling onto, the focus just feels out of place and not spread evenly. While the battles will keep you busy between platforming sequences, both feel repetitious and you’ll soon be playing to only see more of the story – not for the overall enjoyment of each individual sequence. If this is your thing, then go ahead. Otherwise be prepared for an unevenly developed game.

7/10