Intro:
The truth about sanity is that it’s a fickle thing. A moment so detrimental, so life altering can happen that sets into motion a whirlwind of changes that make you question your surroundings, your psyche even the people around you. Wonderland in this game is no longer a place of dreams, instead, a place of nightmares. Alice in Wonderland turned into a game is the best thing to happen for this story. It got a dark, psychological, and true to the nature of the story creation, that aligns perfectly with the original story and its undertones. Playing Alice, the Madness returns was a thrilling ride that left me speechless in more ways than one.
Gumdrops and Madness:
It's as if Lemony Snicket and Tim Burton had a baby when Alice: Madness Returns came out. Not only with the art style, but with the playful darkness that envelops Alice throughout the game. The psychology that was always present in the stories of Alice In Wonderland came to the forefront where Alice’s mind is the problem that she is constantly fighting against, the main instance being hypnosis therapy by her psychologist. Wonderland is in ruin, and Alice is the only one that can heal it.
Her Mind Is a Wonderland:
During my time with this game, it went from, “this game is really interesting”, to “this is getting kind of morbid” to “I never realized Alice in Wonderland was in need of repair.” There are a lot of points of intrigue with this game that make me wonder, “since when was Alice in wonderland this dark?” Spoiler alert, it was always this dark. Wonderland was always in ruin because it was always a part of Alice, it was her escape. Now in this game, for the first time, I feel as if it's being vocalized just how miserable, and not ok Alice actually is.
At the end of the game, Wonderland is back to its original glory because the person who pained and mentally tortured her is dead, but in reality, Wonderland will never be healed, and we see that through the Cheshire Cat Alice’s only dose of reality. The mad hatter we see at the start of the game is Alice's enabler, and his longing for “teatime” (a mental comfort, for things to remain the same) ends up being his demise. This was really smart to make each character from Alice and wonderland a warped version of themselves, to match Alice’s warped mentality.
The Mechanics Didn’t Impress me:
The mechanics are the only negative I have about this game. They were borderline impossible to work with. They made the gameplay extremely tricky, and annoying. The puzzles, which were supposed to be easy were made more difficult than need by terribly control work. I don’t even want to imagine how it would be on nightmare mode with several enemies cornering you and controls that flip you the bird at every turn. From the annoying glide of the pepper grinder to the jump mechanic being a little to trigger happy for my taste. Oh, you wanted to jump, I’m sorry I thought you meant catapult. Either the jump mechanic is really aggressive or too subtle and it was extremely annoying. Then again, this game did come out in 2011, so maybe it was better on PS3 than it is now.
We’re All Mad Here:
Alice: Madness Returns exceeded my expectations of a game based on the beloved story. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite story and am in utter joy at how this game was given such a deep, dark, psychological essence. From the start of the game having a psychologist practicing hypnotherapy to learning that the same psychologist was the cause of your thoughts changing, your family’s death and your wonderland crumbling. Alice: Madness Returns is a horror game that knows its audience, with a gripping story, morbid topics and a fresh perspective on Alice and her hellscape.
This game brings to life the classic tale in a way that has never been done before, telling a more realistic version of the wonderland that we all know. In the end, our mind is our own playground, each one different from the other, each one playing a different game. In the case of Alice, I believe she was always in wonderland escaping from the madness that life had brought her. What she failed to realize is that no matter where she goes, we’re all mad here.
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