After a long period spent in the Rutledge asylum, Alice is now entrusted to society, still followed by a psychiatrist because of her many troubles relating to the death of her parents. Destroyed in the flames, her family haunts the young girl and prevents her from finding a balance. Still not knowing whether or not she is responsible for this tragedy, she will be forced to return to the desolate lands of the universe she herself created. A progression in the depths of his mind which articulates in parallel with his investigations in the "real" world of an almost ghostly London. Two difficult, violent worlds in which an escape seems totally out of place. A bitter observation that will not slow down Alice in her obsession with truth, slashing her way with a butcher's knife, finding no resistance except creatures as grotesque as they are dangerous. A blood-red introspection that breaks the limits of reality but also of time. Because the rabbit that Alice is following has rather the hands of his watch that are lagging.
This is madness !
At a time when others are emerging from the 90s, through opportunistic remakes, Alice: Madness Returns goes the opposite way and seeks efficiency in the end-of-life 3D action platformer of the PSone and the great era of the PS2. In a genre that struggles to exist apart from the Ratchet & Clank series which is just beginning to fade, Spicy Horse's playing has this particular feeling which oscillates between immediate pleasure and frustration, creating a hook that was found in the beginnings of the Jak & Daxter series. The progression could not be simpler and can be summed up by the triptych of platforms, button to activate, combat. A model which will not necessarily appear in this order but which will each time include these three parts for a very agreed whole. Alice: Madness Madness does not revolutionize the platform/action nor does it claim to do so. But the strength of Spicy Horse's game lies in having managed to capture what precisely makes the genre captivating. Despite a very calm introduction, precision quickly sets in and then requires the player to rediscover old-fashioned reflexes and distance assessment, when panic suddenly mixes with doubt in a rather rapid series of obstacles. . In this, the game is very well regulated and offers many precise passages that are part of a level-design that is both exciting and pleasant. The various levels indeed open onto several alternative paths leading to special items - not always well hidden - but which at least encourage the player to consider different paths. The advance is made logically with a controlled placement of the progression indices, all served by interesting ideas such as the invisible platforms which only appear when Alice shrinks and then gradually disappear, forcing you to memorize their location. Or even the use of the young girl's ability to hover, literally, which gives an airy feeling that is not very reassuring while being exhilarating. Two aspects that highlight the valuation of risk which is an important element of gameplay, whether in acrobatics or combat.
At a time when others are emerging from the 90s, through opportunistic remakes, Alice: Madness Returns goes the opposite way and seeks efficiency in the end-of-life 3D action platformer of the PSone and the great era of the PS2."
Based on the search for the pattern of each enemy, each with a particular weak point, the clashes of Alice: Madness Returns often require the player to approach the enemy rather than camp on their positions from a distance. Admittedly, Alice has a pepperbox/submachine gun and a teapot-cannon that are very useful for keeping flying enemies at bay and for harassing the most resistant, but the majority of duels will end in hand-to-hand combat with great blows from the Vorpal Blade or Broom-Horse. Dramatically removing roses from Alice's life gauge, enemy attacks can be avoided by dodging turning her into a swarm of butterflies. Vital, this movement gives a very pleasant dynamism to the fights, even if the tamping remains effective once his weapons are at a high level. Likewise, it's a shame that certain well-thought-out subtleties, such as using the Rabbit-Bomb as a decoy, work for a large part of the enemies, removing some diversity in the approach to a duel. A kind of systematism which, like the notion of risk, does not stop at the fights and affects the structure of the game as a whole. For each find, each breath, Spicy Horse can't help but use it to the very end, even if it means making it indigestible. Breaking the habit with a nice passage in 2D platforms in a paper cut style is ingenious, doing it three times in a row becomes a habit again. A damaging problem that softens a good number of levels, however well designed in absolute terms. Especially since the camera sometimes has trouble getting under Alice's feet, making passages more difficult than they should be. The pleasure of the game is in fact experiencing some heavy falls, partly overtaken by sudden strokes of genius and above all an exceptional atmosphere.
Wonderful Land
Faithful to the original work of Lewis Caroll in the scenes interpreted by the various characters, in however much darker and tortured, Alice: Return to the land of madness is of a very great coherence in terms of functioning in mirror of reality and dream. The traumas, violence and frustrations experienced by Alice in her daily life materialize in Wonderland, thematized by what she saw, what she heard just before sinking. Like this passage in a universe à la Okami after having contemplated Japanese prints in the corridor of the lawyer in charge of the case of the disappearance of Alice's family. Surprising and fine, the transitions between the two worlds always leave a kind of uneasiness that does not get better with certain apocalyptic visions. Despite a generally dated engine, Spicy Horse's game offers sublime settings, artistically speaking. Alice: Return to the land of madness is a beautiful game, refined even in the choice of colors, in a deep respect for the inspirations used. Like Psychonauts in its time, the game suffers from clearly visible imperfections, from a certain redundancy based on good ideas. But by its efficiency and its fascinating universe, it manages to tickle the attention, to awaken this buried interest for platform/action games which, on classic bases, have something to tell. And here is a great story.
