Alice: Madness Returns

The overall quality of Alice: Madness Returns is high, despite it feeling rushed. The qualities that made American McGee's Alice so enjoyable-the gory hack-'n'-slash combat, the gorgeous design, the rich dialogue, the menacing mood-are present and abundant.

Alice: Madness Returns is a dream come true for me as a fan of American McGee's Alice. It's a worthy heir and at the same time a fully modern game that can vie with the best contemporary representatives of this genre. It's long, it's difficult, it's rewarding and enchanting – so far the game of the year for me. [July 2011, p.62]

It's not perfect, but it's as close to the definition of masterpiece as it could be. A thrilling and exciting adventure to the dark corners of Wonderland. [August 2011, p.83]

Alice: Madness Returns may not win awards for genre innovation, but it's the most darkly fun and gloriously batty game I've played since Psychonauts. I can't think of any higher praise.

Despite unrefined combat, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a fun, unforgettable journey in color, design, and images.

Combat is flawed, but does little to detract from the game's breathtaking depiction of lunacy. [Sept 2011, p.61]

Here is a game that uses metaphor and wit to weave a story in which a demented young girl does battle with robotic march hares. It may still gyre and gimble along the wabe, which stops it from being truly frabjous, but it's still brillig in its own right.

Alice: Madness Returns is a wolf in sheep's clothing. This game may look honest and cute, but it's cruel and bloody. Alice takes you to an another unforgettable experience in Wonderland. And if you didn't remember the first experience, then you get the opportunity to play the first game for free. Buy it, please.

Alice: Madness Returns should please fans of the original and newcomers alike. The game can feel a bit dated and tedious at times, but the incredibly dark Wonderland that American McGee has crafted is just begging to be explored.

Alice - Madness Returns is the kind of game that's retro in both a good sense and a bad: It's a tough game to beat, but lacks innovations and better graphics.

Everything feels dated and there's an unfinished, even hurried quality to the game that's more than a little disappointing. That doesn't mean there's a shortage of great moments or fantastic ideas, because Madness Returns has both in spades. It's just that the overall experience is bogged down by slow pacing, repetitive gameplay, and visuals that could've used a little more work.

Alice: Madness Returns is a living contradiction, an unholy union of incredible visual flair and ho-hum gameplay.

It has been great to enjoy a classic 3D platforming game. These sort of games have almost disappeared in this generation, except for mediocre movie adaptations. American McGee and his team have made a great game, fresh and charming.

As the title might suggest, Alice is maddening. Somewhere wrapped in a straightjacket and thrown in the dark recesses of Madness Returns is one of the best games of the generation. But it's floating amidst a sea of inadequacies that prevent it from reaching its true potential.

A platformer, a rare sight nowadays, has to be technically perfect, otherwise it shoots itself in the foot because this kind of gameplay is essentially repetitive. The same thing goes for the puzzles (too easy ) and fights. Still, the game catches you in its crazy universe enough so you really want to see if Alice remembers that faithful night and if it really was somebody else to blame or it was her that gave life to a criminal fantasy…

Alice: Madness Returns is a great example of an oldchool 3D platformer that most certainly won't appeal to most fans of fast action games. It's a game kind of from a different age. The only modern thing about it is having to look for hidden items.

The creativity put into this game is more than enough for three games, but behind the art there's not much diversity. But we still wanted to know how the story ends.

While Alice: Madness Returns has a number of problems, its artistic side and its genuine concept calls off the bad. This is a game that truly could have outshined American McGee's Alice with its interesting production values, but instead it leaves us slightly disappointed.

All in all, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a good sequel. Not superlative, but not a cheap knockoff. If topsy-turvy architecture, steampunk menaces, and Victorian psychotherapy tickle your geek itch, this is a title well worth playing.

Beautiful and rich fairy world is full of imaginative tasks and minigames. Excellent sound and visuals are spoiled by camera positioning and a weird checkpoint system but it should not discourage you from this interesting game. [July 2011]

A lot of jumping and a repetitive gameplay does not make only Alice go crazy.

Playing Alice: Madness Returns isn't as exciting as looking at it, but you'll still enjoy getting lost in this twisted fantasy adventure.

I'd have liked the adventure to have been trimmed of fat, the combat is at times extremely irritating, and the art design far exceeds the technical prowess on show, but at its core Alice: Madness Returns is an imaginative romp through a world that's clearly been designed by some incredibly creative minds.

What starts out as a promising romp through a demented Wonderland devolves into a few good ideas stretched across redundant gameplay. [July 2011, p.85]

A game that could have been a masterpiece, has some amazing and imaginative visuals, as well as a boring and repetitive gameplay. A pity.

For a story that talks of falling into lunacy, it's interesting that the game's quality matches the mind of its antagonist; Alice is a cracked mirror; you can see what it could have been, but you're stuck with what it is.

Through questionable level design, graphical inconsistency, and repetitive gameplay, I was pulled out of the experience more than I would have liked. Alice: Madness Returns is a memorable peek through a flawed looking glass.