Alice: Madness Returns - The Complete Collection

I've put time into a lot of action-platformers that try to sell themselves on atmosphere, and most of them coast on visuals while letting the actual play feel go slack. Alice: Madness Returns gets closer to the balance than most, but not without some real frustrations worth knowing about before you buy. At its core, this is a third-person action-platformer set across five chapters that alternate between a grimy Victorian London and a fractured, corrupted Wonderland. The Wonderland sections are where the game earns its reputation. Each chapter drops you into a wildly distinct visual theme - from a steampunk nightmare to a warped underwater world - and Alice changes into a different dress for each one, a small touch that reinforces just how much care went into the art direction. Combat arms you with a small but characterful roster: the fast Vorpal Blade for quick melee, the heavy Hobby Horse for smashing through obstacles and armored enemies, the Pepper Grinder and Teapot Cannon for range. Teeth you collect from enemies function as currency to upgrade these weapons, which keeps you invested in fights rather than rushing past them. The shrink mechanic, triggered by the "Drink Me" potion, reveals hidden platforms and secret paths invisible to the naked eye - it is the game's smartest design idea and it still holds up. The Complete Collection version is the one to own on PC if you want the full picture. It bundles in the original American McGee's Alice remastered, the Weapons of Madness DLC with upgraded variants of every base weapon (the Knightmare version of the Hobby Horse restores health on hit, which changes combat feel meaningfully), and six additional collectible dresses. The standard edition on Steam does not include the original game on PC, so this collection has real value for series newcomers who want context. Where Madness Returns stumbles is pacing. Each chapter runs close to three hours, and the game has a habit of repeating its best tricks once or twice too many times before moving on. Platforming that feels fresh and inventive in the first hour of a chapter can feel like padding by the third. The collectible hunt - bottles that unlock concept art, pig snouts that open hidden paths when peppered, Radula Rooms that reward extra health - gives completionists plenty to chase, but honest players will find most of it optional filler rather than meaningful reward. Replay value after the credits is thin. That said, the audience fit here is fairly clear. If you respond to games that lead with a strong visual and narrative identity, and you can tolerate a platformer that occasionally overstays its welcome in individual chapters, Madness Returns delivers something that genuinely looks and feels unlike anything else in the genre. The voice acting is unsettling in exactly the right way, the soundtrack matches the deranged tone, and the story - a slow unraveling of what really happened to Alice's family - lands harder than critics at launch gave it credit for. Just pace yourself. Marathon sessions expose the seams.

Alex · Scout Team

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