Lotus Prince Let's Play: Alice - Madness Returns (Complete)!
Of course you’re mad. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
Alice: Madness Returns
Players: 1 Player Offline
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genres: Action, Adventure, Horror, Platformer
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genres: Action, Adventure, Horror, Platformer
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Developer: Spicy Horse
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: Spicy Horse
MSRP: $59.99
Madness Returns takes place eleven years after the events of its predecessor, the same amount of time between the two games' releases. Alice was released from Rutledge's Insane Asylum at the end of the original game, and now lives in Victorian London under the care of a psychiatrist, where the traumatic memories of her parents' deaths in a fire continue to haunt her.
Lotus Prince Let’s Play: Alice – Madness Returns (Complete)!
Posted By LotusPrince about 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Lotus Prince Let’s Play: Alice – Madness Returns (Complete)!, 
Here it is, everyone: the game that I’ve been waiting for for years! It is the sequel to the glorious game, American McGee’s Alice! It has been over ten years since the events of the first game, and while we may have thought that Alice was cured of what ails her, it still seems that her mind is not in pristine condition. Prepare for disturbing visions and unexpected adventures as Alice enters the dark recesses of her mind once again! In the literal sense, LET’S! GO! CRAZY!
This is a playlist! When the video loads, click to select the installment of your choice, or simply let them play continuously!
This is my 24th Let’s Play! Check out the rest of my videos here!
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Sage Reviews- Alice: Madness Returns
Well, at least it isn't Tim Burton's Alice: Madness Returns...
Alice: Madness Returns is AWESOME!
We're headed back down the gore-strewn rabbit hole in American's McGee's Second re-imagining of Alice's Wonderland! 
Alice: Madness Returns is AWESOME!
We’re headed back down the gore-strewn rabbit hole in American’s McGee’s Second re-imagining of Alice’s Wonderland!
Alice: Madness Returns Review
After over a decade of waiting, American McGee takes us down the rabbit hole another time, into his macabre and sinister vision of Wonderland. Is the trip worth your time and money?
Alice: Madness Returns Launch Trailer has Gameplay, Hysteria
I’m running out of ways to say “this trailer is bloody.”
Alice: Madness Returns To Come With Download of Original Game
If you haven’t played the original American McGee’s Alice – or perhaps you feel like playing through it again – you’ll finally have the chance to.
First Gameplay Trailer for Alice: Madness Returns
Spicy Horse and EA have let loose an insane trailer for their disturbing take on Alice in Wonderland entitled Alice: Madness Returns. So… much… stabbing….
GDC: Alice: Madness Returns Dated
It’s been quite a while since we’ve had the chance to explore American McGee’s horror-themed
Alice: Madness Returns is AWESOME!
We’re headed back down the gore-strewn rabbit hole in American’s McGee’s Second re-imagining of Alice’s Wonderland!
Alice: Madness Returns Launch Trailer has Gameplay, Hysteria
I’m running out of ways to say “this trailer is bloody.”
Alice: Madness Returns To Come With Download of Original Game
If you haven’t played the original American McGee’s Alice – or perhaps you feel like playing through it again – you’ll finally have the chance to.
First Gameplay Trailer for Alice: Madness Returns
Spicy Horse and EA have let loose an insane trailer for their disturbing take on Alice in Wonderland entitled Alice: Madness Returns. So… much… stabbing….
GDC: Alice: Madness Returns Dated
It’s been quite a while since we’ve had the chance to explore American McGee’s horror-themed
Alice: Madness Returns Review
Posted By Eli Cymet about 1 year, 11 months ago
Alice: Madness Returns Review
Lotus Prince Let’s Play: Alice – Madness Returns (Complete)!, 
Mid-way through one of the levels in Alice: Madness Returns, the Cheshire cat tells Alice that only a fool would mistake a painful experience for a worthwhile one. If this is true, then players of American McGee’s long-awaited return to Wonderland may find themselves feeling pretty foolish when all is said and done. The macabre action-platformer stretches its solid but unremarkable gameplay paper thin, and falls back on compelling visual design to carry the weight of its eventual tediousness. Take a trip down the rabbit hole with me to see how this game was late for a very important date with greatness.
| PROS | Strong concept, alluring visual design, enjoyable combat, solid platforming mechanics |
| CONS | Drags on, most good elements overstay their welcome, unambitious plot, item questing feels pointless |
| WTF?! | What banker is taking these teeth for money!?! |
Madness Returns returns players to the (wait for it!) madness of McGee’s Alice Liddell, for whom ten years have passed with no resolution to that whole “my family died in a massive fire” thing. Now – I know what you’re thinking! How self involved can you get, right!? My feelings exactly. Disagreeing with us all thoroughly, however, and still preoccupied as ever with her mysterious alternate universe, Alice once again lets go of reality and dives back into Wonderland, where she hopes to recover the repressed memories that psychiatrists would have her forget. From here, players are tasked with platforming their way across twisted Carollian vistas, where fighting Alice’s (literal) demons is the key to unlocking what she may know about her unfortunate past.
With such a compelling premise behind it, and the opportunity to really expand on a universe worth revisiting, the shame with Madness Returns is that it never quite walks the (Jabber) walk.
Certainly, the game delivers aesthetically, with McGee and the artists at Spicy Horse providing players with a well-crafted canvas that helps the story live and breathe. The great lighting design and cartoony grotesqueness of the sepia-tinted London setting clashes cleverly with the scenery of Wonderland, whose palpable phantasmagoria is at times a painterly feast for the eyes. Tying the whole thing together with darkly imaginative paper-collage interstitials, McGee well conveys the feeling of Alice’s trip back and forth between uninteresting reality and compelling madness in a search for buried truth.
Ouch, bad luck on that game of floating mind dice-jacks-domino-bubble.
But as with her cerebral home away from home, not all is right below the surface. At odds with the conceptually rich artistry is its lackluster implementation. Chapter by chapter, McGee’s unique worlds are made to feel uncharacteristically repetitive as initially varied scenery and set pieces are repeated to the point where they overstay their welcome. Graphically as well, there are times when the texturing and illustration in Madness Returns do no justice to the concept design. The often dark palette of Wonderland is rendered in a way that sometimes feels bland and muddied, while close attention to Alice’s surroundings reveals sloppily crafted objects and backgrounds.
More than a cursory engagement with the story of the game unearths a similar gap between the strength of McGee’s concept and that of its execution. Alice’s attempt to interrogate her own fractured mind starts off as a clever blend between what’s going on in Dickensian London, and its allegorical representation in Wonderland. Soon, however, the scenes above-ground function as little more than tonal rest stops, with chances to expand on the game’s cast of characters and create intricately linked narrative threads passed up. As a result, the story of Madness Returns feels unambitious and one-note – less like a cohesive package, and more like interwoven sections of platforming.
6/10
Sage Reviews- Alice: Madness Returns
Well, at least it isn't Tim Burton's Alice: Madness Returns... Alice: Madness Returns is AWESOME!
We're headed back down the gore-strewn rabbit hole in American's McGee's Second re-imagining of Alice's Wonderland!-
July 05, 2011 at 08:06pm
I just got this today and haven’t been able to stop playing. I really like this game and would recommend it to any platform fan. I would give this game a 7/10(so far) because it goes so heavy on the platforming. I think that’s why it feels like a PS2 game because most games these days incorporate alot of gameplay elements together rather than just focusing on one. Better review then other sites I’ve checked out. Also the inclusion of the dlc code for the first game was an awesome bonus.
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June 24, 2011 at 12:07pm
I’m enjoying this game well enough so far but what’s struck me the most about it is gameplay-wise… it feels like a Playstation 2 game. I mean the controls and everything are smooth but you’re just fighting baddies, collecting items, and making your way through very, very predictable, linear levels.
It feels like this PS2 game I played once called Kya: Dark Lineage. Or even a bit like a Zelda game (and I’ll get thumbed down for implying Zelda gameplay feels dated)
The art direction, however, is superb. Though the line delivery for most of the characters, including Alice is just… odd. It’s just a shame this game is behind the times.
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June 24, 2011 at 02:45am
I’m more or less past the halfway mark of this one and truth be told, the only gripe I have against it is that the poor thing literally screams on how unfinished it is.
I took a look at the extras and found bios and detailed information on characters that never appeared or at best had a corpse laid out somewhere. And from their bios, it made me think that at least at some point the game was meant to have you interact with them. I’d also put the fact here that bosses are hinted at throughout the levels, but resolved only in cutscenes and the glitchy textures.
All in all a shame, cause I’m REALLY enjoying the rest. Can’t say I regret my purchase at all. what I regret is the way they rushed the game out so very prematurely, because the game itself even seems to know it could be so much better than it is.
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June 23, 2011 at 10:26am
The game itself seems a tad mediocre judging from the review and I really have no substance to disagree, as it was a game I was interested in but not likely to actually play. That being said I would like to critique your review a bit here, one writer to another.
It’s wonderful to have a strong grasp of the vocabulary in any language but you may want to consider cutting back just a hair. It may seem silly but having too much of a good thing can most certainly become a bad thing. Rather than helping the flow of the article I find that it causes a lot of fragmenting as you read through it, briefly stopping the train of thought. They can be helpful as a spice, but sometimes simple can be far more nice given the nature of an article to be informative and analytical.
Other than that, nice review and thanks for the heads up on Alice ^_^
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June 23, 2011 at 09:11am
i just came back from the store with this game in my pocket. Can’t wait to try it out. Unfortunately I have to.
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June 22, 2011 at 11:02pm
I loved this game. (Windows Version) I really loved the story, I loved how the twist at the end didn’t trivialize the subject matter. I thought the level design was pretty good for the most part, and I didn’t have the problems some people claim they had with the play control. The atmosphere is awesome, The enemies are wild, I loved almost everything about this game. Obviously I can’t post an entire review here in the comments section, but I have to say I disagree. I will concede that there are a couple of sections that drag a little, and that some of the minigames could have been better. But I think this game is something everyone should experience. It even had an easter egg devoted to Tim Schafer!
All of that said I expected this to be a niche under the radar game. The original Alice had a similar vibe surrounding it in terms of conflicting criticism, and subterranean popularity. Epic Mickey on the Wii which also had a dark twist on an optimistic property seemed to suffer the same fate. Perhaps it’s something that doesn’t appeal to critics. I don’t know. But I loved every minute of this game, and I hope it does well. -
June 22, 2011 at 11:15pm
I’ll reply to you, though Mystic Knight and any others who may disagree should look here as well: I’m extremely glad you guys are responding with a diverse set of opinions! I think that the great part about BT is the myriad of reviewers we often get covering a same game, and when that isn’t the case, I think the readers deserve to stand in as surrogate second opinions, taken every bit as seriously as the actual review. Given the time spectrum allotted to review new titles, perhaps many critics felt reviewer’s fatigue when it came to playing Alice in long stretches? (With that said, I varied my play style during the week I took it on to try and see if that changed my opinion of the platforming sections – for me personally, it did not). To reiterate, I think all the trimmings of this title were spectacularly done, and felt endeared enough to it as a result of its flare and ambition as a game to stay invested. My score was delivered on the basis of the feeling that the implementation of its ambitions is such that the title doesn’t hold up as more than a solid, enjoyable rental. Solid and enjoyable nonetheless, but brought down (for me) to levels below what I what consider a must-buy. The “Try It Out” rating felt appropriate, therefore, as I felt the best route to go with this game was to see if its positive elements were enough to sway you personally towards wanting to invest long term in the world created. For me, attempting to review it in the most relevant way possible for a mass audience, I stick by my guns.
Again, though, none of that is said with any anamosity! On the contrary, I was hoping to offer some insight as to my score, and perhaps the scores of other critics out there. I am *so* glad you guys have taken the time to articulate yourselves in detail, to offer great second opinions. Keep em’ coming guys!
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June 22, 2011 at 11:44pm
Well we agree to disagree. I honestly meant no disrespect, and I’m not enraged at anyone for not liking Alice 2. I just notice that like Alice 1, and Epic Mickey there seems to be a divide. It’s just one of those games someone who uses a site like Gamerankings or Metacritic may pass on when seeing a low number (As I type this it’s a 75 which isn’t too shabby in my opinion but to some that may be too low). But if said person saw the threads over on NeoGaf they’ed swear Alice 2 would be averaging 90. (Not that I like aggregate sites. Someone on BT may want to tackle that ongoing debate sometime.) In any event, thanks for replying. It’s refreshing to find a site where reader /fan opinion be it posiitive or negative is regarded so highly.
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June 22, 2011 at 05:14pm
*Slaps forehead*
I really don’t understand with the reviews with Alice. The amount of fun that I had with it doesn’t go with this score!
I’m not bashing on the review! In fact I agree with allot of reviews on this site. I just must be part of that small percentage of players that didn’t even notice the bad things. (Although the lack of boss fights was disappointing.)
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June 22, 2011 at 07:39pm
Wait what? No boss fights? As in you don’t fight a single boss? Are you serious? In a game based on a series filled with fantastic and colorful characters there aren’t any boss fights?
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June 22, 2011 at 03:06pm
You know, when I mentioned months ago that the Alice stories were being done ad nauseam with little new I didn’t expect this to be the final product.
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June 22, 2011 at 11:16am
I went and got this game brand new last week, and it’s not that bad of a game. I’ve played worse. (I’m looking at you, Clive Barker’s Jericho and Megaman X 7.) Anyway, I played the first Alice game and I have to say I liked the first one better.
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June 21, 2011 at 07:42pm
If it counts, enough people have told me that my REGULAR verse is nonsense verse for me to believe it.
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June 21, 2011 at 09:55am
My thoughts exactly… looks & smells like a AAA title, but substancially, it’s just above average !
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Lotus Prince Let's Play: Alice - Madness Returns (Complete)!
Of course you’re mad. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
Alice: Madness Returns is AWESOME!
We’re headed back down the gore-strewn rabbit hole in American’s McGee’s Second re-imagining of Alice’s Wonderland!
Alice: Madness Returns came out of nowhere and surprised me. I had never been a PC player, thus I missed out on American McGee’s Alice. I snatched up a copy due to the stunning art I saw in the game, despite some tepid reviews out there, and I was prepared to say I paid for a console version of the original game and got a bonus sequel…
…And, granted, I DID like American McGee’s original Alice (A LOT), and it was just as good as I had heard… but Madness Returns took it to a whole different level for me. It was dripping with stunning art, intricate design, and layers upon layers of symbolism. It controlled like a dream, fast and responsive. I quickly attuned myself to everything from dodging to triple-jumping to chaining combo attacks with ease, something I struggled with in the original Alice.
The musical score continues to haunt me, from the menu theme to the melancholy lullabies of the Vale of Tears to the somber piano of Radcliffe’s fate.
Couple that with a story that is both dark, mature, yet respectful of the source material. I groan whenever I hear people claim the game is just a dark, edgy, bloody version of Alice. Rather, it’s an interpretation, and a bold, sophisticated, and truly adult one, tackling issues ranging from suicide, insanity, rape, personal identity, murder, pedophilia, prostitution, alcoholism, greed and capitalism, depression, survivor’s guilt, and many others… and all are handled in a manner both blunt yet honest and sincere.
To me, Alice: Madness Returns became “that game” that clicked with me that year, that game that brought me something I feared I’d never see again: a brilliant platformer with a thought-provoking story with stunning visuals, music, combat, variety, and replayability. I collected every bottle, every memory, every tooth, unlocked every weapon, costume, gallery, character, and Xbox achievement, and I STILL yearn for more.
It’s a game we don’t see often enough. It has its flaws (I felt it dragged in the Sea and Doll worlds, and I do long for boss fights like the original), but in almost every regard I find it an improvement over the original, taking a bold step forward with its characters and its own interpretation of a universe we all thought we knew. It is tragic yet resolute, marred yet beautiful, flawed but inspired… much like Alice herself.
We’ll probably not get a game like American McGee’s Alice or Madness Returns again, or it’ll probably be quite the wait. A single-player, offline platformer with an emphasis on emotional trauma and psychology, in an age where Call of Duty is king and multiplayer is a mandate for every game? It’s madness, right?
And that’s precisely why I loved Alice… because it was mad enough to do it anyway, and both Alice and I aren’t who we used to be after the adventure was through. “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then…”
Yeah, this game really did the original justice, and I thought that that would be impossible. Personally, I felt that the sea and Mysterious East levels dragged the most, but the art design was absolutely incredible for every level, and I haven’t been tricked into believing that illusions were real to this degree since Eternal Darkness, and that came out a full decade ago!
This game didn’t quite have the gameplay appeal of the first one, and a lack of weapon variety, enemy variety and bosses, but when I realized that I actually USED all four weapons in this game, unlike all nine weapons in the first game, and when I realized that the enemies and (lack of) bosses were actually intentional choices in order to cater to the story, my respect for the game grew immensely. Well done, American McGee. VERY well done.
I love the ambience of these games… Its dark and gritty and can sometimes f*ck with your mind…
Especially in the last level’s later areas, and the results of the carpenter’s work in level 2. Ouch.
I just love this game and its predecessor. Ok, it has flaws, a bit of clunky controls, but it looks so amazing and the story itself is great. I got really baffled at the ending…like, I myself could not tell real and imaginary apart.
It´s the best re-imagining of Alice(along with the original game of course), and it´s a really fun LP to watch. Got really disapointed at Tim Burton for not taking this road, but hey, to each his own I guess. =D
Yeah, while I do like the first game better because of its weapon variety, alternate fire, lack of invisible walls, and platforming without endless expanses of nothing, this still is a very solid game in its own right, and its story definitely works.
i never really finished the game i got to the part where the doc was a pedophile and i said umm no not finishing it. Oh spoilers i guess
Too bad; you were just about at the end.
Considering what a freaking creep Lewis Carroll was and how more and more “suspicion” keeps popping up against the “He was just friends with all those 8-13 year old girls!” defense……….
Really helps add in more “define it yourself” symbolism from McGee.
But yeah, the game can be frustrating, but it’s still a fun platformer with something they almost never have, an entertaining story.
Yeah, it was a little creepy with his poem of the girls with him, near the pond.
And yeah, the game sacrificed boss fights for story, and I honestly respect that.
Does the person in that 4th video’s title card remind anyone else of Linkara? Also, great job Lotus Prince. I’ve been enjoying a lot of your LPs so far. This is one game I’ve been meaning to check out for a while.
Yeah, some people definitely noticed the Linkara thing. Of course, it’s more of an English gentleman look, but hey.
Thanks a lot for your support!