Alice:
Madness Returns Review
(Multi-Platform)

“Memories must be strictly managed,” the doctor tells me. "Unproductive ones must be eliminated. Go to Wonderland.”

But my Wonderland is broken. I am Alice. I have been down the rabbit hole, had tea with the Mad Hatter and gazed through the looking-glass. I have combated devilish machinations and held court with the Queen. My Wonderland is in ruin, but I will save my sanity.

The doctor wants me to forget, but I want to remember. I glide through lavish scenery, both breathtaking and horrifying. I navigate lava-filled factories that grind and crush; explore the depths of the ocean and knock at the queen’s front door. The more I remember, the more grotesque my world becomes. It transforms from the mildly off-putting to the truly horrendous. I seek answers from familiar faces; the Hatter, the Caterpillar, even the Queen herself, but each one seems to send me only further into madness. But as the madness comes, so does the clarity. I will remember what happened to my family, discover what it was that shattered my life, and I will have my revenge.

I search corridors and chasms to uncover the secrets of my past. I discover fragmented memories, each piece a tiny fraction of a giant puzzle. The puzzle is my mind, and Wonderland is the key. I use my abilities: jumping and gliding, triggering switches and uncovering hidden paths. I shrink my body to discover secrets; places hiding both in dark corners and in plain sight. When small, the world is revealed to me, hidden messages and invisible platforms glowing brightly, each one delivering me to another sliver of sanity. It can be difficult at times, but rarely frustrating. Sometimes I fall, bursting into a cloud of butterflies that symbolize my demise. I try again, leaping through the world my mind has built around me. I land, a sprawl of floating platforms and shifting paths behind me. I am safe, but for a moment, as the denizens of Wonderland descend upon me.

I’ve not come back here looking for a fight. “That’s a pity,” the Cheshire Cat tells me, “one’s certainly looking for you.” So I fight. Horrible creatures and insidious manifestations stand in my way. I wield my blade and hammer and cannon with precision and might. I tear through the masses with quick strikes and calculated movements. I shower my enemies with firepower from afar, and tear them asunder when they reach my blade’s length. Each enemy is a puzzle, much like Wonderland itself. I combine my strikes, shifting attacks and movements to unlock my foes’ secrets. I enjoy it, feeling accomplished as I tackle each obstacle on my path. My mind may be in pieces, but in Wonderland I am strong.

My mind is a wondrous place, macabre as it may be. My path is complex and twisted, but I never feel lost, as if the nefarious world itself is guiding me along. My adventure is varied, a mixture of puzzles, platforms and combat. I see things that fill me with amazement and terror as I navigate this twisted world. Every setting and character I encounter is just familiar enough to remind me that this is my world. Sometimes it is arduous, fighting my way while navigating the shifting landscape. Each section of my Wonderland is beautiful and hideous, but my time there sometimes begins to drag on. I begin to feel tired making the same old jumps and slaying countless faceless enemies. I am exhausted; will this nightmare ever end?

Thankfully, the end comes. As each section of the nightmare begins to feel stale, I unlock a piece of my mind and fall further into madness. A new world takes the place of the old, and the fascination and horrific wonder of new lands captures my attention again. I march forward, driven by the conviction to discover the truth and uncover the secrets of Wonderland. My enemies are varied just enough that only by the end of my journey—when all that poses a threat is merely a multitude of familiar foes—does slaying my enemies grow old.

My time in Wonderland is a fond experience, horrendous as the circumstances may be. The madness consumes me, but I embrace it, mastering the chaos. My story is compelling, a murder mystery wrapped in insanity and split down the middle by a bloody knife. Droves of creatures lie in my wake, the twisted Wonderland of my mind defeated. One day I will return to this place, experience its mystical dread and crush my enemies again. I conquered Wonderland; I took back my sanity and I have had my revenge.

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Alice: Madness Returns was developed by Spicy Horse and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is available for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Bo Moore is Paste’s Assistant Games Editor, where he writes about games, music and other various awesome things. He can be found on Twitter @bom351.

Watch the trailer for Alice: Madness Returns: