THE GAMEPLAY

Madness returns is primarily a platformer but it also has combat, puzzle solving and a slew of mini games. Alice has a variety of movement abilities that she can use to get across the many platforms; jumping, twirling, floating and a quick dash can all be utilized to get through some very well designed levels that never feel unfair or too easy. In addition to these moves Alice can shrink down to the size of a mouse, this allows her to fit through hidden keyholes and see invisible platforms. One element that is mostly good fun but can be annoying are the blind jumps you will have to make, when Alice shrinks down hidden platforms are revealed but when she returns to full size in order to make the jump they quickly disappear which can make things exponentially more difficult. The platforming never gets too frustrating, when Alice fails a jump and falls into the abyss she will re spawn on the last large platform she was on and this creates a nice balance between accessibility and challenge. Combat is a big part of Alice and it is well done albeit none too deep. Alice has access to four weapons (the first two will be acquired in the opening chapters), there are two ranged weapons that act as a machine gun and grenade launcher as well as two melee weapons that work like a close ranged slasher and a hammer like weapon. The most inspired feature of these weapons is their design, while Madness Returns does have a shooter Esq machine gun like weapon it fits extremely well into the dark fantasy world. The combat is quite simple and features only a single combo for each weapon though you may seamlessly switch between the weapons mid combo and herein lays much of the combat strategy: using the right weapon at the right time. Many of the enemies are shielded and will require you to either dodge their attack or reflect a projectile back at them before you can expose their weak spot, the combat really gets interesting when handfuls of different enemies are thrown at you at the same time . Alice features a slew of mini games that are quite good and really bad; each chapter features a different mini game, sliding puzzles and chessboards are deathly boring and can thankfully be skipped but the 2 dimensional levels and sequences that have you piloting a ship like an old school shooter or rolling a head like super monkey ball are a lot of fun and I wish there had been more of these sequences. The biggest problem with madness returns is that while the mechanics are fun they can become extremely predictable and a little repetetive, none the less I had a lot of fun with Alice Madness Returns and would easily recommend it to fans of platformers and twisted fantasies.