Info about Alice: Madness Returns:

Official game description:
  
Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice’s family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum, where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release—yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event.  
With her mind in tatters, she is unable to resolve the fear prompted by her strange memories, dreams, and visions. Perhaps she’ll do better in Wonderland. She always has. She travels there, seeking what the “real” world can’t provide: security, knowledge, and the truth about the past. But in her absence, Wonderland too has suffered. Something has gone horribly wrong, and now a great evil is descending upon what once was her beautiful refuge. Can Alice save Wonderland—and herself—from the madness that consumes them both?  
Key Features:
-------------
**Intense 3rd person action:**  
*   Use multiple upgradeable melee weapons, including the explosive Teapot Cannon, the punishing Hobby Horse, and the classic Vorpal Blade.  
**Explore a dark and shattered Wonderland:**  
*   Encounter familiar but now strange characters, including the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar and the Red Queen.  
**Magical abilities:**  
*   Obtain peculiar abilities in Wonderland such as floating with Alice’s dress, shrinking, or growing to towering sizes in order to crush enemies.  
**Interactive puzzles:**  
*   Intuitive and rewarding puzzles such as transforming obstacles, musical memories, chess, and picture blocks.

Release date: Jun 17, 2011

Categories: Third-Person Perspective, Platformer, Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash, Puzzle Solving, Horror, Exploration

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 20; verdict: Mild Monetization Concerns; summary: The game has notable issues with DLC content accessibility and delivery, which affects the user experience. While the game itself is praised for not having microtransactions, there are recommendations to purchase additional content or subscribe to services for a better experience. This suggests a reliance on DLC and subscriptions for full enjoyment of the game.
- Mods: score 40; verdict: Buggy but Playable; summary: The game has significant performance and optimization issues that require community patches to run smoothly. While some users report crashes even after applying these patches, others find the game playable with the help of unofficial fixes. Additionally, there are suggestions for quality-of-life improvements through mods, which are not critical but enhance the gaming experience.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Technical Improvements; summary: The game 'Alice: Madness Returns' receives praise for its overall quality but is plagued by significant technical issues, including crashes and display problems. Users also report difficulties with finding collectibles and understanding the game without external guides. These issues collectively detract from the otherwise positive experience.
- Proton/Linux: score 20; verdict: Works Well with Minor Issues; summary: The game generally runs well on Linux with Proton, as indicated by multiple positive reviews. However, there are some performance issues and control problems reported by users, which may require attention to improve the overall experience.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback for the game reveals several key issues impacting the overall experience. Control issues are a significant problem, with many users reporting unresponsive or misconfigured controls, particularly on PC. Framerate issues are also notable, with the game locked at 30 FPS, which is considered low by modern standards. Launcher and DRM issues, particularly related to the defunct Origin platform, pose a barrier to entry for some users. Despite these issues, the game is reported to play well on the Steam Deck, indicating good compatibility with this platform. Additionally, various bugs and errors, including crashes and lag, are frequently mentioned, further detracting from the gaming experience.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: The game performs well on lower-end hardware with less than 8GB VRAM, but struggles significantly on higher-end systems with 12-15GB VRAM due to frequent crashes and technical issues.
  - Sample size: 39 (1% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM (positive, 25 reports): The game generally runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware, with only a few reports of crashes and performance issues.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (negative, 6 reports): The game frequently crashes and has significant technical problems, despite the high-end hardware.
  - Caveats: 39 of 5777 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $1.00 - $3.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence shows that the community generally finds the game worth buying, especially when it is on sale. Many users mention that the game is worth it at a discounted price of around $1-3 USD. Some users also mention that the full price of $10 USD is reasonable, but the consensus leans towards the lower end of the price spectrum due to frequent sales and the game's age.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 20.0h
  - Story completion: 15.0h
  - Session length: 0.3h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several key insights into the playtime metrics for 'Alice: Madness Returns.' The first quote highlights a specific level sequence that takes around 10 minutes, indicating a typical session length. The second quote mentions spending almost an hour on the opening scene, suggesting that players might spend significant time on individual sections, especially if they encounter difficulties. The third quote discusses reaching 100% completion and having to replay parts to collect missed items, implying a substantial investment of time for full game completion. The final quote mentions a player's experience of being in awe throughout the entire game, suggesting a lengthy and engaging playthrough for story completion.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game has a slow start due to repetitive tasks and technical issues, but it becomes more enjoyable once players get past these initial hurdles and appreciate the story and unique art style.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Appreciation of the story and unique art style
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Repetitive gameplay; Technical issues; Slow pacing; Bothersome map design
  - Unlock drivers: Story depth; Unique art style
  - Conditions: Patience to overcome initial repetitive tasks; Appreciation for gothic, edgy themes; Interest in deep narratives
- Player Archetypes:
  - Story-First Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: Narrative and artistic immersion
    - Playstyle: Explores the game's story and art, often replaying to fully experience the narrative.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Story lover; Art enthusiast
    - Reference games: BioShock; Tim Burton's films; Return to Oz
  - Nostalgic Supporter (buy)
    - Motivation: Support for developers and nostalgia
    - Playstyle: Plays the game to relive past experiences and support the developers, often engaging in modding.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Franchise fan; Modder
    - Reference games: American McGee's Alice; Alice's Warped Wonderland
  - Budget-Conscious Gamer (sale)
    - Motivation: Value for money
    - Playstyle: Plays the game to enjoy its content while being mindful of budget constraints.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Budget gamer; Sale hunter
    - Reference games: None specifically mentioned
  - Critical Completionist (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Game completion with critical perspective
    - Playstyle: Plays the game critically, often pointing out flaws and suggesting improvements.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Critical player; Completionist
    - Reference games: None specifically mentioned


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Immersive atmosphere and story (weight 0.46): The game offers a dark and immersive reimagining of Wonderland with a rich, emotional storyline. The atmosphere is described as dark, twisted, and beautiful.
- Stunning visual and artistic design (weight 0.46): The game features amazing art direction, beautiful visuals, and impressive graphics. The artistic style and level design are consistently praised for their excellence and creativity.
- Engaging and fun gameplay (weight 0.36): Players find the game extremely fun and enjoyable, with delightful gameplay mechanics. The game is described as a great time to play and a wonderful experience overall.
- Satisfying combat mechanics (weight 0.21): The combat system is noted for being good, satisfying, and enjoyable. Players appreciate the responsive and fast-paced combat mechanics.
- Unique and detailed level design (weight 0.11): The game features unique, detailed, and immersive level design. The creative and challenging levels are well-designed and visually impressive.
- Excellent voice acting (weight 0.11): The voice acting in the game is highly praised for its quality, especially the Spanish voice acting, which is described as enjoyable and exceptional.
- Appealing to Alice in Wonderland fans (weight 0.1): The game is recommended for fans of the Alice in Wonderland story, offering a grungy and different take on the classic tale with beautifully illustrated environments.
- High attention to detail (weight 0.08): The game is noted for its intricate details and the effort put into making it interesting and exciting. Players appreciate the attention to detail in various aspects of the game.
- Fantastic character design (weight 0.08): The characters in the game are well-written and designed, with players expressing their love for the character designs and the overall presentation of the characters.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive gameplay elements (weight 0.27): The game is criticized for its repetitive nature, particularly in puzzles, combat, and platforming sequences. This repetitiveness makes the gameplay feel monotonous and boring over time.
- Game plagued by bugs (weight 0.21): The game is reported to have numerous bugs that significantly affect gameplay, making it unplayable at times. These bugs range from control and menu issues to specific problems with mechanics like the umbrella.
- Key binding issues (weight 0.12): Players have encountered various problems with key bindings, including the inability to remap keys and bindings not working correctly, which affects the overall gaming experience.
- Long and tedious levels (weight 0.11): Some levels in the game are criticized for being excessively long with little meaningful content, making them feel tedious and unpleasant.
- Sequel cancellation (weight 0.1): Players are disappointed by the cancellation of the sequel, which leaves the story incomplete and the trilogy unfinished.
- Performance issues (weight 0.1): The game suffers from performance issues such as stutters, lag, and choppy gameplay, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Camera and control issues (weight 0.1): The lock-on camera and controls can be frustrating and finicky, affecting the overall smoothness and enjoyment of the game.
- Loading screen issues (weight 0.07): Players have reported issues with loading screens, including infinite loading times, which can be frustrating and disrupt the flow of the game.
- Poor PC optimization (weight 0.07): The PC port of the game is criticized for being poorly optimized, with various issues affecting performance and gameplay.
- Lack of save points (weight 0.06): The game is criticized for having infrequent checkpoints and no manual saving option, which can be inconvenient for players.
- Unchallenging puzzles (weight 0.05): Puzzles in the game are noted for being not challenging and monotonous, which can make them boring and repetitive.
- Criticism of EA (weight 0.05): There is criticism directed at EA for their lack of support and love for the game, which has left players feeling disappointed.
- Disjointed narrative (weight 0.05): The narrative of the game is criticized for being disjointed and relatively uninteresting, which affects the overall storytelling experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Platformer with horror elements (weight 0.18): The game combines platforming challenges with horror elements, creating a unique blend of action and adventure. Players can expect puzzles and various platforming mechanics.
- Seamless combat and exploration (weight 0.16): Combat is highlighted as a strong point, blending seamlessly with exploration. The combat system is varied and includes different weapons and mechanics.
- Third-person action-adventure gameplay (weight 0.14): The game features third-person action-adventure mechanics with a strong emphasis on story-driven gameplay. It also includes elements of hack 'n' slash combat and platforming.
- Puzzle-solving elements (weight 0.13): The game includes a variety of puzzles and secrets in every level, adding depth to the gameplay. However, some puzzles may be considered simple or too easy.
- Exploration and collecting (weight 0.1): Players can enjoy straightforward exploration and a collectibles system, adding to the game's depth and replayability.
- Twisted Alice in Wonderland story (weight 0.08): The game presents a gothic and macabre adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, exploring a traumatized version of the character and her hallucinations.
- Hack and slash combat (weight 0.07): The game features hack and slash elements, providing a dynamic combat experience alongside platforming challenges.
- Chapter-based gameplay (weight 0.07): The game is structured into six chapters, each with different biomes, costumes, environments, enemies, and mechanics.
- Different enemy types (weight 0.05): The game features a range of enemy types, each requiring different combat approaches and strategies.
- Platforming mechanics (weight 0.05): The game includes various platforming abilities and mechanics, such as jumping, turning, and running.
- Variety of mini-games (weight 0.05): The game includes a variety of mini-games, providing additional content and diversions from the main gameplay.
- Moderate difficulty level (weight 0.05): The game's difficulty level is considered moderate, not too high, making it accessible to a wide range of players.

Performance notes:
- Technical issues and bugs (weight 0.12): Players frequently report various technical issues and bugs affecting the gameplay experience. These issues range from general technical shortcomings to specific performance problems.
- 30 FPS lock by default (weight 0.1): The game is locked at 30 FPS by default, which has been a common complaint among players. Many players have expressed a desire for an unlocked framerate.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.09): The game is reported to crash frequently, with some players experiencing constant crashes on PC. This issue significantly impacts the gameplay experience.
- Game fails to launch (weight 0.07): Some players have reported that the game stops launching or refuses to boot. This issue prevents players from accessing the game altogether.
- File editing for desired frame rate (weight 0.07): Players need to edit game files to achieve their desired frame rate, with instructions available for making these changes.
- Runs smoothly on weaker PCs (weight 0.06): Despite some performance issues, the game runs smoothly on weaker PCs and old notebooks with the correct settings. It does not require a high-end PC to run decently.
- Optimization issues (weight 0.04): The game is reported to have optimization issues, with players calling for more optimization to improve performance.
- Crashes when resuming or loading saves (weight 0.04): Players have experienced crashes when resuming the game or loading save files, which can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- PhysX settings causing crashes (weight 0.04): High PhysX settings have been identified as a cause of game crashes, affecting players who use these settings.
- Low initial frame rate (weight 0.04): Players have reported low frame rates initially, with some experiencing ongoing frame rate issues.
- Patches needed for graphics and performance (weight 0.04): Players have noted that patches are required to fix graphics and performance issues, indicating that the game may not be fully optimized at launch.

Recommendations:
- Recommended with conditions (weight 0.28): Many players recommend the game but with certain conditions, such as handling specific content or playing on particular platforms for better performance.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.17): The game is frequently praised and highly recommended by players for its unique and memorable experience, story, and atmosphere.
- Technical considerations (weight 0.15): Some players recommend the console version due to better optimization and suggest playing with a controller. There are also mentions of technical difficulties on PC.
- Community patches and guides (weight 0.12): Players recommend looking into community patches and guides to enhance the gaming experience, such as the Madness Patch on GitHub.
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.11): Several reviews suggest that the game is worth buying, especially if it is on sale, indicating that the price point is a significant factor for many players.
- Mixed recommendations (weight 0.1): Some players recommend the game despite its flaws, indicating a mixed but generally positive reception.
- Niche recommendations (weight 0.08): Various niche recommendations, such as playing related games or following specific community advice.
- Worth playing for specific tastes (weight 0.07): The game is recommended for players who enjoy atmospheric, psychological games, dark stories, puzzles, and interesting fights.
- Desire for more content (weight 0.05): There is a notable desire among players for more content, such as a remake or another game in the series.
- Artistic value (weight 0.05): The game is seen as an example of video games as an art form, appreciated for its unique artistic style and themes.
- Platform-specific recommendations (weight 0.03): Recommendations for playing the game on specific platforms like Steam Deck or using traditional Chinese patches.

Other player notes:
- Language patches available (weight 0.05): Players noted the availability of unofficial Korean and Russian language patches, with some patches available on GitHub.
- Creator's passion praised (weight 0.04): Reviewers appreciated the creator's passion and efforts put into the series.
- Health issues after playing (weight 0.04): Some players reported physical discomfort, including stomach issues and needing to visit a doctor after playing the game.
- Anticipation for in-game content (weight 0.02): Players expressed excitement about finding specific in-game content, such as the pig.
- Favorite game status (weight 0.02): Some reviewers stated that the game became their favorite.
- Control tips shared (weight 0.02): A specific tip for using an umbrella with DualShock controls was mentioned.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.31): Players are primarily frustrated with the game due to a multitude of technical issues, including frequent crashes, bugs, and performance problems. Additionally, gameplay mechanics such as combat, platforming, and repetitive content contribute to the frustration, along with specific issues like the umbrella bug and inconsistent controls.
- Joy (weight 0.12): Players experience joy from the game's engaging storyline, beautiful aesthetic, and overall enjoyable gameplay. The unique and beautiful worldview, combined with the game's atmosphere and combat, creates a fun and immersive experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.09): Players feel nostalgic due to revisiting a beloved childhood game, reminiscing about past experiences with the game on older consoles like Xbox and PS3. The game's enduring quality and the memories associated with playing it during their youth contribute to this sentiment.
- Disappointment (weight 0.09): Players are disappointed mainly due to the cancellation of the sequel, Alice Asylum, and the lack of support from EA. Technical issues, bugs, and performance problems also contribute to the disappointment, along with the absence of certain mechanics from the first game.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.08): Players enjoy the game for its unique and engaging gameplay mechanics, dark atmosphere, and compelling story. The variety of activities, solid combat, and enjoyable platforming elements contribute to the overall fun experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.08): Players admire the game's artistic style, visual direction, and bold themes. The detailed level design, character designs, and the game's ambitious plot are also highly appreciated, contributing to a sense of admiration for the game's overall quality and design.
- Appreciation (weight 0.07): Players appreciate the game's aesthetics, story, and artistic design. The attention to detail, psychological depth, and the game's unique mechanics and visuals are also highly valued, contributing to a strong sense of appreciation.
- Love (weight 0.05): Players love the game for its atmosphere, story, and character designs. The overall quality, combat mechanics, and the game's ability to become a favorite also contribute to the deep affection players feel for the game.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Players are excited about the game's graphics, storyline, and unique gameplay mechanics. The anticipation for new content, engaging gameplay, and the variety of gameplay elements contribute to this excitement.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.03): Players feel satisfied with the game's smooth performance, engaging story, and good visuals. The improved gameplay experience, better performance on PC, and the solution to specific issues like the umbrella problem contribute to this satisfaction.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.03): Players are enthusiastic about the game's unique world, mechanics, and high overall quality. The engaging gameplay, unique level design, and the game's style and universe contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Sadness (weight 0.02): Players feel sad due to the tragic storyline and the cancellation of the sequel, Alice Asylum. The emotional depth of the game and the realization that they will never see a continuation of the story contribute to this sadness.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players are engaged by the game's compelling narrative and unique gameplay. The story, character design, and the smooth performance of the game contribute to keeping players engaged throughout their experience.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Players are angry due to the technical issues, bugs, and the game being locked at 30 FPS. The frustration with EA's handling of the game and the presence of lag and performance problems contribute to this anger.
- Positive (weight 0.02): Players have an overall very positive experience with the game, praising its story, writing, puzzles, and combat. Despite some issues, the game's design and vibe are highly recommended and loved by the players.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players are frustrated with the game due to controls not being smooth, technical issues, and crashes. Performance issues, lag, and bugs in the save system contribute to this frustration.
- Enthusiastic (weight 0.01): Players are enthusiastic about the game's design, atmosphere, and mechanics. The positive experience and detailed review of the game's unique features contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Disappointed (weight 0.01): Players are disappointed with the repetitive combat and visuals, as well as the monotonous gameplay. The cancellation of the sequel and the unlikelihood of seeing another installment due to EA contribute to this disappointment.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Players feel bored due to the repetitive gameplay and mini-games. The repetitive gameplay mechanics, especially towards the end of the game, contribute to this boredom.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game's quality despite its age. The game holding up well for a title made in 2011 and exceeding expectations contribute to this pleasant surprise.}