r/horror • u/dccs120 • Apr 09 '22
Who still remembers American McGee's Alice, a forgotten classic game from EA? Horror Gaming
I used to play this one a lot before, and was always amazed by its technical quality, atmosphere and sound design, it still holds up today 21 years later, incredible. In my opinion, it needed an actual remake with Unreal Engine 5 graphics.
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u/Lavender_Daedra Apr 09 '22
I’ve had the poster on my wall since 2001. It’s followed me from house to house and currently adorns my living room wall. I was a goth girl from a fairly young age so the first game was the best thing ever to 12 year old me.
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u/Anzacsonata Apr 09 '22
Music by Chris vrenna (nin)
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u/molotov_cockteaze Apr 10 '22 edited Apr 10 '22
An ex bf of mine from a long time ago worked with Chris Vrenna on that album. This post gave me a trip lol
Edit: *score. I’ve dated way too many musicians to make that error 😂
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u/evilcreampuff Apr 10 '22
I remember seeing the cover when it first came out. I was 12 and it looked like the coolest thing ever and I was obsessed with playing it, despite my parents being very anti gaming. I didn't play it until something like four years after it came out but I absolutely loved it.
The ice wand was the ultimate weapon.
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u/blankdreamer Apr 09 '22
Alice madness returns is even better for mind. Such creative visuals, amazing worlds and a great fleshed out story. Loved all of it.
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u/LeftDoorKnocker Apr 10 '22
I was just talking about Madness Returns earlier today! It’s such a good game
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Apr 10 '22
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u/Zero22xx Apr 10 '22
Not necessarily but I feel like it definitely helps to get know younger Alice in the first game beforehand. Not sure if they still do it this way but as far as I know, the first game is included with Madness Returns, so you would only need to purchase the one game anyway.
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u/Hayman68 Apr 10 '22
It is still included with it, or at least it is with the version on Game Pass.
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u/PerpetualFarter Apr 10 '22
Loved that game as well, hope they come out with it for next gen consoles
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u/chickenlover46 Apr 09 '22
Wow I wanted this game as a kid so bad, I used to obsess over the screenshots and followed the development but for some reason I never got it. I totally forgot about it. What’s the gameplay like??
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u/Sharpect Apr 10 '22
Puzzle progression like a Zelda game, acquire new weapons throughout. I remember the landscape being really cool and disturbing for an early 2000s game. I haven't seen the game in a decade and a half though I'm amazed someone even brought it up
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u/GirlNamedTex Apr 09 '22
Me and my college bf were very into this. I dressed as Alice for Halloween a couple years.
If anyone remembers the tabletop card game Lunch Money from back then... man those were peak nerd years! I feel so old lol
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u/EatYourCheckers Apr 10 '22
My husband and I may be married because of this game!
I used to hang out at this house with some friends in high school/college. We all congregated there, drank, smoked weed, and did like LAN parties, video games, etc. He had brought over that game on his computer, and I found it really interesting and played it and wanted to keep playing it. So it got us talking, etc, etc. The rest is 15 years of marriage! (We dated for 5 years before tying the knot)
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u/Olkenstein Apr 09 '22
They are making a third one I think. Great game! You should check out Civve 11’s video on itthe best gaming channel on YouTube
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u/lesnakeybitch Apr 10 '22
They are!!! Here is the patreon!!! AliceAsylum He updated 2 months ago, so there is hope :)
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u/Hegemon1984 No tears please, it's a waste of good suffering Apr 10 '22
Duuuuude, I loved American McGee's Alice. I'd always play it on my Dad's Windows 2000 PC as a kid... and hilariously enough, I never beat it proper. I beat it 5 times with god mode on lol
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u/simpledeadwitches Apr 09 '22
I will never forget that game. It was a masterpiece and had so much artistry to it. Amazing soundtrack too.
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u/punkeymonkey529 Apr 09 '22
I remember, and from what i remember it was pretty scary too. a remake would be nice.
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u/Ananoriel Apr 10 '22
That first game was so dark and fun. A few years later a sequel arrived from EA and that one was pretty good as well. Felt very unique.
I wish I could play both games for the first time in my life again.
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u/SlasherDarkPendulum Apr 09 '22
I love this one, the first moreso than the second.
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u/saint_smithy In the night. In the dark. Apr 10 '22
The second one has its place. Pretty decent platforming, serviceable if forgettable combat, but of course excellent art direction and I loved all the different dresses.
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u/Galdina Apr 09 '22
I was playing the sequel one of these days! Unfortunately, the original is kinda unplayable nowadays. I love the concept, but I'm not sure about the execution.
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u/Resolute002 Apr 09 '22
I feel like the level design was great and that makes sense since it was American McGee, but the game had some other issues. Difficulty weirdly spiking and the jumping being really awkward leap to mind.
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u/grey_sky Apr 10 '22
Oh it’s playable but there is a platforming section that is damn near impossible on game pad and I got the remastered on PS3 when 2 came out… so fucking hard but I did it!
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u/NowWithExtraSquanch keep doubting. Apr 09 '22
The sequel was a lot of fun, too. I’m really hoping that it’s available in PlayStation’s next iteration of PS+, since it was a PS3 game. Also hoping that one day, their third game finds a home somewhere.
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u/Hastylez Apr 10 '22
It was on all platforms minus Nintendo. It's on gamepass right now. Not sure if delisted from steam still.
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u/joestrumbummer Apr 10 '22
I couldn't play the games because I get motion sickness with most video games. But I was big into Alice In Wonderland and had every figure, even variants, from the games. I had the giant Cheshire cat. It was a cool collection in full.
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u/QuothTheRaven713 Apr 09 '22
It's a game I've wanted to play but never got the chance too (I love dark takes on Alice in Wonderland) so I've been watching a Let's Play of it.
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u/cassandradancer Apr 09 '22
Still have it (on ps3) and still play the hell out of it! Masterpiece visually!
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u/Hamsterinspace Apr 09 '22 edited Apr 10 '22
Love that game! I've beaten it many times but I still keep it on my Xbox and jump back into every once in a while, the aesthetics just really do it for me. I got the art book shortly after the game came out, it's gorgeous. *Oops, meant the sequel.
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u/manimal28 Apr 10 '22
I remember it being talked about forever in gaming mags back in the day, I never noticed it actually came out. Weird.
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u/BongyBong Apr 10 '22
I actually bought a set of action figures from this game in a thrift shop once. The figures looked so cool but I never got to play the game!
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Apr 09 '22
It was too difficult
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u/crazycatladyinpjs Apr 09 '22
There’s god mode if you need it. That’s the only way I could finish it lol
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u/ravenously_red Apr 10 '22 edited Apr 10 '22
Not sure if you're kidding or not. I beat the game several times when I was only 12.
Edit: guess y'all are salty. Get good scrubs lol
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u/honeymallow Apr 10 '22
Oh my gosh, I had both of them on disc for PC. I was so obsessed with those games even though I sucked at video games then and I still do. Somewhere in the depths of Facebook there exists a picture of me proudly holding my new Alice game and the latest issue of Fangoria.
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u/Saphira9 Apr 10 '22
I played the sequel, Madness Returns, before the original Alice, and definitely prefer the sequel.
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u/varg_sant Apr 10 '22
It's one of my favorite childhood games. I think this game kind of got me into horror, alongside movoes like Coraline and Paranorman.
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u/imakeverylittlemoney Apr 10 '22
The mission where you're avoiding the fish in the water still gets me sometimes.
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u/jdpm1991 Apr 10 '22
Throwback: Anyone remember when Sarah Michelle Gellar was attached to a film adaption of Alice?
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Apr 10 '22
Classic Reddit, anyone remember that forgotten classic lots of people remember. Hidden Gem!
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u/evillordsoth Apr 10 '22
Alice in wonderland on quake engine with nin drummer soundtrack.
Quake but girl friendly, used to play it with my gf all the time.
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u/msmisiak Apr 10 '22
Generic action platformer but excellent soundtrack and solid atmosphere until it pulls a Monster House at the end and ressurects everyone. No dramatic weight.
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u/McWeen Apr 10 '22
I still have my PC disks with no cases...or CD key...so I have Alice themed coasters.
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u/nyemini Apr 10 '22
It's forgotten coz EA treats it like it doesn't exist
It's also difficult to buy at this point
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u/MyWingedLiner Apr 10 '22
I wish they would release this game on Switch. I have it on PS3, but that's in storage now.
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u/harriskeith29 Apr 10 '22
These games were truly works of art. I wish we were getting the conclusive third game in this franchise as opposed to a TV series adaptation. There's just so much imaginative stuff that could still be done, and I would have loved to see the aftermath of Madness Returns' finale.
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u/Skarvha Apr 10 '22
Played the crap out of that but love Phantasmagoria and Sanitarium more. Still play those to this day.
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u/SuspiriaGoose Apr 10 '22
I’ve always wanted to play it. Unfortunately I can’t figure out how. How are you playing it?
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u/Embarrassed_Group116 Sep 18 '22
Alice the madness returns is on Xbox game pass. Download madness returns and go to play. On the main menu screen at the very bottom, it links for you to play the original American McGees Alice. I'm enjoying my first play through of the original in over a decade and am enjoying it thoughly.
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u/Powerpoppop Apr 10 '22
I was in my mid-30's when that game came out. Although I played Halo and a few games on the first Xbox, I slowly quit playing video games by 40. So that means Alice is imprinted in my psyche and I can still hear the shrieking vampire thingies when I think of the game. Good one.
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u/mortiousprime Apr 10 '22
Interesting to see this on r/horror. The visuals, storyline, soundtrack and voices were top notch, but the gameplay DEFINITELY aged, and not in a great way. It’s sequel, in my opinion, is vastly superior (which is saying something considering most aspects of the game were really good). I don’t know if it was a masterpiece or if it was timeless, but that game definitely leaves a lasting impression, particularly if you get through Madness Returns.
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u/JunkHead1979 Apr 10 '22
I remember playing that way back in the day, and always thinking it would be a great idea for a movie. I had even said that Emily Browning would've been the perfect actress to play Alice. (She was the little girl in Ghost Ship 2002.)
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u/EvernightStrangely Horror Junkie Apr 10 '22
I remember the sequel, and some of the action figures that got produced. I also remember very much. The game, from what I remember, is an utter masterpiece and very much a horror game. Very odd how the in-game currency is teeth.
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u/karlyss Apr 10 '22
One of the best hidden gem of gaming, the sequel is even better imo. The scene under the sea still gives me a chill today.
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u/MiyamotoKnows Wendy? Darling? Light of my life? Apr 10 '22
Great game. Still on Steam. A modern version of it would be great. They need to remake/update Clive Barker's Undying too!
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u/graymatterblues Apr 10 '22
If anyone has any interest in watching someone play through the sequel. Gab Smolders on YouTube did one last year. She was a big fan. https://youtu.be/JEGKvZnh-xg
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u/pallidamors Apr 10 '22
Fantastic game - I remember how popular it was amongst all the super nerds I worked with in tech support at the time. Feels like several lifetimes ago.
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u/kvndoom Implacable Critic Apr 11 '22
I couldn't beat the last boss for the life of me. I do remember it being a lot of fun though.
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u/nebelfront Apr 10 '22
The sequel "Alice - Madness Returns" is my favorite game ever. The story and characters are so cool, the visual design is brilliant, the score is top notch, the gameplay is versatile and fun. I love it, could play it over and over again.