Alice in Wonderland is a cultural staple and easily a pillar of nostalgia for many whether you enjoyed the books (I won a collector's edition), 1951 Disney animated feature (my all-time favorite Disney film, of which I also own a collector's edition), or the Tim Burton version from not too long ago. Not to mention the plethora of gnarly tattoos floating around (I plan on getting one of the "Drink Me" bottle and "Eat Me" cake).
There's certainly been many permutations and adaptations of the classic story, including a few horror ones. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a fantastic, Grimdark take on Alice. American McGee's Alice, released back in 2000, was EA's first "Rated M" game. AM's Alice offers a dark take, where rather than a whimsical, childhood retreat, Alice's Wonderland is a twisted reflection of her tortured psyche. Without spoiling anything, a catatonic Alice in Rutledge Asylum retreats back into her Wonderland and proceeds to sort out her trauma by traipsing through her shattered psyche, solving puzzles and vanquishing (quite literally) her demons.
In keeping with the playful, puzzling themes of Alice in general, the game is replete with creative puzzles and (often aggravating) platforming. The game's weapons also center around classic motifs and gadgets from the original stories: a vorpal knife instead of the classic Vorpal Blade, playing cards and dice as ranged weapons, and even the flamingo-croquet mallet prompting one of the most well-known lines from the games Cheshire Cat, "When is a croquet mallet like a billy club? Whenever you want it to be." Of course, the beloved denizens of Wonderland also make an appearance in their various, nefarious reincarnations.
Eleven years later, in 2011, the sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, was released. The sequel picks up a few years after the OG left off but retains many of the same principles. The platforming is much more sleek and smooth in the sequel, as well as offering many collectibles (heightening the replayability value), and aesthetic value by starring Alice wearing a different ensemble in every level. The sequel remains full of charming and creative puzzles as well as the new "Radula Rooms", which consist of either combat challenges or riddles ("How is the Queen of Hearts like a typhoon?").
In addition to being crazy fun games, AM's take on Alice also deals with some very real issue of trauma, dissociation, and mental illness.
Alice: Madness Returns is available for a variety of consoles and if you get it for either the Xbox 360 or PS3, then the game will include a DLC code to download the original American McGee's Alice (which is still totally worth playing).
