Hello fellow gamers, it's me again.

I'm super excited to share with you one of my all-time favorite games, Alice: Madness Returns.

I first discovered this game through YouTube let's plays, and man, it completely hooked me.

The game is a sequel to American McGee's Alice, but I'll be honest, I never played the original - I only watched playthroughs. The characters in this game are an alternate take on Alice from Lewis Carroll's stories, and they have nothing to do with the original characters.

The story revolves around Alice Liddell, a girl whose family died in a fire and who's now struggling with mental health issues, forced to live in a mental asylum and later in a home for traumatized orphans under the care of Dr. Angus Bumby.

The game is divided into two worlds: the real one, 19th-century England, and the fantastical, vibrant world where terror reigns supreme. In the real world, Alice continues to see hallucinations.

The game has 6 chapters, during which we need to collect memories and have Alice recall who's really behind the fire and all the chaos in her world. To do this, we have to be super attentive, shrink down, examine clues on the walls, find hidden spots.

One of the things that's really cool about this game is that we get to unlock four different types of weapons - the sharp knife, pepper mill, rabbit, and teapot - as we progress through the game. We can upgrade these using the teeth we collect.

I also love the manic mode where we have limited health, but we don't take damage and our attacks deal more damage.

Each chapter also brings a new outfit for Alice, and there are additional dresses with different bonuses.

What really drew me into this game?

Its story.

It's not your typical fairy tale, and it's super engaging.

The music.

It's perfectly matched to each level, but the main theme is just incredible.

The graphics.

For 2011, they're not bad at all - at least, in my opinion.

What didn't I like?

The lack of variety.

Every level is basically the same - we jump, fly, search for memories, and fight enemies. The only thing that progresses the story is the memory inserts at the end. By the end of the game, it gets pretty repetitive.

The bugs.

The game freezes, crashes, and has issues with some of the gameplay elements from time to time.

Despite all that, the game is still really interesting and atmospheric. There are levels with tons of action and quiet levels too. I've played through the game at least 10 times, despite its flaws and lack of variety, so if you're into games like this, I highly recommend giving it a try.

P.S. I'm such a fan of the game that I convinced my family to get me a mini replica of the sharp knife as a gift for one of my holidays.