Are there any other PC games like American McGee's Alice/Alice:Madness Returns?

[ninja666]

I really liked both Alice games back when I played them and would really like something else like it. Any suggestions?

Basically what I'm looking for is a 3D platformer/action-adventure game for PC, taking place in a world that's fairytale-like, yet dark, grotesque, and very grim at the same time, and combines both of those aspects in such a way, it all comes out as one, cohesive artstyle, creating a unique atmosphere. It doesn't necessarily have to be based around actual fairytales. The only thing I'm really looking for is the stylization - the story and the characters can be 100% original.

I already did a Google search myself earlier, but unfortunately, the only thing I found that sort of fit was The Path, which isn't a bad suggestion when it comes to the art and atmosphere, but a terrible one when it comes to gameplay, story, and overall substance, due to it lacking all of those qualities. Also, most of the threads I've seen with people asking the question I'm asking now were at least 5-6 years old, so it's a pretty outdated source of suggestions. Therefore I'm asking you for help because not only you might have better ideas than those people, but you also might know of games that weren't out yet those 5-6 years ago and might fit.

Thank you in advance for all the suggestions.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Devil May Cry and Darksiders perhaps?

 

[ninja666]

Devil May Cry and Darksiders perhaps?

I don't really any similiarities in either of those other than Darksiders being a 3D platformer. Care to elaborate?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Devil May Cry and Darksiders perhaps?

I don't really any similiarities other than Darksiders being a 3D platformer. Care to elaborate?

The story in Darksiders is pretty unique and it takes you to some very interesting places. You play as a horseman of the apocalypse. It's been a while since I played the first one so just assume that I'm talking about the second game where you play as Death. The atmosphere is something you'll have to experience along with the soundtrack to fully appreciate how absolutely spectacular it is. That game is a fairy-tale basically.

As for Devil May Cry, those games have a pretty Gothic design, yet they're also extremely colorful and flashy. The entire game is like a weird fairy-tale. Not counting the reboot. So just get DMC4 on sale.

 

[ninja666]

-snip-

I definitely see where you're coming from with that, but these aren't really what I'm looking for. I'll consider Darksiders 2 if nothing better shows up, but for now I'm gonna wait for other suggestions. Thanks anyway. I appreciate the help.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

The problem here is that you're looking for atmosphere. That's difficult to describe. I've played Alice and DMC3 and 4 and both Darksiders games. I can see similarities but I can't really explain them the way you'd like me to. It's an abstract quality. It's not something that's observable on the surface.

Basically they're all unique games set in very unique and dark worlds populated by unique magical characters and creatures, architecture, weapons etc. They all have that something. That grim fairy-tale like quality to them that's hard to pin down but it's momentarily obvious once you experience it.

 

[ninja666]

The problem here is that you're looking for atmosphere. That's difficult to describe. [...] I can't really explain them the way you'd like me to. It's an abstract quality. It's not something that's observable on the surface.

Basically they're all unique games set in very unique and dark worlds populated by unique magical characters and creatures, architecture, weapons etc. They all have that something. That grim fairy-tale like quality to them that's hard to pin down but it's momentarily obvious once you experience it.

I can't deny - it actually is hard to describe and pin-point only by using words, so I just did the next best thing you can do without actually playing Darksiders 2 - I watched a gameplay video of it. After seeing a few minutes of it, I can see even more why you're suggesting this particular game. However, I'm still going to hold off and wait for other people's suggestions because, while it fits atmosphere-wise, Darksiders isn't really my cup of tea when it comes to gameplay mechanics (I'm especially talking about combat here).

 

[broadbandmink]

There is a game that was released in the early noughties that was frequently compared to American McGee's Alice, both in terms of gameplay and aesthetic presentation. It's entitled Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles. Might be worth checking out, but I haven't got the first idea of where it can be found these days.

 

[Yostbeef]

Have you played Lone Survivor yet?

 

[Dalisclock]

So there was a game called Fran Bow that came out last year that nicely got the Dark, Creepy, Messed up, Alice in Wonderland feel(without explicitly being Dark Alice in Wonderland) to it. However, it's a point and click adventure game, not an action platformer, so it depends on which part really floats your boat.

It's pretty obviously supposed to invoke AMA, down to a young girl who is trapped in an Insane Asylum, though in the 1940's instead of the 19th century. Fran bow also does a really good job of having an extremely blurry line between fantasy and reality. It's extremely vague if Fran is able to see and enter other dimensions where evil(and not-so evil) things live(which is one possibility hinted at), or if she's just batshit insane and heavily doped up on experimental meds. Though it might be both.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

There was an old PC game called Sanitarium that had a similar feel to AMA. My wife is a huge fan of both games specifically because of that general morbid/creepy aesthetic.

 

[2xDouble]

Psychonauts. Might be a little too... "silly", but it's suitably dark, especially when you start truly exploring each character's psyche.

DMC. Yes, the Devil May Cry "reboot". It's not nearly as terrible as people here claim, and in fact is quite good as an action/platformer. The soapboxing is a little "obvious", but that's sort-of the point, that these messages should be obvious, but they blend into the background of modernity. Again, a bit silly, but for different reasons, and heavily skewed on the "action" side.

Darksiders and Darksiders 2. Definitively "post-apocalyptic". Not quite as action-intense as DMC, but not quite as "platforming" either. Focused particularly on exploration, these games straddle character-action and metroidvania. Darksiders 2 adds more RPG elements: gear, levelling, etc., but also more traversal mechanics. Speaking of "metroidvania"...

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Another character-action game with a striking gothic aesthetic. Not quite as "twisted" as DMC or Psychonauts, but suitably dark and contrasted by glimpses of light and color... compared to the "original" Lords of Shadow, which takes place in a more "Shadow of the Colossus" field-forest setting most of the time. Also, look into Shadow of the Colossus. It's more "puzzle" than "action", but well worth the time.

Bloodborne. Okay, this is exclusively more "action" than "platforming", but the aesthetic of Bloodborne is gloriously Lovecraftian, especially past a certain point in the narrative.

Cthulhu Saves the World. Is neither "action" nor "platforming". The aesthetic, and the game as a whole, is as gloriously chaotic and silly as the title suggests. It's super-cheap, usually, and not too long. I just think more people need to play this game, as well as its sister Zeboyd game, Breath of Death VII.

Incidentally, a quick Steam search reveals the publishers of Alice: Madness Returns has two other, sort-of similar games on Steam. One of them, Grimm, appears to be a Psychonauts clone with an episodic pay model. The other, The Gate, is a card-collecting, RTS, RPG MMO... a hot mess of mechanics and probably best ignored. I know nothing more about them.

 

[ninja666]

There is a game that was released in the early noughties that was frequently compared to American McGee's Alice, both in terms of gameplay and aesthetic presentation. It's entitled Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles. Might be worth checking out, but I haven't got the first idea of where it can be found these days.

I've seen a gameplay video of it. It obviously is inspired by American McGee's Alice as far as the artstyle goes, but the overall presentation seems kinda meh. There wasn't anything about this game that grabbed my attention, really. Not to mention, the reviews of this weren't exactly favorable either.

Have you played Lone Survivor yet?

I have. What does it have to do with my request though? It's neither a 3D platformer (or even a platformer in general) nor fairytale-ish.

So there was a game called Fran Bow that came out last year that nicely got the Dark, Creepy, Messed up, Alice in Wonderland feel(without explicitly being Dark Alice in Wonderland) to it. However, it's a point and click adventure game, not an action platformer, so it depends on which part really floats your boat.

There was an old PC game called Sanitarium that had a similar feel to AMA. My wife is a huge fan of both games specifically because of that general morbid/creepy aesthetic.

It's kinda the same situation as with The Path - the atmosphere and the art direction both fit, but the rest doesn't. I'm really itching for a platformer right now and no other genre will really scratch that itch, no matter how close it is with the atmosphere. Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate the help.

Psychonauts. Might be a little too... "silly", but it's suitably dark, especially when you start truly exploring each character's psyche.

I have it, but I never happened to play it, actually. It's more of a cartoonish (or "silly", as you put it) than fairytale-like style, but I think it's the closest to what I want so far, so it's my number 1 pick as of now. If nothing better pops up, I think I'm gonna go with that.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Another character-action game with a striking gothic aesthetic. Not quite as "twisted" as DMC or Psychonauts, but suitably dark and contrasted by glimpses of light and color... compared to the "original" Lords of Shadow, which takes place in a more "Shadow of the Colossus" field-forest setting most of the time.

Also looks good, although the combat is a bit off-putting for me. Might be worth a shot, though. I assume I have to play the original Lords of Shadow first for story purposes and stuff like that?

Bloodborne. Okay, this is exclusively more "action" than "platforming", but the aesthetic of Bloodborne is gloriously Lovecraftian, especially past a certain point in the narrative.

It's also not a PC game.

Cthulhu Saves the World. Is neither "action" nor "platforming". The aesthetic, and the game as a whole, is as gloriously chaotic and silly as the title suggests. It's super-cheap, usually, and not too long. I just think more people need to play this game, as well as its sister Zeboyd game, Breath of Death VII.

What is this even? An early SNES FF game starring Cthulhu? I really don't think it is what I'm looking for.

Incidentally, a quick Steam search reveals the publishers of Alice: Madness Returns has two other, sort-of similar games on Steam. One of them, Grimm, appears to be a Psychonauts clone with an episodic pay model.

I had my eye on Grimm for some time, actually, but I've read it's not really worth playing because of how short it is. Is it any good?

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

While it's not a 3D Action/Adventure game, Don't Starve also has a Tim Burtonesque aesthetic going on.
But that's all I got that hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

There isn't much of anything that goes for slightly darkened whimsy outside of the Alice games in and of themselves, honestly. Mechanically, the abovementioned titles all work fairly well and are structurally similar - but nothing else will give you that sense of borderline Burton-esque psychotic nonsense. Don't Starve is Burton-esque in the aesthetic sense, but it doesn't always nail an Alice-worthy atmosphere, especially not when things are going well.

Edit: I just remembered Sanitarium, which isn't quite Alice-esque but still packs a lot of the Crazy in its own way.

 

[ninja666]

So yet again I'm left with nothing that fits what I'm looking for exactly because it turns out the game I want alternatives to is pretty much unique? Great.

Well, I'll have a look at what's been suggested already, then, and pick something to play. I mean, even if they don't fit, they're still good games in their own right, aren't they?

Once again, thanks for all the suggestions. You've been of great help regardless.

Also, if you have any other ideas feel free to throw them in. I'll keep visiting this thread for a while to check them out.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Oh shoot. I forgot "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West". It's also one of the more unique games that's hard to really categorize when you take everything about it into account. It's based on an old Chinese fairy-tale. For some reason it's described as post-apocalyptic. But it's 150 years after whatever happened to the planet, that nobody even remembers what the old world looked like, nobody talks about it and there's no post-apocalyptic atmosphere. It's a really strange game.

 

[ninja666]

"Enslaved: Odyssey to the West".

I've played that one already. I never finished it though because I didn't like it that much. It was pretty generic for what the setting potentially could have to offer and was too repetitive for me to keep playing it. I think I finished at Chapter 5 or 6 and gave up because, according to the people I asked about that game after I stopped playing, it was just going to be more of the same. Thanks for the suggestion regardless of that though.