American McGee working on Alice sequel, Alice: Asylum

Hey! Remember American McGee’s Alice? I adored the first game, which used the Quake 3 engine to deliver a psychological horror sequel to Lewis Carrol’s Alive in wonderland books. Released a lifetime ago in the year 2000, the game was – in truth – pretty straightforward, but elevated by its glorious grim, gnarled and wretched artwork and imaginative weapons. Having an actual vorpal blade go snicker-snack? Delightful.

The game received a less successful sequel in 2011, filled as it was with tedious and textbook platforming, middling hack-and-slash action and horribly repetitive puzzles. Here’s what I said of that game, eight years ago:

“Ultimately, Madness Returns (rather like the original, actually) is a game that relies too much on its aesthetic; one which in the ten years since Alice has been used and overwrought in games, TV and film and is no longer enough to carry a game. It starts with so much potential and promise – then whittles that away with tedious design. I realise that these complaints could accurately be levelled at the original I loved so much – but the truth is that games have changed, gaming has changed. This hasn’t.”

Despite that, I’d be keen for a sequel – and that’s something designer American McGee has been teasing for years now. In a new blog post, the designer’s revealed that work on the third game, Alice: Asylum is barrelling ahead. Says the post:

“American is hard at work on design, art, and story for the next chapter in Alice’s adventures. “Alice: Asylum” will present the story before “American McGee’s Alice,” with young Alice fighting through the trauma of losing her family.

As to whether or not it’ll ever be an actual game you can play? Who knows? Apparently rights still reside with EA, so it’ll have to go through them first.

Last Updated: January 30, 2019