Alice: Asylum

There are plenty of unknowns out there surrounding the potential upcoming title in the Alice series, currently known as Alice: Asylum. It’s a series that first debuted just over 20 years ago and has seen relatively infrequent releases during that time. Asylum is currently in between conceptual ideas and actual development as the creator, American McGee, is still going through various legal discussions with Electronic Arts. Generally, EA is quite concerned with the image that their IP’s produce for the company – it makes sense that they are being careful with the Alice series, though this has put a hold on development for now. Regardless, McGee has resorted to saying that the game will be crowdfunded by those that are interested in supporting his efforts.

There is little known about the game as a whole, though he frequent talks about gaining as much support from various platforms, primarily Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo. The game is projected to release on October 21st, 2021 if fundraising through fan support is successful.

A Prequel Sequel

At this point in development, there are a few aspects of the gameplay and story that are known. First and foremost, Asylum is expected to be a game that takes place before the events of McGee’s first Alice title. In addition, McGee also hopes to develop it in a way that does not ruin the story aspects of the original American McGee's Alice or Alice: Madness Returns. To say that this will be a difficult task is an understatement, though certainly not impossible. Plenty of other games have managed to pull of sequels that were chronologically prequels without divulging future story elements (Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 may be the best example of this yet since its placement in the timeline is still vague even after completing the game).

This installment would therefore focus on Alice’s time at Rutledge Asylum after the deaths of her father, mother, and sister in a terrible fire. Aside from this, few story elements are known, and it is uncertain whether the realm of Wonderland will be visited in-game.

Gameplay and Themes

At this time, gameplay has yet to be seen, though McGee firmly feels the game will be a third-person adventure title with some platforming and puzzle solving elements, along with mini games. Another large portion of the gameplay will revolve around battles and boss battles, while there is also an inkling that there will be a difficulty system similar to the last few games.

Regarding the themes and overall feel of the game, it is probable that a number of characters from previous games will return, like the Mad Hatter, Red Queen, White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, and the Cheshire cat along with several others based on concept art and discussions that McGee has had thus far. Finally, the theme of the game will likely follow Alice as she grapples with the various stages of grief. This will be complemented by darkly designed levels from Chaos Core (for shock/denial) to Rutledge Asylum itself (for acceptance).