


Pig's snouts, which make noise when the player is close, can be struck with the pepper grinder to reveal new paths.

A primary mechanic is to use Alice's shrinking potion to reduce in size, allowing her to walk through small spaces like keyholes, but also reveals invisible platforms and surfaces after returning to normal size, these platforms slowly fade back to invisibility, requiring the player to remember their location. While working on each level, the player can discover various secrets. The game also introduces Hysteria, which can be used when Alice's health is very low, and it can only be used for a limited amount of time. Falling off platforms into bottomless pits or dangerous liquids do not damage Alice but restart her at a nearby platform. Should Alice's health fall to zero during gameplay, the player is forced to start at the most recent checkpoint. Two other weapons cannot be upgraded, primarily because they are more defensive than directly offensive: the Umbrella acts as a shield that can be used to deflect and reflect most incoming projectiles The Clockwork Bomb is a time-delayed/remote-controlled rabbit alarm clock that does a minimal amount of damage to enemies, but its usefulness is better illustrated as a decoy, as well as a weight to keep switches temporarily depressed.Īlice's health is tracked by a number of rose petals. By collecting teeth that are dropped by foes or found scattered about the levels, the player can upgrade these items to more powerful versions. The Teapot Cannon fires tea sieves that explode to cause heavy damage and, like the Hobby Horse, break barriers. The Hobby Horse is used as a sledgehammer to inflict heavy damage and break barriers and defenses. The Pepper Grinder becomes a crank operated Gatling gun, used to attack at a distance and pepper pig snouts. The remainder of her arsenal is somewhat akin to the benign and mundane items that take on a deadly quality in Alice's tainted Wonderland in the first game. Her primary weapon is the Vorpal Blade, a decorated kitchen knife. In combat, Alice gains a small number of weapons that can be utilized in several ways. The player controls Alice for the entirety of the game for running, jumping, dodging and attacking. Alice: Madness Returns is played from a third-person perspective.
