Alisa: A Developer's Cut of Some Delicious Horror

 Back in the saddle with more Horror, and this time I am talking about Alisa. Specifically, Alisa Developer's Cut from Casper Croes. To put it plainly, this game rules. I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland adaptations and this one hits on those notes of deception and bizarre worldbuilding. The game is very much a modern PS1 Horror game through and through. It wears that title proudly on its sleeve and makes sure to do the genre justice. I had a lot of fun with my first playthrough and am looking forward to jumping back into it with the new game plus mode. 

The game starts with the Elite Royal Agents,  Alisa and Jean-Francois, being given the task to hunt down Albertus Alvarez. When Jean-Francois swallows his toothpick, Alisa is tasked to give haste and chase down Albertus. But she is met by three porcelain dolls made up of various parts in an horrifying amalgamation. You can fight them if you want, but it's much easier to just succumb to them. After being taken in by these dolls, Alisa wakes up in an unfamiliar bed wearing an outfit that bears resemblance to Alice from the aforementioned Alice in Wonderland. Her Elite Royal Agent's uniform has been traded in for this fitting garb. So, the player is tasked with not only finding Albertus, but also making it out of this bizarre mansion filled with Dolls and the great minds that inhabit it. 

The gameplay is very much by the books for a PS1 Horror game. Like Resident Evil, the camera is fixed and there is limit on the saves that are allowed. Instead of Ink Ribbons, you have to use Toothwheels. The Toothwheels also serve as your currency for mods, weapons, dresses, ammo, and anything you want from the shop that is run by Pol. Pol is the game's resident hand puppet merchant. If you want to use Toothwheels, you obviously go to him. While the save may cost one Toothwheel, you still have to use them sparingly. Very much par for the course when it comes to the item and currency management in Survival Horror. 

The combat itself can become quite intense because of this management style, yet there were only a few times when I really had to make sure I had enough bullets. Funnily enough, one of those moments happened to be during the final boss. Much of this was my fault for not planning accordingly. However, the boss gets a guaranteed combo if you get knocked down. So I think that I deserve a little leniency for my poor preparation. I figured it out regardless, because I am a melee player in Souls-likes. The struggle bus is where we thrive. 

As for regular enemies, the patterns weren't too bad to deal with. The attacks made sense, and the only ones I had actual trouble with were the Ballerinas. These giant women whooped my ass so many times. There attacks hit hard and they boasted a large health-pool. It wouldn't have been that bad if there had been one of them at a time, however there were two of them. They pretty much stuck next to each other the entire time. The smart idea would've been to just use the Blunderbuss. But why would I do that if I was trying to conserve ammo? My strategy revolved around the Saber. Good ol' fashioned melee for the win, am I right? Wrong, the Ballerinas have a split kick that stuns you for a couple frames, and this recovery window allows the other one to hit you for free. So, many times I would get hit a couple times and be extremely hurt or dead off this interaction. While I would defeat them eventually, the reward was definitely not worth it. 

But my favorite enemy was not one that you could fight. It was the one that could not be killed. This enemy would be the Black Doll, or Elise's Mother. This enemy is discovered in a room within the Fun House area and is activated upon picking up an item needed for a puzzle. At first, I thought the game was setting up a boss fight later on. However, I was met with music changes randomly upon entering most areas. If the regular area music was replaced with this new tune, then you knew that Elise's Mother was in the room. An unkillable, ghost-like doll with a command grab that drains health. The game became very different for the next couple of hours as she would persist until you killed a specific boss. 

Needless to say, I was definitely more wary of walking into rooms from that point on. Even after she made her final exit, I would still be prepared for her just in case. I always love the stalker mechanic in my horror games because these characters offer a sense of dread that isn't present in scripted moments. You can anticipate a jump scare. You can't anticipate the probability of an immensely strong enemy that you can't kill. There were times I would walk out of a room and get hit with her familiar tune like three times in a row. I just wanted her to leave me alone. At least let me get to the next room, goddamn. 

And that's one of the many reasons why this game works so well. And why I would be welcoming of a sequel. There is so much potential within this small world given to us in this story. The music is well done and adds to the atmosphere of the world it is inhabiting. The designs overall are familiar and twisted at the same time. The inspirations are present, but with a new twist. And the voice acting tops all of this off in a way that makes fans of the genre smile. 

Alisa is a game that I can wholeheartedly recommend to people that enjoy Survival Horror and Retro games. It nails all of the beats and has something there for everyone. The only thing it is truly missing is D-Pad support. I would definitely feel more comfortable using Tank controls with a D-Pad. Otherwise, a near perfect experience. I can add this to my collection of Alice in Wonderland adaptations that I enjoy. There are many of them and a lot of good ones. I am glad that Alisa is a part of them.