Alisa

Well, if I didn't know any better, I would think that Alisa was a canceled horror-adventure game from the original Playstation era. It turns out that the game is a 2021 release and hasn't time-warped from 1996. The allure of Alisa strikes out at players straightaway - there's been a lot of effort to make this game look like an old-school release.

It's a pretty incredible feat already, but there's still a matter of gameplay to deduce. Horror-adventure games have evolved quite a bit over the last two decades. Is the developer going to stay true to the 90s mechanics at risk of boring new audiences? Or will Alisa fixate on the nostalgia factor to woo old-school PS1 players?

Wonderland Reborn

Do you fit that into that demographic of 90s action-adventure players? There's a specific game that Alisa seems to pay homage to. We'll let you figure that one out. Alisa is a horror adventure that throws you into a pseudo-realistic pit of despair. You're only job is to escape a mansion filled with evil humanoids that could only conjure in a nightmare.

What's fantastic about this game is how well the visuals touch on the nostalgia factor. The rough animations, pixelated character models, and the tacky user interface all work in sync to give that 90s gaming experience. Alisa herself is notoriously difficult to control, and combat becomes a mounting challenge once faced with some more adept foes.

If you didn't know any better, you'd say Alisa was a poor game by modern-day standards. But it really isn't. Every visual, gameplay element and mechanics are so carefully curated to match age-old games - and it's the right formula for a cult classic. Aside from the design, the narrative is pretty decent as well. However, it can't be divulged at risk of spoiling the game.

Alisa does what it intends to do well - and from a general perspective, it's a pretty impressive game. However, there is a pretty strong deterrent for those unaligned with the concept. The bottom line, they will find it difficult to get anything enjoyable out of the gameplay. It's definitely not made for a general audience!

Right in the Nostalgia

So what's that game that you could immediately compare Alisa to? American McGee's Alice, of course - it has plenty of similarities in visuals and gameplay. That being said, there is an essence of the original Resident Evil, too. The camera angles, the combat difficulty, the atmosphere, and the whole mansion setting underline that.

Pros:

• Strikes the nostalgia nerves very well
• Does a fantastic job of catering the visuals and sound design to older action-adventure game
• Game mechanics are actually thrilling rather than aged

Cons:

• Not for players that haven't played old school action-adventure games
• The game can get a bit frustrating in combat engagements