Alisa: Developer’s Cut is a 2023 extended edition of the 2021 throwback survival horror game Alisa. A love letter to classic 1990’s survival horror in every possible sense. Recreating everything people either love or hate about those old Resident Evil games. So your enjoyment of Alisa relies very heavily on your enjoyment of the original RE games. Just replace zombies with animatronics and dolls.
Alisa: Developer’s Cut adds more content and features than originally present. Providing a fun and rather quick throwback experience for survival horror fans. There are tense moments, amazing creature designs, and some fun puzzles that never really get too challenging. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a big Resident Evil or survival horror player. Especially to see the little tweaks and quality of life additions.
However, it’s not going to be enjoyed by more modern gamers. Ones who don’t have the patience for ’90s jank. The game also has a pretty strange control scheme, though you can play around with it a bit. Some of the puzzles can get annoying, especially when you have a limited time to complete them. Not having pinpoint accuracy and knowing where to go will kneecap your success greatly as well. You might find yourself dying on purpose to go back to your last save and try again.
Alisa Developer’s Cut is available on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, & Steam.
This review contains minor spoilers for Alisa: Developer’s Cut.
Story – Night of the Living Dolls
Alisa doesn’t have much in terms of story beyond the basic setup. You play as a Royal Agent named Alisa. Trapped in a strange Victorian mansion while chasing after a thief. She’s all alone as she explores the sprawling estate. Fending for her life against dolls and robots straight out of your nightmares. All in the name of capturing the thief and finding a way out.
A lot of the story from that point is lore. And all of the lore is conveyed through entirely missable notes that don’t tell you too much. But it’s not as complicated as Resident Evil lore. Nor is it crucial to your understanding of what happens. Though it does add interesting insight into Alisa’s situation. As well as explaining how certain characters met the fate they did. There’s also multiple endings if you feel like getting them. The game clocks in around 8-9 hours, so it wouldn’t be too hard.
Alisa’s not in Wonderland
Gameplay – Evil Residence
Have you ever played the original Resident Evil? If you answered yes to that question, then you’ve also played Alisa. That’s not a dig at the game. The official Steam page makes repeated references to it being a throwback to ’90s survival horror. Though there are some additions that make the experience more unique.
A lot of the survival horror staples are here. Ammo management, puzzles, backtracking, and sparse save rooms among them. They even brought back the cheesy voice acting of those old Resident Evil games. You can even play with ’90s style tank controls if you’re a lunatic. Those mechanics are implemented very well if you enjoy that kind of thing. If you don’t, then you should probably skip this one.
Ya like slide puzzles?
There are some new features as well. Or at least features that you won’t find in classic Resident Evil. Like a currency system tied to buying better guns, ammo, health, and even saving. As well as buying different outfits with different benefits. But the main shop guy only having two voice lines in total is very annoying. My favorite addition is a sort of radar aiming system. An indicator lights up when your aim lines up with an enemy. Solving a very annoying problem in those old games. Body mods and boss rewards are nice touches as well.
Graphics & Sound – Back in My Day
This game looks and sounds like it came straight out of the 1990’s. Nothing about it indicates that it released in 2021. That works well if you’re nostalgic for that style or enjoy the look, sound, and feel of a ’90s 3D game. But you won’t really appreciate the replication if that style isn’t for you. And it’s not for everyone.
Red man in the red room
As much as the art and sound design help the creep factor of Alisa, it also works against it at times. Some enemies are way more scary than others. And you have to imagine more detailed models might add to the horror. The sound design is great, though. So many haunting noises fill the halls, mixed in with the clunky sounds of games gone by.
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- Yes, they do step on you
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- Get those gears spinning
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- Something’s fishy about these guys
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- One of the very rare save rooms
Alisa: Developer’s Cut was reviewed on PS5 with a code from Top Hat Studios.
