The best compliment I can give Alisa is how it could be a long-lost PS1 survival horror title.
Alisa looks and feels that authentic, beyond the higher framerate. It's a love letter to the early era of survival horror, but not a carbon copy. It has its own unique spin on the formula.
While it was released in October of 2021, the developer's cut recently dropped, so I gave it another spin. Besides, I was a backer of the game. With it being October as of writing, now is a great time to give it a spin, or revisit it if you played it before. There are numerous new additions, from weapons to endings.
Alisa is a Kickstarter title with a modest budget. Kickstarter backed-titles can vary in quality, but Alisa is amongst the best. And it's not one of those projects with the old guard with notable titles under their belt. Most of the work comes from one Casper Croes of Belgium. His name pops up more in the credits than Kojima at the beginning of a mission in Phantom Pain. Hey, it makes sense here. His wife wrote the music and is the voice of our protagonist Alisa.
It's influenced by classic survival horror titles and the 1988 stop-motion film Alice by Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. The dollhouse design gives it a unique flavor. It's less spooky and more creepy
Timestamps:
00:00 - Prelude
02:32 - Presentation of Alisa
04:25 - Gameplay of Alisa
08:59 - In Conclusion