Alice In: Cradle -v0.26c2- -hinayua-

In the sprawling landscape of indie action-RPGs, Alice in Cradle occupies a liminal space that feels almost cruel in its beauty. The current build, v0.26c2, subtitled Hinayua , is not a finished statement but a fragment—a splinter of a larger, darker mirror. And yet, even in this fractured state, the game hums with a singular, unsettling thesis: that innocence is not a shield, but a wound waiting to be reopened.

Each torn stitch reduces defensive capability. Each exposed area of pixel art becomes a target for enemies whose attack patterns are eerily persistent . The monsters in this Cradle do not fight to kill; they fight to hold . Grapple attacks are lengthy, repetitive, and rhythmically hypnotic. You watch the input prompt flash. You fail. You watch Alice struggle. You try again. Alice in Cradle -v0.26c2- -Hinayua-

At first glance, the world is deceptively soft. The titular Alice, a young witch-in-training, moves through environments rendered in a hand-drawn, storybook aesthetic. Pastel greens, gentle creature designs (the slimes almost look like gummy candies), and a soundtrack that leans toward the melancholic and lullaby-like suggest a gentle fable. The "Cradle" in the title feels literal—a protected, nurturing space. In the sprawling landscape of indie action-RPGs, Alice

One late-0.26c2 enemy—a weeping, bird-like thing in the flooded hollows—does not attack unless you approach it from the front. From behind, it shivers. If you wait long enough, it falls asleep. There is no reward for waiting. No unique item. Only the quiet, ungameable knowledge that you didn't have to fight it. Version 0.26c2 is not complete. There are locked doors. Unfinished dialogue trees. A crafting system that hints at more recipes than exist. Normally, this would be a flaw. Here, it feels intentional —or at least, accidentally profound. Each torn stitch reduces defensive capability

You are left with the silence. The menu music loops. Alice stands in the last cleared room, idle animation swaying. Her torn clothes do not repair themselves. The game does not autosave after the credits placeholder. You have to choose to close the window. Alice in Cradle -v0.26c2- -Hinayua is not a game about victory. It is a game about lasting . It asks a question that most action-RPGs are afraid to voice: What if fighting only makes the wound deeper?