hello it is my responsibility to tell u all to play psychonauts

[Magically Clueless]

hashtag not sponsored, just a game i personally love and would like to spread to others

My friends played through Psychonauts 2 and were singing all sorts of praise about it, and we do this monthly gaming thing where we beat a game and give a review about it. My friend got me to play the first Psychonauts game, I loved it (I missed when it first became a cult classic so I was late to the party!) and I enjoyed it enough to get the Psychonauts 2 the next month, and the REST WAS HISTORY

For those who haven't heard of the games: Psychonauts is an adventure platformer about a boy named Raz, a psychic, who ran away from his psychic-hating family to join a summer camp for children like him. During the game, Raz learns how to use and control his psychic powers. Some interesting plot stuff happens that threatens the world as we know it, and he has to help people with their minds to save everyone. The second game continues off from the first and you don't necessarily NEED to play the first game since it gets summarized in the second, but it provides a lot of context that I think is invaluable. Both games, but especially the first one, use dark humor and contain a quirkiness that I think is really hard to find in games nowadays. They are as lighthearted and fun as they are heartwarming and genuine.

When the game first came out in 2005, it sold very poorly and put Double Fine (the devs) in trouble, but it became a cult classic when the game became widely available from re-releases on PC and other consoles. People wanted MORE! And around 10 years later, a sequel was announced to release in 2018. Clearly, that didn't happen, and Psychonauts 2 was in development hell for a long time, but they relied on the community to help them create the game via crowdfunding-- which was a success! There were still a lot of bumps along the way, but Double Fine got purchased by Microsoft, which allowed them the budget and freedom to continue working on the game. Finally, the game, after so many delays and near-cancellations, came out August 25, 2021. We've seen these stories before. Duke Nukem 3D. Cyberpunk 2077. A game getting delayed meant it was going to be in trouble. But here's the thing:

IT WAS A FANTASTIC GAME!

15 years after the first game and they actually make a GREAT sequel that leaves us wanting even more from the wonderful world and story. Basically, everything that pops up in the first game is addressed in the second, which I really like. There was a character reveal in the first game that I really, really enjoyed, and the 2nd game provides a lot more background to that character too! Really it's just amazing how much this game does, and I'm not even getting into the nitty gritty of HOW COOL it is to explore people's minds and to help them face their own demons.

I tend to get REALLY INTO things when I like them a lot and have shown a lot of restraint here in typing out a big essay about the game's story, but I would love to eventually because it's just so interesting and I want more people to talk to about it it's just so clear that a lot of love was put into the game and it makes me love it more, just like Stardew. Psychonauts 2 was also created under a crunch-free environment, including during covid when everyone had to work from home. Actively fighting against the awful practices that go on in a lot of game studios and making an amazing game on top of that? I really, really hope we get more games like this that follow suit. Also I really want a Psychonauts 3 but I am pretty satisfied with how the 2nd game ended, I'm just greedy.

Anyhoo, if you've played these games, what do you think of them-- does my endless praise match the hype you felt? Are there other games that particularly strike you that you'd like to share here? Let's discuss!

 

[lilan castel]

I want to play it but I suspect I'll need a controller for my PC and my brother will never let me play on his ps4

 

[Magically Clueless]

Honestly, the keyboard controls aren't too bad! I liked them and got used to them in any case. My second playthrough I'm doing a PS4 controller though and that's been fine so far too

 

[LaptopCoffee]

I had it back on PS2, didn't even have a save card at first so had to start from scratch every time for a while Never did finish it, go stuck on the exploding rats near the end.

I did re-buy it on Steam and played about half using an Xbox controller. I should go finish it, but just got sucked into Stardew recently so it'll have to continue waiting, lol

 

[450735]

Haven't played the second one yet (a bit too expensive for my tastes), but I can confirm the first game is all sorts of excellent.

My full review (way too long for nothing, so brace yourselves). Very mild spoilers may be present, but everything explicit enough is going to be hidden:

General setting: The game is an action-adventure exploration-based platformer, in the context described earlier by @Magically Clueless . Some levels take place in the physical plane, others require you to travel through people's minds, either to gain a new ability, help someone resolve personal issues, gathering clues about a particular situation, etc., and you alternate between those either for story reasons or to hunt for collectibles. The whole setting being about psychic powers and traveling though minds, it justifies a lot of classsic platformer tropes such as double jump, floating platforms, wonky gravity, etc. Bonus: the "real world" levels are actually quite realistic from a physical standpoint. The story itself does the job, though it's nothing really extrordinary. The game follows a logical progression, there are a lot of awesome reveals and plot twist and charismatic characters (even if most of them have a very minor role, they still have their own personality and dialogue). All the levels you go through have a legitimate reason to exist, and nothing feels forced or out of place. I will admit some moments are a bit corny and/or predictable, and I really could have done without the whole romance subplot.

Also, not related to anything else, but the voice-acting (at least the french one) is nothing short of perfect. I cannot say for the english dub, but since a foreign one is so good, I guess the original must be great as well.

Gameplay: The game plays with full 3D controls in a full 3D environment, and makes excellent use of it, more on that in the level design section. The controls are fluid and responsive and you have a large array of moves at your disposition: the classic running around, double jump and rail grinding, but also walking tightropes, swinging around poles, climbing, floating, gliding, etc. I have not much to say about the controls, since the game is meant to be played on controller, which I did not. Playing on keyboard + mouse is doable enough, but a bit akward since you have a ton of buttons on your left hand, that you might have to press simultaneaously.

Through the course of your adventure, you will more and more abilities, be them for attack, defense, mobility, interaction with the environment, etc. Some of these powers tend to be used in very specific situation, and you will tend to gravitate around the same three or four powers for the late-game, but all of them are useful and even mandatory at some point or another, and can be used to unlock collectibles from previous levels. A slight downside from this is since the collectibles have actually useful in-game rewards, and since a lot of them can only be accessed a certain way, by the time you gain the right ability, you're probably neck-deep in scenario and going treasure hunting breaks the immersion a bit. Also, you can only use three abilities at the same time, and have to go through a menu if you want to use a different one. Nothing too complicated, but it can be a bit annoying when you're being attacked by an enemy and do not have the right ability assigned.

Level desing: The level design is probably the most creative I've ever seen in the genre. Every single level/area has a different theme and rules. Some levels are more combat-oriented, others are more about platforming, some are puzzle or exploration-based, no level feels the same as another. There are a few frustrating moments (for example: Sasha's Shooting Range is filled with enemies while you have no ranged attack or anything to defend yourself, it's easy to get lost or run in circles in the puzzle-based levels, Black Velvetopia has a constant hazard to avoid in a confusing layout, Meat Circus is all about precise maneuvering and time limits, and the final boss actually gets easier in its later phases), but overall the game is not too hard if you know what to do, and there's in-game help if you do not (or walkthroughs if you really do not). There are only two levels I would consider duds: the Brain Tumbler experiment doesn't have anything original gameplay-wise (though it's still very important story-wise) and looks hideous. And the Asylum is just the worst area ever. Super creepy, even scary, you're forced to explore while being constantly harassed by rats that are super hard to kill and eat a quarter or your lifebar every time they attack you, and if you get lost, take a wrong turn or fall from a height, you have to painstakingly retrace your steps while still being harassed by those pesky rats and I never to go through this area again.

A bonus point is that the game highly encourages exploration. The main area (the campgrounds) is fully open, even vertically. You'll have plenty of opportunities to climb around in trees or roofs or cliffs and whatnot. The other areas range from semi-open to mostly linear, but even the most linear ones have some alternate paths or secret areas.

Graphics: the general aesthetic of this game has a very mid-2000s cartoon vibe. Characters have very wacky designss, while decors juggle between more realistic to surrealist. Everything in the game, be it characters or environments, are highly detailed, and the desaturated palette gives the whole game a gritty, yet pleasant look. No searing colours or pixelated textures. Also, the ambient wackiness helps to mask the technical/graphical limitations under deliberate design choices. And while the game just exhales the mid-2000s (as mentioned before) all around, it does so in a kind of charming, nostalgic rather that outdated way.

Huge problem with the game though, is that as lovely as the graphics are, more than half the time you can barely see them! The game is super dark, and I don't mean dark as in "edgy", but dark as in "turn the lights on". More than half the game happens at nighttime, without much light sources, and a couple of imaginary levels are dull or dimly-lit, sometimes both. And the muted colours only exacerbate the problem. More than once, I resorted to use the levitation power purely as an extra light source, as I just couldn't see around me, which is a shame for a game so focused on exploration. And while you can increase the brightness (either in-game or through your own screen), it mostly makes the interface super bright, while the ambient lighting barely changes. Playing at night or with reduced ligthing in the room is the best solution I can think of.

Edit: well, I seem to have missclicked on "send" instead of "preview" and I'm too lazy to edit in any additions since I've been working on this review for way too long so forgive the abrupt ending. Keep calm and stay safe eveyone