Fans have been waiting for Psychonauts 2 for a long time. More than sixteen years after the original, it took a successful campaign on the crowdfunding site Fig and a Microsoft acquisition of developer Double Fine to get this game across the finish line. The cult classic has finally received a sequel.
Fortunately, not much time has passed in the world of Psychonauts. The thread is picked up immediately after the virtual reality trip of In the Rhombus of Ruin. For those who missed that game and the first part, there is a handy summary that briefly and concisely repeats all the major events. Raz has only just recovered from his adventures at the summer camp for telekinetically gifted children and is immediately drawn into the intrigue of the Psychonauts. The nemesis of this organization seems to have returned and a double agent is active within the agency to help her.
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Even though Raz has been promoted to the Psychonauts intern this time, he still conducts most of the investigation alone while the rest of the agents are investigating other leads. His fieldwork leads him to, among other things, the original founders of the Psychonauts and the interior of a lot of different brains. Just like in the first part, the most surreal, mind-blowing and funny parts take place in the subconscious of characters who for one reason or another find themselves in a bind. Those are again the best parts of the game.
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a game that, just like its predecessor, must have the funny, extremely creative story. Whoever starts this game especially for that, will be served at his beck and call.
Creative ‘main’ missions
Psychonauts 2 takes Raz to a bizarre fusion of hospital and casino (originated from the mind of a doctor with a gambling addiction) and a flashy cooking show with a jury of hungry goats. In the program, cooking must be done by chopping the audience consisting of ingredients into pieces, boiling in a pan of water or throwing into a blender.
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How these worlds are interwoven with the owner’s mental state every time is impressive, but Psychonauts 2 is also creative outside of the trips to different brains. In addition to the Psychonauts’ headquarters, there’s a lot more to explore. There are plenty of precious collectibles, side missions and inhabitants of this world. The game has an excellent pace just like the original. In between the main storyline, it always pays to collect some psi-cards, help out Raz’s fellow interns, or hunt for items from the scavenger hunt.
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Feelings become physical
Nearly every command – whether in someone’s brain or outside of it – yields points that allow Raz to enhance his multifunctional psychic powers. Pyrokinesis can be used to set fire to arbitrary objects, but also works great on enemies, and a psi blast is a useful means of hitting a target from far away. New powers include a way to temporarily stop time and a way to connect two separate thoughts. With some upgrades, the psi blast bounces around between enemies or can stop time for even longer.
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The brains that Raz enters are not always waiting for intruders, sending doubts, panic attacks and other negative thoughts on him. Defeating these physicalized feelings is rarely difficult, but often quite chaotic. The amount of exuberant animations tumble over each other, so that the action is not always easy to follow. Despite the wide range of attacks, the fights never really want to be brilliant.
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Unslick platformer and streamlined puzzles
The same applies to a slightly lesser extent to the platform. Psychonauts 2 is very creative and presents one wild location after another, but there are always some snags. Raz sometimes gets stuck behind obstacles, every now and then platforms seem reachable but they are not and the opposite is at least as common. The game never gets frustrating or impossible, but it’s a shame that this crucial part isn’t finished a little better.
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Ultimately, Psychonauts 2 is primarily a game that, just like its predecessor, must have the funny, extremely creative story. Whoever starts this game especially for that, will be served at his beck and call. Large sections of levels are extremely elegant ways to dump a lot of new information on the player. Unlike the first part, this sequel loses something of its humble point-and-click origin. The whole process is streamlined and the – often somewhat illogical – puzzles such as those that appeared in the first part are absent.
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Funny until the end (and hopefully after)
However, that should not weigh too heavily. Psychonauts 2 has a genuinely fun story and tells it with bravado. Although it all gets quite dark and sad at times, the humor is always there. Sometimes the action is funny, for example when Raz rolls a bowling ball through a city full of bacteria, other times it’s in the excellent dialogues. The smartest and wittiest moments of Psychonauts 2 happen when Raz takes the time to hear each character out.
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A small criticism is that the game is very chatty. Every action and location is commented on and that is often nicely done, but it also ensures that characters talk at the same time. Especially at times when it’s almost all about the plot, it’s disturbing that Raz happily announces that he has collected all the chimeras, while another character is just pouring out his heart. A more elegant solution could have been devised.
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Psychonauts 2 therefore contains a number of disturbing parts, but in the end it is especially striking how well this modern sequel connects to the first part. It took a long time before it was possible to explore this wacky world again, but in the end Psychonauts’ style and tone has been preserved. It even pays to linger in the Psychonauts headquarters after the credits. Not only to see how all the characters fare after the story, but also because it may be another difficult development and a lot of years before we find out how it goes with Raz.
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Psychonauts 2 will be available August 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X.
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