The original Psychonauts was probably one of the biggest disappointments I've played. I was so excited to finally experience this wild, wacky platformer that had so much praise over the years. Alas, by 2018 when I played the Remastered version, I instead found a clunky, buggy mess with poor design and find but disappointing writing. I didn't think I would play the upcoming sequel.

Man, am I glad I changed my mind there. Psychonauts 2 is everything I heard the first game was supposed to be and so much more! It's easily one of the most unique experiences I've had in years and will be an easy recommendation for me going forward.

Seeing as I gave this a 4.5, I need to get some flaws out of the way. From a technical standpoint, PN2 definitely has some rough edges. Some dodgy hit detection wasn't too bad but annoying when it did show up. It doesn't really run very well either, at least on Xbox One. If you can play this on a nice PC or a new gen console, I'd recommend it. It's still playable on last gen, especially on a mid-gen version like the Xbox One X, but I had the game stutter quite a bit in larger areas and even completely lock to load assets. Not to mention the load times are atrocious. Finally, while a lot of the gameplay was improved for the sequel, the combat didn't quite get enough love. It's definitely better, but let's just say I'm very glad most of the bosses don't rely on it in lieu of more creative fights.

That being said, everything else I have to say about the game is positive. The platforming is so much better than the first game. I had a blast flying through the different obstacles and going out of my way to find the other secrets and collectibles hidden in each area. The level design is exceedingly better as well, providing some fun challenges that are ramped up nicely in each level. And that's not even getting into how fucking insane some of these ideas are. Without spoiling too much, one of the midgame levels is a cooking show, and it's an absolute blast! The bosses too were stupidly creative and made up for a lot of the basic fights you have to struggle through.

The art too is top notch. This was a stronger point of the original, and PN2 only improves on this with modern graphics. The game is downright gorgeous with some of the most creative worlds and characters I've seen in a long time. Add to that a killer soundtrack and you have a presentation masterpiece here.

To top it off, I wouldn't be doing Psychonauts 2 service if I didn't talk about its phenomenal story. I got emotional at so many points as both the main plot and the little microstories in each level were so impeccably told. This has some of the absolute best character work I've seen in gaming, and despite a bit of an anticlimactic final boss, I thought the ending wrapped things up really nicely.

I can't say enough how much I think you should play this game. For some, the technical issues among others might keep this from being a true 10/10 experience, but I think most will love it regardless. Hopefully people actually play this one and we get an even better Psychonauts 3.

EDIT: Thinking over this, the game hasn't really solidified itself as a "personal favorite" in the time since playing it. That's my metric for a true 10/10 or 5/5, so I've lowered the score by one to 4.5 stars. I've adjusted the review accordingly, but I do still think this is a fantastic game and one of the best I've played this year.