The original Psychonauts really was ahead of its time. An experiment to blend 3D platforming and traditional adventure games into a weird mystery about individuals who use psychic abilities to analyze a person's mental stability. It's hard to believe that, after more than 15 years later, Double Fine delivered not only an excellent sequel, but a groundbreaking game of its genre.
Psychonauts 2 is one of the most brilliant platformers I've played in quite some time. The premise of the original is here and cranked up to 11, with its wild level design and story that makes the first game feel like a simple prologue of the real adventure. There were moments that made me laugh, as well as moments that wowed me by design choices like stretching hallways and optical portals. Tie all of this together with much-needed improvements to combat (and checkpoints), and you have a cartoon-stylized game that gives off some serious Inception vibes. And of course, the implementation of adventure game mechanics to solve puzzles in both levels and their respective boss fights is still as brilliant as when it was conceptualized.
My one gripe with this one is how the writers chose to structure this story, although it's pretty minor. The first game was surprisingly lengthy, and so is this one. While this one definitely has a more engaging narrative, I wish we had a bit more development for certain plot points. I absolutely loved the new cast of intern characters, and I was bummed to only really see them play their part in the beginning and ending of this story. Could've used a little less focus on Raz and his family, but I understand why they did it to set up a complete duology.
This is an adventure worth diving into. It's a nice second act to the original's take on mental health and superhuman politics, and I'm even more happy that Xbox players get to experience a modern game of this caliber. Double Fine and Tim Schafer's magnum opus of creativity.
Psychonauts 2 is one of the most brilliant platformers I've played in quite some time. The premise of the original is here and cranked up to 11, with its wild level design and story that makes the first game feel like a simple prologue of the real adventure. There were moments that made me laugh, as well as moments that wowed me by design choices like stretching hallways and optical portals. Tie all of this together with much-needed improvements to combat (and checkpoints), and you have a cartoon-stylized game that gives off some serious Inception vibes. And of course, the implementation of adventure game mechanics to solve puzzles in both levels and their respective boss fights is still as brilliant as when it was conceptualized.
My one gripe with this one is how the writers chose to structure this story, although it's pretty minor. The first game was surprisingly lengthy, and so is this one. While this one definitely has a more engaging narrative, I wish we had a bit more development for certain plot points. I absolutely loved the new cast of intern characters, and I was bummed to only really see them play their part in the beginning and ending of this story. Could've used a little less focus on Raz and his family, but I understand why they did it to set up a complete duology.
This is an adventure worth diving into. It's a nice second act to the original's take on mental health and superhuman politics, and I'm even more happy that Xbox players get to experience a modern game of this caliber. Double Fine and Tim Schafer's magnum opus of creativity.