Author: Rich Meister
It’s hard to believe it’s been sixteen years since Double Fine’s Psychonauts wormed its way into my heart. It’s been so long that I couldn’t shake the feeling that Psychonauts 2 would fail to deliver. I’m happy to report that my gut feeling couldn’t have been more wrong. Psychonauts 2 is a charming, funny adventure that shows just how much Double Fine has learned in almost two decades.
Platforming is tighter, the world is more grandiose yet easy to explore, and Raz’s new adventure doesn’t fail to deliver on all the questions the original game still had us asking.
Psychonauts 2 ( PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC [Reviewed])
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Released: August 25, 2021
MSRP: $59.99 (Included as a part of Gamepass)
It may have been sixteen years since the original Psychonauts was released, but almost no time at all has passed for Razputin Aquato. Our young hero finds himself on a jet bound for the Mother Lobe, with most of the more prominent players from the original game and VR Psychonauts 2 prequel Rhombus of Ruin. Outside of these core characters, most of the game’s original supporting cast are traded for new characters like Agent Forsythe and the Psychonaut interns. Raz’s family also plays a more significant role this time in ways I won’t spoil here.
The game opens with Raz getting the lay of the land at his new temporary home at the Mother Lobe and learning that the official Psychonauts badge given to him by one Ford Crueller is useless as the old man doesn’t actually have the authority to give Raz the job. Raz is instead delegated to intern duty, a fate some might say is worse than death.
The rest of the game plays out with Raz poking in prodding in people’s subconscious to discover a mole within the organization and figure out who kidnapped the now comatose Truman Zanotto, leader of the Psychonauts that Raz and crew rescued in Rhombus of Ruin.
Psychonauts founder Ford Crueller also gets an interesting arc in this game. The first game introduced him as a once-great man whose mind had been torn apart from a traumatic experience. Psychonauts 2 explores what happened, and a large part of the game revolves around working through his trauma.
All in all, the pacing of Psychonauts 2 stands head and shoulders above its predecessor. Much like the original game, there’s still a rather long trek to the finish line, but the writing and character interactions feel more consistently good throughout. This was a game that had me up until the wee hours of the morning two nights in a row, not something I do very often anymore.
The platforming feels excellent by modern standards; Raz’s jumps feel precise and weighty. Psychic abilities like linking thoughts together and rolling around on Raz’s psychic orb feel fluid and fun, and a slew of newer abilities make for some unique puzzle and combat situations.
The overall level design never hits the fantastic highs of the original game, but the overall quality is more consistent throughout. As it turns out, we’ve learned a lot about platforming in sixteen years; as a result, no one level will set the world on fire, but there aren’t any noticeable weak links either.
The levels also have a lot to collect, and that’s where the big-time sink comes in. Psychonauts is, at its core, a collectithon, and if you want everything like me, that means putting in a few hours even once the credits have rolled. Some of these collectibles do things like boost Raz’s health, so there are items everyone will be compelled to go for, but some are purely for achievements and bragging rights, and you bet your ass I intend to get all of them.
Combat never feels particularly great, but there’s never a moment that feels punishing or unfair. It’s mostly identical to the first game, but a dedicated dodge button and more enemy types make all the difference in the world. The lock-on ability leaves a bit to be desired. Still, unless you’re not putting any resources into upgrading your health and skills, you’re not likely to hit an insurmountable roadblock.
You can personalize how you play with a new pin system, purchase pins from the Ottomatic vending machine to do things like increase your overall attack power or boost the drop rate of the currency. These ideas are fun but a bit underwhelming. In the end, the only pin that I made a point to get increased my overall melee damage, and I don’t think I would’ve had a tough time without it.
Much like its predecessor Psychonauts 2 sees you diving into the minds of people dealing with all sorts of afflictions like depression and addiction. Although they present you with a disclaimer upfront about the depiction of such issues, it handles all of these subjects with care, never offering any curealls, but showing people working through these real-world issues.
Psychonauts 2’s biggest weakness might be the sheer amount of plots it has going on. There are many characters and many dangling threads that feel like they’re forced into quick resolutions in the game’s last hour. None of them are genuinely bad, and the larger plots take more time in their resolution. It’s a minor complaint but one worth noting.
Verdict: Psychonauts 2 is a delight to play, but the story is so dependent on the original game that it might feel hard to penetrate for new players. If you can look past that, you’ll find charming characters and a fantastic world full of some incredibly solid 3D platforming that’s hard to walk away from.
Buy it
[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer]