What I truly loved about this game, to drill it down to one word, is its charm. Then again, this isn’t a game I am fawning over because of its gameplay. The game isn’t overly difficult, and no one should go in expecting a complete innovation in the platformer genre. These powers are used for combat, traversal and puzzle solving, and while neither of these aspects are overly difficult-I would be inclined to say too easy-they fit within the theme effectively. Raz has his own arsenal of psychic powers, and they are introduced organically and consistently, with every level having a new power to learn and master.
![psychonauts remastered psychonauts remastered](https://www.dailydot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Psychonauts_Lili_Raz.jpg)
While the enemies are mostly fodder, christening them names like Regret, Doubt, and Panic Attack, and then implementing attack mechanics that is name-appropriate (Regret drops weights to weigh you down, Doubt ooze slime to slow you down, Panic Attack comes out of nowhere) is another credit to the development team’s outside-of-the-box thinking. Using elements of mental health as a theme-think phobias, addiction, nostalgia- Psychonauts 2 executes the ideology well, and brings enemies into the same mix by naming them as unfavourable thoughts. These adventures into a subject’s psyche are when the developers flexed their level design muscles.
![psychonauts remastered psychonauts remastered](https://www.4gamer.net/games/327/G032707/20151207081/SS/004.jpg)
Having two separate approaches to world design keeps both fresh, and allows exploration, upgrading, and dialogue with characters to colour in the world further-the side characters that Raz converses with are the gems that add to the world-building, as nearly every character has dialogue and personality that adds a little je ne sais quoi to the game. This headquarters serves as an open world hub, while each level is a journey through a subject’s mind. Reality bites, however, as he soon realises he is to be inducted into the internship program at the Psychonauts HQ and prove his capabilities before he becomes an official Psychonaut. Gone are the early 2000s days of pixel-perfect landings on platforms thankfully, Psychonauts 2 has evolved with the genre, to an extent.Īrmed with his psychic powers, Raz (short for Razputin) figured he was a shoo-in to be inducted as a Psychonaut. These new players will also miss out on the janky platforming in the original, as the sequel have improved these elements in significant ways. For those that missed out on the 2005 original and the Rhombus of Ruin, a recap video catches new players up to the plotline, allowing them to hit the ground running, although they will miss out on a cult classic. Set merely days after the original and the 2017 VR title, Rhombus of Ruin, Psychonauts 2 continues the story of Raz as a Psychonauts-hopeful (secret agents with psychic abilities), as he tries to find a mole in the Psychonauts organization and prevent them from reviving a past evil. More importantly, it improves upon its predecessor in many ways, while still retaining the patented Double Fine warped sense of story-telling and humour, making this game my contender for Game of the Year.
![psychonauts remastered psychonauts remastered](https://steamunlocked.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/psychonauts-steam.jpg)
It’s apt, as the game is “mental” in the way it is written and designed by the idiosyncratic mind of Tim Schafer and the Double Fine team, and in the manner the game articulates the theme of mental health. Psychonauts 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2005 cult hit Psychonauts, is a game I can only describe as “mental”.