Psychonauts 2 (2021)

This was SUCH a fun game. I was anticipating the release because I enjoyed the original Psychonauts, and this one was a wonderful build upon the first one.

A few of my favorite things to mention:

• The humor - this game is entirely too clever for it's own good. Everything from the dialogue and screenplay to the missions and level design - it will definitely have you chuckling at times. Speaking of....

• The level design - I can't say enough about the art design and layout of the levels in this game. They are brilliantly colorful, creative, sometimes creepy, and often times trippy but it's all in keeping with the game's humor and overall message. Which leads me to my final point...

• The highlight on mental health awareness-- while the game is fun and will often make you laugh, it also brings awareness to a lot of things that many of us deal with in our own lives -- addictions, anxiety, ADHD, panic attacks, PTSD, etc. I just thought it was neat that the game looks to do a little educating in this area!

Giving this game a 5/5 -- it's pretty solid the entire way around. Give it a try!

Psychonauts 2 is the long awaited sequel to Psychonauts. It was a quirky 3D platformer of the kind that existed back in the day, but which pretty much disappeared. Psychonauts 2 alternates between real world segments, in a hub world, and going into people’s minds and exploring their mindscapes. These levels are where the real meat of the game is, and are both varied and creative. The first game’s levels were not always the best, but they often had very memorable premises; however, many of the levels in this game are pretty forgettable, even if the game is a bit improved mechanically.

The humor of the story as well feels weaker. The first game was very Saturday morning cartoon silly, and this game deals with much darker subjects. The first game had some darker subject matter, but mostly was lighter and more quirky; this game spent too long in the darkness, I think, and suffered for it.

The overall platforming was okay, though not amazing. The game is easier than the first game, and more consistent in its difficulty. The powers you get in this game are decent. The platforming was decent, which is an accomplishment for a 3D platformer. Still, it is okay, and better than games like A Hat in Time or Yooka Laylee.

Overall, this is a decent but not amazing sequel to an older game that had its flaws but also its positive quirks. I liked it well enough, but it’s not the “must play” game that I think it seemed like it might have been at one point. Still, if you did like the first game, this is good enough that it is worth getting; if you haven’t played the first game, and you like 3D platformers, this might be worth a look.

I picked this up because it was so highly touted and it was on Gamepass.

I played through for about 20 hours and enjoyed most of it. The level design is great, the powers felt fun, the writing was top-notch and the wordplay was just right.

The only let down for me was the combat. It just wasn't enjoyable. I'm sure it's partly because I'm just not good at it, and that's fine.

In the end, I watched the last portion of the game in a playthrough on YouTube, and very much enjoyed that. I got all the benefit of the game, with none of the frustration.

Even with that, this game was still good enough that I'd recommend most people try it if it's available to them.

~David.

Ok, I seldom ever say things like this because I don’t rank my experiences, but for the first time since BotW I may have stumbled upon what unequivocally is what I might call the game of the year. I rarely ever have a game of the year, so this is not likely to happen again for a while. And I’m not even done, so it’s risky to say this, but nonetheless here goes:

Folks, Psychonauts 2 is probably, very likely, the Game of the Year.

For those who know me well enough, let me remind you that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart also came out this year. And so did Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. So I don’t say what I said above lightly.

This is some game!

Psychonauts 2 is gorgeous!

Admittedly, so is the first one, but it’s nice to see that Double Fine stuck with their aesthetic vision rather than altering the look of the game simply to take advantage realism afforded by contemporary tech. I feel like there are a number of games that push realism over stylistic direction, and I’m happy this isn’t one of them.

Psychonauts 2 contains a level of thoughtfulness in both level design and in story elements that I really appreciate. While I enjoyed several of the levels in the original game, this sequel has some very well thought out narratives backing the level design, in a way that shows the Double Fine has grown as developers and storytellers. A lot more of this game hits me significantly. It's clear Double Fine put deep critical thought into the story they wanted to craft, leaving behind a lot of worn out tropes about mental illness and replacing them with empathetic and well conceived of representations.

So far this game feels like everything I wanted the first game to be, and everything I could have possibly wanted from a sequel.

Clearly I'm antsy to play this, so let me pose this question: does anyone know what time this goes live? I've set it to download and I am wondering if this goes live at midnight, or some other time later tomorrow. Anyone know?

Update: I think I found an answer, and I guess I could have just checked my Xbox.

Release Time on Game Pass

If you click on the game itself on Xbox, it will inform you that Psychonauts 2 is set to go live on August 25th at 1 am BST. The time is likely similar around the world, meaning you can play it an hour after midnight.

Unfortunately, games can always run into their own issues so, if it doesn't arrive when it says it does, just give it a few minutes and try again.

Looking good:

It also sounds like there won't be big conceptual or mechanical changes from the original game, which I'm cool with. I'll even be cool with it if they stick another Meat Circus in it, because if I find myself feeling anythign like I did when playing the Xbox version, I'm going to toggle that new Invincibility mode on and be done with it!