I could keep listing playgrounds-a cel-shaded psychedelic concert!-but it’s probably better to be surprised by some of the visual inventiveness.Īlmost every inch of each Tim Burton–meets–Klasky Csupo stage is festooned with tiny touches-a sight gag here, a snippet of text there-that speak to the care and attention to detail lavished on Psychonauts 2 during its extended gestation. … to a pastel explosion stitched together like a quilt. … to a world built out of books and letters and populated by paper people … That range of mental plights lends itself to varied environments, from Nolan-like melting metropolises … In these mind palaces (and prisons), doubts take intimidating, tangible form, embodied both via common enemies and through towering or labyrinthine level designs that turn teardrops into waterfalls or a sense of isolation into physical confinement on a tiny island in a vast sea. Within the brains he spelunks, Raz views his vulnerable friends and foes as they see themselves, burdened by depression, rejection, and negative self-talk.
(In another departure from Twelve Minutes, it includes a detailed content warning.) Its protagonists have their foibles and failings, and its villains are relatable and, perhaps, redeemable. Unlike the intriguing but troubling Twelve Minutes, whose tortured protagonist is desperately in need of a Psychonaut’s assistance, Psychonauts 2 is a feel-good game about asking for and finding help, both from others and from inside oneself. Weird, whimsical, and surreal as it is thanks to a script cowritten (as Psychonauts was) by Schafer and Valve veteran Erik Wolpaw, Psychonauts 2 is conscientious and understanding in its depictions of mental health disorders and therapy, though the constraints of the game dictate that catharsis comes faster than it typically can in actual treatment. Psychonauts gameplay largely takes place in two types of settings: sprawling hub areas that Raz can traverse and explore, and themed levels set inside the psyches he enters to help allies and enemies alike clear away cobwebs, face facts, and confront traumas-crucially, without taking advantage of their sensitive states to impose his will or deprive them of their agency.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48544501/psychonauts_2.0.0.jpg "psychonauts 2")
Lowly rank aside, he has weighty problems to tackle: a mole in the Psychonauts, the Voldemort-esque rumored return of a formerly defeated adversary whose origins are closely tied to those of the Psychonauts themselves, and persistent uncertainty about whether he has a girlfriend. A few delays later, fans finally got their hands on the long-awaited title, which came out on Wednesday for Windows, PlayStation 4, and every recent Xbox system.Īt the start of Psychonauts 2, Raz discovers that he’s only been admitted to the intern program, but his junior status doesn’t hold him back for long.
#Psychonauts 2 professional#
Psychonauts 2 was announced almost six years ago after years of fan campaigning and professional flirtations between Double Fine and potential publishers. Subsequent re-releases raised its profile and expanded its player pool, which made it possible for the sequel to attract almost $4 million in crowdfunding. The first Psychonauts didn’t sell well initially, but its distinctive visuals, off-kilter characters, and endearing tonal mix of comedy and empathy made it a critical and cult favorite. Like its celebrated predecessor, which arrived in 2005, Psychonauts 2 is a third-person platformer developed by Double Fine, the Microsoft-owned but independently operated studio started by Tim Schafer, the legendary LucasArts auteur. Psychonauts 2 doubles as an interactive art exhibit, but in some respects it’s also a semiconventional video game, so here’s a more mundane description.
#Psychonauts 2 series#
Yet even though every level looks different, they all unquestionably belong inside Psychonauts, a singular series that follows few rules except to stay resolutely and exquisitely true to itself.
#Psychonauts 2 full#
The environments of Psychonauts 2 are as full of folds, wrinkles, and contradictions as the addled in-game brains that contain them. Not because of how lifelike it looks, but because of how much less lively real life looks by comparison. But I compulsively snapped stills of Psychonauts 2 like a tourist on his first trip away from his hometown. I’m not normally a screenshot person when I play games, because fumbling for a capture button or being ambushed by a pop-up breaks the spell of the scenery.
After spending time in a world where every character and corner is at least slightly askew, obedient buildings are boring. Nor would one want them to conform to familiar designs or stick to symmetrical layouts.
#Psychonauts 2 code#
No structures seem up to code, except for the computer code that created them. Every plant needs a trim, and every human a haircut. In the figuratively and literally twisted settings of the sequel to Psychonauts, every hallway is warped.
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