Psychonauts 2 Review

Back in 2011, Tim Schafer from Double Fine Productions explored the idea of what a game would look like if every level was actually set in the minds of the characters in the game. When I played it, I immediately fell in love with the environments, characters, and story. The level designs were able to be super out there and weird but totally believable. The gameplay had the ability to blend with the story. Each enemy was related to what was going on inside the characters head at the time. Levels designs were able to dabble in the obtuse and imaginary. It's okay if there are endless pits to nowhere because you're in someone's mind and it sorta makes sense. The premise also kind of "cheats" in that you get all sorts of character development when you make the level in someone's mind.

Psychonauts 2 continues Raz's adventure from his 2011 adventure. Almost the entire cast of characters come back in this entry. The game starts off hot with Raz going on a mission with his two mentors, Milla and Sasha, trying to rescue the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto. But once the body is rescued and the captor has been dealt with, the story has just begun. The result from the mission shows that greater threat has been unleashed onto the Psychonauts headquarters and there is mole in their midst. 

So here are my likes and dislikes of Psychonauts 2:

What I liked:

1. Story/Characters

Getting back into Psychonauts doesn't take long in Psychonauts 2. It almost feels like coming home, everyone is back from the first game and their personalities all shine as you catch up with them. The awkward comedy is still there with stilted delivery and out there references. Seems like the humor finds the right lines at the right time and definitely gets frequent chuckles. 

I loved the way Psychonauts 2 kicks off. It starts off as a pretty good mystery but unravels into something that Raz doesn't just find himself in, but actually something only he can solve. It was a pleasure to go from cutscene to cutscene to see how the story plays out. It's also nice to see Raz's fandom from the first game play out more in this one. A lot of references from his Psychonauts comics in he first game becomes reality in this one. 

While returning characters all had the same charm I remember from before, Psychonauts 2 introduced the...interns. Not my favorite group of people, but it adds some fresh voices that are serviceable. The problem with the interns is that they are only there to give out fetch quests until the very end of the game. I didn't like their characters either, I felt like they were created to basically annoy Raz. Since they don't normally get in the way that much, they didn't influence my appreciation of the story very much. 

2. Improved Art Direction

The fresh coat of paint was almost lost on me because the art direction of Psychonauts is so iconic, I couldn't tell how much better the game looked without going back and watching the original's trailer. 

The move to Unreal Engine 4 really gives Psychonauts 2 a real shine. Some of the levels in the game have some really fun designs that only are enhanced by the graphics. 

What I Disliked:

1. Platforming

This was a big disaster for me. While Raz has access to a lot of cool abilities you can switch out on the fly, those same abilities can be crucial in movement. And the problem I had was that a lot of platforming sections required a lot of precise movement with those skills. And the skills are floaty. I felt like I had so many game overs because I had to keep guessing on where I might be able to land after a jump. I also disliked that the levitate (basically the gliding ability) button being assigned to holding jump wasn't something that was set by default. I didn't even realize I could change that setting until 90% through the game. 

I understand that every level was lovingly crafted and detailed but the issue was that the game didn't really give a clear path to follow during some platforming sections later in the game. There were times where I thought I could reach somewhere, only to find out that it was a red herring and left me in a trap that required me to jump off and take a loss of health. 

2. Combat? 

This one is more of an ugly. The combat excels in slowly training you to utilize your powers together to overcome a growing list of enemies. Sometimes you'll be trying to slow down one enemy so you can get some space to set another enemy on fire and this is where the game excels. However, the game kind of just throws the same type of enemies into different combinations that get extremely frustrating pretty quickly. 

And there is just so much of it that hinders exploration and progression through levels. So if you don't find combat exciting, it'll be a bit of slog especially towards the end. 

Conclusion:

Psychonauts 2 is still very much a niche game, but definitely worth checking out if you can find it on sale. Maybe a player with better platform skills wouldn't find this games' mechanics so off putting. Even if you do, the story is a fun one to experience.