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Psychonauts 2
Console: Ps4/ Xbox One
Release: August 25th 2021
Psychonauts 2 isn't an easy game to explain. Sure, I could say it's a 3D platformer. A throwback to the golden age of platformers.
It has plenty of collectables, challenging platforming sections, and bright; colourful environments. But that's describing a whole raft of games from the genre isn't it?
So what exactly, if anything, sets Psychonauts 2 apart from the others?
Well for starters; this game features some of the most innovative, memorable and extraordinary level designs I've ever seen in a platformer.
From navigating the insides of a giant mouth (yep, you read that right!), to riding an indoor theme park attraction, to hopping and gliding around giant flowers and camper vans from the swinging 60's. For sheer variation, it gets no better than this.
It's a real delight for the senses. An incredible blend of colours, sights and sounds, both wacky and wonderful in equal measure.
The story picks up directly after events in Psychonauts 1, an old Ps1 game that didn't sell particularly well, but garnered a cult following thanks to it's incredibly unusual premise.
For those that didn't play the 1st one though- don't panic- the game does a good job of recapping events so that newcomers to the franchise will be able to enjoy it just as much as returning fans.
Raz, the protagonist, is a member of the Psychonauts, a group of individuals with the ability to travel directly into your mind and navigate through your thoughts in order to understand what makes a person tick.
With Raz now granted access to the Psychonauts HQ, it's not long before he stumbles across a conspiracy and the plot spirals hugely out of control quickly after that.
To talk more about the story would spoil it, and this game is best experienced knowing as little as possible about the plot.
Raz's journey will see his powers grow exponentially as he explores more minds and unlocks stronger, more useful abilities. He does this by collecting various trinkets from the levels; and exchanging them for experience points and new skills.
Powers such as telekinesis; the ability to slow down time, and astral projection, all prove invaluable over the course of the campaign.
You'll have your favourites, for sure; but without alternating between all of these powers you won't be able to progress. The game does an incredible job at making good use of the abilities Raz gains, and making you think about when and how to use them.
Despite the fact that it's a fairly linear narrative, the game does offer you a little bit of choice in terms of what order to tackle things in. There are even a few side quests thrown in too, should you want to extend the roughly 15 hour experience a little further.
The platforming segments strike the perfect balance between challenging and fun. You'll never find yourself doing the same thing twice. One minute you're rail grinding, the next you're hurtling down a track on a giant bowling ball trying to keep your balance.
Combat is clearly not the main focus of the game; but nevertheless it handles well enough.
Some of the late game battles can get a little hectic though.
Once they are all unlocked, Raz has 8 powers to use. Bad news though- you can only map 4 of them to your controls at any one time. This leaves the other 4 inaccessible unless you open a menu, and switch them over. If this sounds frustrating, that's because it is! Especially because of the fact the game actively encourages you to use all 8 powers regularly. On the whole though, it doesn't detract too much from the overall experience.
The bosses, for the most part, are just plain brilliant. Aside from the final boss; who i found to be really underwhelming, the other bosses were fun, challenging and perfectly designed.
During the adventure, it's not just your platforming and combat skills that will be put to the test. Your problem solving skills, and even your memory will be tested too.
One incredible section sees you having to traverse a difficult kitchen-type environment complete with giant blender; giant boiling pot and plenty of other contraptions in order to cook various recipes. You do this by carrying the ingredients to their respective areas and actually cooking them- e.g, boiling an egg, or chopping a strawberry up.
This sounds bizarre and even a little ridiculous, but when you play through it you will realise the developers have done an incredible job of pulling it off in a way that feels fresh and exciting. This segment serves to epitomise everything good about Psychonauts 2 and has to be played through to be fully appreciated.
The world is split between real life locations, and segments which take place inside various characters' heads.
You can clearly see the game's creators wanted to ensure there is a definitive difference between the two types of worlds, with the inside of minds being bizarre and unpredictable; and the real world environments being lively and full of discovery.
Great care has been taken to ensure that every single character, from the main cast to supporting NPC's, is memorable and unique. From their incredible visuals designs all the way to their voice acting, which boasts the likes of Jack Black and Elijah Wood amongst it's talented cast.
The soundtrack is on point too, with each area's music perfectly harmonising with it's theme.
It's top shelf stuff, and the Developers Double Fine deserve heaps of praise for making this come together so wonderfully, especially for a project that started out as a crowdfunding campaign.
We play games to escape the toils and responsibilities of daily life. To lose ourselves in vast, unique worlds full of things to do and see.
No game epitomises this better than Psychonauts 2. It's truly a delight to play through. From start to finish, it weaves it's magic and ensures you will have an experience you won't forget in a hurry.
The good
- Some of the best level design you will ever see in a platformer
- Memorable characters and excellent voice acting
- Varied abilities with a neat and tidy upgrade system
- Variation ensures there is never a dull moment
The not so good
- Can only map 4 of your abilities to buttons at a time, despite needing quick access to all 8 of them
- Final boss is an anticlimax
Verdict: 8.8/10
By @damoroso4
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