Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Psychonauts 2 is a Fun and Creative Sequel

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 222021
 

The original Psychonauts is an absolutely fantastic game, and this year saw the release of its sequel at long last. So, how does Psychonauts 2 compare?

I was a little nervous going into Psychonauts 2, because whenever I love a game so much, I worry that a sequel won’t live up to it.

Fortunately, Psychonauts 2 is fantastic.

Set shortly after the events of the original game (and the VR game, which I watched a playthrough of), Psychonauts 2 sees Raz officially join the interns at Psychonauts HQ, only to learn of a plot to resurrect the Psychonauts’ nemesis Maligula, with the help of a mole within the organization.

Like in the first game, Raz’s quest to get to the bottom of these sinister happenings involves him traveling inside people’s minds (usually with permission this time).

These mental worlds you travel through are shaped by the person’s memories, dreams, fears, etc., each with its own unique twist. Now, I felt they weren’t quite as creative gameplay-wise as the original’s levels. That is to say, the themes might be unique and there are a couple levels with standout gimmicks, but everything comes down to platforming a lot more often.

Narrative-wise, however, they work wonderful to convey the character’s minds in a variety of entertaining and often heartfelt ways. In that sense, they might be more creative than ever before.

Speaking of which, Psychonauts 2 is filled with humor just like the first. Nothing reaches the heights of something like the Milkman Conspiracy, but there were a lot of lines and moments that made me laugh.

Meanwhile, I’d say the story itself is better than in the original, and it even had a couple of plot twists that took me by surprise. I do wonder if a few parts of the story could have been slowed down a little to let you get to know the characters better, but the pacing feels fine in general.

When it comes to the gameplay, Psychonauts 2 is a collect-a-thon platformer at heart, so there are a ton of things to collect. In the real world, you’ll be scouring the large hub areas for Psi Cards and other collectibles to rank up and improve your psychic powers, while the mental worlds will send you in search of figments, emotional baggage, and more. As someone who loves collect-a-thon gameplay, it was easy to lose myself in exploration.

You also have several psychic powers at your disposal, all your abilities from the first game plus some new ones learned here. It feels like the original in many ways, but smoother than ever.

Psychonauts is one of my favorite games, and Psychonauts 2 is a delightful sequel. I still have a few last collectibles to hunt for, but it was a great adventure through and through. If you enjoyed Psychonauts, I think it’s safe to say you’ll also enjoy Psychonauts 2.

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is Getting an Official Manga!

 Books, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 202021
 

Even in this year of niche games getting unexpected sequels, I didn’t expect to be talking about Layton Brothers: Mystery Room.

While it might not have a sequel (yet), Level-5 is adapting the story of Layton Brothers: Mystery Room as a manga being released on their manga website Manga-5.

The manga follows the game’s story, but it seems as though it will have new story content as well. Two parts of the manga have already come out and can be read for free, with more parts being released each week. It’s only available in Japanese so far, but I hope they consider an official translation eventually.

(Manga Alfendi is absolutely adorable, too. I can’t wait to see how the manga handles “Potty Prof.”)

If you’re unfamiliar with it, Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is a Professor Layton spin-off starring the professor’s son, Alfendi Layton, who works as a detective for Scotland Yard solving particularly unusual cases, and his new assistant, Lucy Baker. It plays more like a streamlined Ace Attorney game than anything else, and I’ve been hoping for a sequel for quite some time.

Layton Brothers was only ever released for mobile devices, so I’d love to see them port the original game, too. For the first time in years, it actually seems possible.

From celebrating over the tiniest reference to Alfendi in Layton’s Mystery Journey to actually getting an official manga… things are looking up for sure!

Have you played Layton Brothers: Mystery Room? Would you play a port and/or sequel? Are you planning to read the manga, especially if it gets translated?

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve is a Truly Epic Conclusion

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , ,
Dec 172021
 

I’ve now finished The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, the second half of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, and it seems safe to say my GOTY is now set in stone.

When I finished The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures back in August, I suggested Chronicles should be instead viewed as one big Ace Attorney game.

I still feel that way, but what I didn’t expect was how much better Resolve would be.

Not only does it follow up on the numerous loose ends left by the first game, but it had me constantly re-evaluating hints and coming up with new theories.

The pacing and stakes are excellent; if Adventures felt like it had three tutorials, Resolve balances that by making every case important and memorable.

And while it’s a small thing, I greatly missed having multiple investigation days in the first game, so I was thrilled to see multi-day investigations return. I still would have liked more, but that’s only because I wanted this already-long game to last even longer.

I liked the cast when I played the first game, but the second left me wanting to stay in this era with these characters to the point where I dragged out my playthrough solely because I didn’t want to finish.

It has so many incredible moments, and more plot twists than I ever expected. It hit me with so many revelations that shook up what I expected, even once I thought I had everything figured out.

Click for major Great Ace Attorney 2 spoilers
KAZUMA! Everything about Kazuma is wonderful, and he also has one of the best prosecutor themes in the series. Van Zieks was already rising to be one of my favorite prosecutors, but then to give me Kazuma on top of that? And then with van Zieks as the defendant???

Speaking of which, Gregson being a victim stunned me. They’ve never killed a supporting character who was around for multiple cases–and a whole game!–like that. And then, of course, I found out the truth about his involvement with “the Reaper.”

(Oh boy did I keep going over and over those four names from the Morse code message every time I found out something new about them.)

Then there was learning the Professor’s true identity, at which point I needed to take a short walk before I could resume playing.

And these aren’t even all of the plot twists that made me say, “Wait, WHAT?” but I’ll be typing all day if I try to list them all.

(Also, I was quite surprised to see many people dislike Stronghart as a villain. He was obvious, yes, but that enhanced my playthrough instead of detracting from it. When I saw him as the judge, it was way more intimidating because I already suspected him of being up to no good. He’s also pretty much the embodiment of “the ends justify the means.”)

It’s not perfect, of course, but most of my quibbles are minor things. Is it just me, or do these games always have exactly 5 points in each testimony/cross-examination, when the number used to vary more? And one critical moment stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit… but look, I’ll take it in exchange for everything else this game gave me.

There is so much to love, from the characters to the music to the plot twists and the way it brings everything together. I am seriously considering the possibility that it might have dethroned Trials & Tribulations as my favorite Ace Attorney game.

I want another Great Ace Attorney game, be it a Great Ace Attorney 3, a Great Ace Attorney Investigations, or some other spin-off.

Click for major Great Ace Attorney 2 spoilers
An Investigations spin-off set in this era has potential for so many different ideas, too!

Would we play as Barok? Or play as Kazuma? Both?? Gina as the main detective and/or assistant? Or maybe we’d play as Mikotoba working together with Sholmes again?? Flashback case playing as Sholmes and Mikotoba again?? Flashback case playing as Klint before crossing his despair event horizon?????

Or, you know, we could have a Great Ace Attorney 3 starring Ryunosuke and Susato again. I’ll take it!

But whatever it is, please, let Barok van Zieks smile. Please!

In a year filled with incredible games, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles will most likely end up being my favorite game of the year. While the first game set up a good story, The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve went above and beyond and ended up being one of the best – if not the best – games in the series.

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