Operation Backlog Completion 2024
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.

May 192021
 

I love Psychonauts, and Psychonauts 2 is one of my most anticipated games of the year.

Psychonauts is a 3D platformer in which you travel into people’s mental worlds, which leads to a number of really unique levels (and a lot of humor). If you haven’t played it, you really should give it a try!

(It’s on Game Pass now, too.)

The long-awaited sequel is due out this year for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X, and Game Informer has now revealed it as their new cover story.

That means that we have a lot of Psychonauts 2 information coming soon. Not only is it the featured article in this month’s issue of the magazine, but they’ll also be covering the game throughout the month.

The video announcing their Psychonauts 2 coverage includes gameplay footage, some of which I believe is new. It all looks fantastic and very fitting to the Psychonauts style.

For a while, I was nervous about Psychonauts 2. I love the original so much that I worried a sequel wouldn’t be able to capture that same magic, especially when I had mixed feelings about some of Double Fine’s more recent games, such as Broken Age. However, the things I’ve seen since then restored my excitement for Psychonauts 2 and left me hopeful that this really will be the sequel it deserves.

I don’t have a copy of the magazine to check out the new content, but screenshots from the article have been posted online, and they look great!

That’s in addition to earlier screenshots that have been shared by Double Fine. All together, these screenshots show a wide variety of levels, which is exactly what I’d expect from a Psychonauts game.

Earlier this month, Psychonauts 2 was briefly made available to pre-load from the Xbox store, although it was since taken down.

A lot of fans took that as a sign that the game is almost ready to be released, although it’s possible the pre-load was meant for a preview build accidentally opened up to everyone at first. Either way, that together with it being the central story of a major gaming magazine makes me think we’re getting close to a release date.

Personally, I now expect it to come out in the summer, right in the middle of all the other games I want to play at launch, because why not make the decision even harder? Either way, I can’t wait for Psychonauts 2 to come out!

I probably should look up the story of Rhombus of Ruin in the meantime…

Are you looking forward to Psychonauts 2?

May 222019
 

E3 is coming soon, and one thing already confirmed is an exclusive gameplay demonstration of Psychonauts 2.

We last talked about Psychonauts 2 when the first full trailer was revealed at last year’s Game Awards show in December. I’d been worried about it, but the trailer renewed by enthusiasm.

Now an official E3 announcement has revealed that E3 2019 will include a panel with Tim Schafer and Jack Black, and they’ll show Psychonauts 2 gameplay.

It’s not clear why Jack Black will be there, but the actor previously worked with Double Fine for the game Brütal Legend. He also voiced a character in Broken Age. Some fans are hoping it means their panel will include Brütal Legend news, but it seems more likely that Jack Black is involved with Psychonauts 2, especially since Tim Schafer recently told Variety that Double Fine’s next game would probably not be a sequel to anything.

(Unless their non-sequel game is Rad, which was already announced.)

Update: This has been confirmed, as the latest Fig update for Psychonauts 2 says Jack Black will be there “to chat about his involvement in the game.”

Anyway, I’m excited for Psychonauts 2, so I can’t wait to see this panel. Here’s hoping the gameplay looks good and the writing is as funny as in the first game.

Are you looking forward to the Psychonauts 2 panel at E3?