Psychonauts 2 review – the wait paid off

16 years have passed since the release of the cult 3D platformer Psychonauts. Studio Double Fine, headed by renowned game designer Tim Schafer, is now giving us a full-fledged sequel. Due to the fact that the first part of the store failed, the path to the continuation was very thorny. As a result, the authors were helped by the players themselves, who invested more than 3.8 million dollars in the development through the crowdfunding platform Fig. Even after such success, the developers were far from winning.

Publisher Starbreeze, which was supposed to invest another $8 million into the development of the game, began to face significant financial problems. Therefore, the next series of delays is not surprising. The turning point came in 2019 when the entire studio was bought by Microsoft. Finally, the long-awaited and delayed project crossed the imaginary finish line. I can already tell you that the wait was worth it.

• Platform: PC (peer review), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Mac, Linux
• Publication date: 25. 8. 2021
• Producer: Double Fine Productions (USA)
• Genre: story-driven 3D action platformer
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 30 GB
• Game time: 15+ hours
• Sales version: digital
• Price: 1500 CZK (Steam), available with Xbox Game Pass.

What is probably hidden in our heads

Psychonauts 2 follows in the footsteps of its already heavily bearded predecessor and leaves no doubt that the developers have fans of the original in mind. Without them, as I mentioned in the introduction, the second part would probably never have been created. Thus, the game remains true to the 3D platformer genre with a third-person view. However, psychonauts are definitely not just a bouncer. They add to an interesting mix of frequent action and logical passages and, last but not least, a rich story with countless story animations and dialogue. Thus, a rather ambitious and voluminous name is hidden behind the distinctly stylized graphics.

The second part of the story follows number one, so you will once again take on the role of ten-year-old Razputin “Raise” Aquat. Instead of a career in the family circus, his dream finally begins to come true when he becomes part of an organization of special agents with special abilities known as psychonauts. From the very beginning, he has to face distrust and be content with the position of an intern. But this will not prevent him from taking the initiative soon and finding out the main organizer of the abduction of one of the important psychonauts.

Thanks to a good pace, the plot gradually gains intensity and interest.

You caught the kidnapper himself. However, he refuses to tell you who planned the entire kidnapping. How do you solve the problem? Fans of the first game probably already know this. In short, kidnappers represented by a rather confused doctor. Loboto, you’re looking straight into my head. The main theme of Psychonauts is precisely the study of ideas and everything that happens in the heads of different characters. But these are not just ideas. All the characters in the game are, without exaggeration, very special. Their appearance and behavior will clearly tell you that they will not be chasing normal and normal things in their head.

Double penalty is back

They are just original, funny and constantly announce characters that will clearly remind you that you are playing Tim Schafer’s game. After all, the kind of humor that Shaher is known for is also present in Psychonauts 2. If the new style suits you, you will have fun and often shake your head in disbelief at what the authors have come up with. In general, the story surprises with its depth and interesting twists and turns. Thanks to the good pace and the constant influx of new characters, the plot is also gaining momentum and interest. It is all the more a pity that the Czech localization failed. I don’t think players who aren’t fully proficient in one of the supported languages ​​will enjoy the game. However, some plot points and jokes may elude them. I myself was surprised at how talkative other Psychonauts can be.

A well-written story and characters are accompanied by a reworking of the game world. Here, too, the developers did not reduce the given level of fantasy and diversity. On the one hand, you will move in the physical “ordinary” world, consisting of several more open locations. Here you will find a shift in the story itself, interviews with characters and preparation for individual missions. Although the game has a few side missions and activities, Psychonauts 2 is basically a linear game with a fixed main mission structure. But you will spend more time learning in the already mentioned world the thoughts in the minds of the characters who are faced with certain problems. You have to solve them and get their heads in order. After all, it is the theme of mental problems that permeates the entire game.

As a real psychonaut, Raz can not only penetrate different minds.

In the world of ideas, authors have given free rein to their imagination more than anything. The sub-levels are full of different ideas, different visual effects and, above all, colorful and original gameplay. The game successfully combines a variety of jumping passages, logic puzzles, duels and story films. When you plant these ingredients in an ever-changing world where you can’t guess what’s happening and waiting for you in it, you end up with an extremely interesting game in terms of gameplay that is minimal to date. Good level design is manifested not only in the imagery of the levels and the colorfulness of the gameplay, but also in visibility. It has never happened to me while playing that I didn’t know where to go or what the game wants me to do. So I didn’t mind some straightness and rather a more linear structure of the individual levels.

He can really do a lot of it.

Whether it’s action, platforming, or logic playthroughs, your protagonist’s special abilities play an integral role in everything. As a real psychonaut, Raz can not only penetrate different minds. With various melee or ranged attacks, he can effectively defend against enemies. He can use telekinesis to move objects. He can also create a fireball or an efficient parachute that allows him to glide. And that’s just part of a series of abilities that you switch between as you play and unlock them as you progress. They are absolutely essential to progressing through the game and you will be using them all the time.

It is also time for their gradual improvement. To increase your skills or partially visually improve, you will spend both the experience points that you earn for each new level of the character, and the virtual currency that drops out in each location. But the levels also hide a number of other objects. Developers do not force you to collect them. After all, after the game, you can repeatedly return to all levels and collect all optional actions and items. The average speed of the game should take you about fifteen hours. But it very much depends on how you want to stay in each level and explore them.

Thanks to the benevolent difficulty, you won’t sweat even in boss battles.

Jumping sequences and logic puzzles are not without creativity. Dueling is a little worse. They also display special abilities. However, in the first place, you will use the classic melee attack with long-range shooting. These two attacks will be enough for most normal enemies. Some more complex combinations of attacks, or an overall greater ingenuity due to less complexity, are not entirely necessary. From the very beginning, you will encounter quite a few enemies. However, over time, they begin to repeat and increase in number. Thanks to your opponents’ weaker AI, you can usually handle ranged attacks with them. The developers may have been aware of this weaker element and didn’t add too many fights to the game. Fans of action-packed walkthroughs could at least enjoy the boss battles, among which you will find more interesting enemies.

Seek not a challenge, but an experience

However, due to the benevolent difficulty, you won’t sweat even during boss fights. The authors noticeably tried to bring the game closer to the festive or younger players. In the menu, you can even turn on immortality, turn off crash injuries, or turn on story mode to make fights even easier. Unfortunately, the developers forgot about the players looking for a challenge. The difficulty cannot be changed, so everyone has to be content with the base level. You could already draw a picture of visual processing from the attached pictures and trailer. I have to admit that I’m used to heavy styling in the style of the old 1990s animators.

For the most part, the writers definitely wanted to stay true to the style of the first part. Perhaps, however, the final look was influenced by the longer development and limited financial resources at the beginning. Even from a graphical point of view, this is a rather specific title, the visual processing of which should not suit everyone. Personally, I got used to it over time. Despite the initial pessimism, it must be admitted that there is something in the styling. The original note also contains a soundtrack that is perfect for the game. You can even hear Jack Black on one musically rich level.

From a graphical point of view, this is a specific title, the visual of which is not suitable for everyone.

Psychonauts 2 features varied and addictive gameplay. It also impresses with creative levels, an interesting world, a well-written story, and hilarious characters. If you’re not looking for a challenge in the form of tight difficulty or tough fights at any cost, you’ll have fun playing, laughing and, like me, having an open face at what the developers at Double Fine have served us.

We test the latest PC games on the powerful LYNX Grunex 2020 computer.