![]() The improvement of the combat system comes from the fact that most of your powers can also be used in battle. The fighting in the first game was not great, and I can safely say that combating enemies here is better, but I’m still not sure it’s exactly great. One of Tim Schafer’s goals for the sequel was to make improvements to the combat. You might just stumble upon something important. Just to give you a hint, if you see a painting hanging around somewhere, it would be in your best interest to burn it down. These abilities can also be used to track down hidden objects and locations. One of the more common instances you’ll come across is using Mental Connection to latch onto a thought bubble, then using Time Bubble to slow down an object to create a platform. Psychonauts 2 is at its best when you’re using these powers to navigate the tangled minds you visit, and you’ll often need to use them in tandem to proceed. ![]() Time Bubble lets Raz slow down the speed of objects and enemies, and Mental Projection lets the pint-sized psychic create an archetype of himself. Mental Connection allows you to manipulate someone’s thoughts to change how they feel about certain topics. There are also three new powers to learn as you progress through the campaign. Grabbing and throwing objects with telekinesis now feels much smoother, and pyrokinesis takes the form of an area-of-effect attack, rather than having to focus on a specific object. Telekinesis, PSI-Blast, Pyrokinesis, Levitation, and Clairvoyance are still in his arsenal, but have been improved in various ways. There have certainly been improvements to the core gameplay, but it still remains firmly rooted in the world of traditional platforming.Ī majority of Raz’s psychic abilities return for the sequel. For better or worse, Psychonauts 2 doesn’t deviate too much from this formula. Not that it was terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but the 3D platforming didn’t do much to separate itself from other similar titles flooding the marketplace at the time. While the world-building and writing of the original Psychonauts drew plenty of praise, the gameplay was arguably its weakest part. It could be viewed as a disappointment, but the universe of the series is so wild and weird, that I appreciated getting to see parts of it that weren’t featured in the previous effort. Fan favorites such as Sasha and Milla are still hanging around, but they don’t get to do as much in the main story as you might have expected. You’ll get to see more interaction between Raz and his siblings, as well as his parents and Nona. Raz’s family also decides to show up at Psychonauts HQ, which is also a welcome treat. We learn more about his history with the Psychic Six, as well as just how chaotic his mind truly is. There are others, of course, but to say more would spoil the fun.Īs for the returning cast, you’ll spend a good chunk of your time with Ford Cruller. Hollis Forsythe is a welcome addition to the cast, and while I didn’t love them at first, the interns Raz is grouped in with grow on you over time. Smartly, the sequel also chooses to focus on returning faces who didn’t get as much play in the first title, and the new cast of characters introduced for the sequel. A lesser team might have either gone too far with the jokes or went too preachy with the writing. The studio manages to thread the delicate balance between providing jokes about mental health, while also championing that your mental health is incredibly important. Once again, it seems that the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of an adolescent intern.Īfter all these years, it’s nice that the team at Double Fine is able to effectively tap into what made the writing of the original so memorable. ![]() The plan to kidnap Grand Head Truman Zanotto was only the beginning of a plot to resurrect an ancient evil known as Maligula. ![]() That would be unfortunate enough, but there’s something much more sinister going on at HQ. However, despite all he did in the previous games, he finds himself shuffled into the Intern Program thanks to second-in-command Hollis Forsythe. Picking up following the events of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin (thankfully, there is a recap video to explain what you need to know), Psychonauts 2 sees Raz finally make his way to the Psychonauts Headquarters. A lot has happened since then, including the acquisition of Double Fine by Microsoft, but Razputin Aquato is finally back in action. That is until 2015, when a sequel was finally announced thanks to the then-burgeoning world of crowdfunded games. However, despite the best efforts of Double Fine head Tim Schafer, the low sales of the first game torpedoed plans for a sequel. Shortly after the release of the original in 2005, it felt like there were rumblings of a future entry in the planning stage. It’s been a long time coming for Psychonauts 2. ![]()
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