Psychonauts 2

An absolutely brilliant game! I enjoyed every single second of it! The levels are all brilliantly designed, the gameplay is great and the characters are all superb! I love the whole visual style and the music. Anyone with even the slightest interest in platformers has to give this game a go. Unlike Reddit, its actually fun here to get a glimpse into the minds of mentally deranged people. Thanks Mr Schafer Sir!

Despite being separated by over a decade, Psychonauts 2 feels like a natural sequel that stays true to the original, with the exception of greatly enhanced controls and platforming. The game starts strong with a great introductory level. The art direction and design is spot-on and keeps the franchise distinct from other games. The music and sound effects are perfectly crafted, always adding to the mood. Like the original, the biggest strength of the game is the sheer amount of creativity and unique assets within each environment. While the levels have a variety of tasks that you'll be doing that all feel a bit different, the mechanics are generally the same throughout. It's a lot of general platforming with a couple of abilities you'll always have equipped. This does simplify and streamline the game overall copared to the first; however... About halfway through the game I had a hard time caring about it as much. I realized that the entire game follows a similar structure as the first. Introduce a bunch of characters, forget about them, and then it becomes the Raz and Ford show. The interns are all bland (except Sam who is brilliant), especially compared to the OG's campers. Beyond the initial quests, interacting with characters around the HQ gives no extra dialogue and doesn't progress with the rest of the story. It would have been nice if at least Lili was a more active character. The game also overly relies on the rule of three. Everything you do in this game you'll be doing three times, without adding anything new each step. Once you notice it, everything becomes a chore. Some of the levels go on a bit too long and start to drag. There's still a couple 'useless' abilities, but maybe this helps a little. It's painfully obvious where you should focus your upgrade points, and which pins to buy/equip (there's maybe only 5 that are useful.) Even so, the pins add some charm to the game and make it feel more like Psychonauts. Story-wise I think the game does a good job, but the themes don't feel as tight as the first. The dialogue is a little more generic as well, but Raz, Ford and Sam are top-notch. The bosses leave a lot to be desired, especially the final one. The ending feels too easy, too simple, lackluster, and rushed. Bringing the other characters back in at the end feels forced given how little involvement any of them have in the rest of the game. Despite the seemingly scathing review, it's a fun experience overall (especially the first half!) and a worthy sequel. Everyone will have their own favorite levels and you'll see things here that you won't in other games. Going for 100% completion is very pleasant compared to the first. I also highly recommend watching The PsychOdyssey documentary afterwards as it provides a lot of context into the development of the game and feels like a journey itself.

Wow what a game. This is easily on Ratchet and Clank level, but with a lot more mature theme. You should play the first one before playing this though, as it starts right when the first one finished. I was lucky enough to have missed the first one when it came out and I just played them back to back. Awesome journey, great characters and writing. First one was a little janky and I would give it nowadays 8/10, this however is as polished as it gets and I give it a full 10/10! One of the best adventure platformers ever made!