Psychonauts 2

''Psychonauts 2'' is a platform game developed by Double Fine and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was announced at The Game Awards 2015 ceremony, and released on August 25, 2021 for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and on May 24, 2022 for Linux and macOS.

Like the game's predecessor, the player controls Raz, a young acrobat that is training to become a Psychonaut, a member of an international task force that uses their psychic abilities to stop those that perform nefarious deeds with their own psychic forces. Within ''Psychonauts 2'', which follows directly from events of the interstitial virtual reality game, ''Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin'', the Psychonauts try to learn who was really behind the capture of their leader, unveiling a deep mystery surrounding the organization's founding and Raz's family history. To uncover the mystery, Raz enters the mindscapes of various characters to discover clues. Within these mindscapes, Raz can perform a variety of new and returning psychic abilities that allow him to maneuver through the often-twisted minds and battle the mental creatures they produce.

The original ''Psychonauts'', released in 2005, was met with critical praise, but failed to sell well and was considered a commercial failure for several years after its first release. Double Fine and game director Tim Schafer had expressed the desire to create a sequel to ''Psychonauts'', but the financial demand of developing the game stalled any serious attempt for several years. Double Fine regained the intellectual property to ''Psychonauts'' from Majesco Entertainment in 2011, allowing them to rerelease the game on modern platforms, which saw strong sales and increased demand from players for a sequel. Double Fine sought to acquire part of its financial capital to fund the developments of ''Psychonauts 2'' through a crowd-funding and investment drive through Fig, launched simultaneously with the game's announcement. The campaign raised nearly by the beginning of 2016. While ''Psychonauts 2'' was initially to be published by Starbreeze Studios under a publishing-only deal, Starbreeze fell into bankruptcy in 2018. By 2019, Microsoft acquired Double Fine as part of Xbox Games Studios as well as securing the publishing rights from Starbreeze. This acquisition allowed Double Fine to complete the game as envisioned rather than dropping the planned content.

Upon release, ''Psychonauts 2'' received generally positive reviews from critics, with many feeling it lived up to the quality of its predecessor. Praise was directed at its platforming, level design, visuals, writing, and tone, while criticism fell on aspects of the gameplay and the boss battles.

Gameplay

''Psychonauts 2'' is a platform game played in third-person. The single player controls Razputin "Raz" Aquato, the ten-year-old child runaway of a circus acrobat family, who possesses powerful psychic abilities that allow him to delve into the minds of others. Raz is a new graduate of the Psychonauts, an agency of psychic spies. His acrobatic skills are used to deftly navigate game environments; he may run, jump, scale walls and platforms, and slide along rails, but cannot swim due to a family curse. Raz hones his abilities into an array of psychic powers that allow him to use pyrokinesis, levitation, telekenesis and so on. Several powers return from the original game, with additions such as Mental Connection, which Raz uses to tether between floating points. Up to four powers are assigned at once, and are swapped out via a pop-up interface.

Each of the game's levels exist in their respective character's consciousness. Levels often require completion of a goal to resolve the character's psychological issues. Environmental design in each level gives insight into the character's life experience and mental state. In one level, Raz enters the mind of a character crippled by alcoholism. The level design alludes to the character's struggles, with beer bottles used as set pieces. Another character develops a gambling addiction; their level is set in a warped casino-hospital amalgam. Combat foes in the levels are typically personifications of mental phenomena. Censors attack Raz with stamps, flying Regrets drop weights, and Enablers buff other enemies' health and attacks. In fights, Raz combines his abilities with melee attacks and dodges. When Raz falls through a level or depletes his health, he respawns at a checkpoint. Several levels culminate in a boss battle arena.

When not progressing the story, Raz may explore the four distinct hubs of a large overworld. He begins in the Motherlobe, a corporate building used as the Psychonauts' headquarters. Later, he may explore the surrounding areas: an open Quarry, the wooded Questionable Area? and the Green Needle Gulch swampland. Raz may interact with many of the world's characters, and complete side activities and scavenger hunts. Completed levels may be revisited. Across the levels and hubs, Raz amasses several collectible items, such as Figments, Memory Vaults and Nuggets of Wisdom. Some items, such as PSI Cards, increase Raz's rank and unlock ability upgrades. In-game currency is spent on Pins—which provide passive gameplay effects—health kits and other items.

Synopsis

Setting

''Psychonauts 2'' is set in a fictional, alternate world in which psychic powers exist thanks to the fictional element Psitanium - a substance brought to the planet by several meteors. The Psychonauts are an international espionage agency focused on psychic peacekeeping, scientific research of the human mind, and the development of psychic-based technologies.

In ''Psychonauts'', the player-character Razputin "Raz" Aquato is a young acrobat fascinated by the Psychonauts, but shunned by his family who fear his psychic abilities. He runs away and infiltrates Whispering Rock summer camp, a training facility for young Psychonaut recruits. While there, he helps to foil a plan by the demented Dr. Loboto and misguided Coach Oleander to steal the brains of his fellow campers and the Psychonaut agents Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello, while befriending Psychonauts founder Ford Cruller and Lili Zanotto, the daughter of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto. Raz's father, Augustus, comes to accept Raz's goal of being a Psychonaut, revealing his own weak psychic abilities. ''Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin'' follows immediately from the end of ''Psychonauts'', where Raz joins Sasha, Milla, Coach and Lili to rescue Truman from being captured by Dr. Loboto.

Characters

In addition to returning characters from the previous games, ''Psychonauts 2'' introduces the other founding members of the Psychonauts alongside Ford Cruller, known as the Psychic Six: Otto Mentallis, chief inventor who assists Nein and provides new psychic equipment; Compton Boole, who pioneered telepathy with animals; Bob Zanotto, uncle to Truman Zanotto and capable of communicating with plant life; Helmut Fullbear, a psychic actor whose body was lost and his brain was kept in a jar for over 20 years, making him lose his five senses; and Cassie O'Pia, an author of the self-help book "Mindswarm" who is lost in a multiple personality disorder. Additional Psychonauts staff at their headquarters, the Motherlobe, include Hollis Forsythe, Second Head of the Psychonauts, Nick Johnsmith, the only non-psychic member of the Psychonauts who works in the mailroom section, and a group of interns training to become agents. These interns include Sam Boole, elder sister of Dogen and granddaughter to Compton who can communicate with animals like her family; Adam Gette, the African-British keeper of the Psychonauts' history board who powers yo-yos as a weapon; Morris Martinez, a radio aficionado who travels around via levitating wheelchair; Gisu Nerumen, an engineering ward to Otto and levitating skateboarder; Norma Natividad, a shrewd manipulator and talented pyrokinetic; and Lizzie Natividad, Norma's cryokinetic and moody sister. Raz's family beyond Augustus are also introduced, including Augustus' wife and Raz's mother Donatella, older siblings Dion and Frazie, younger siblings Mirtala and Queepie, and their Nona, mother to Augustus.

Plot

Having just rescued Truman Zanotto, Raz and the other Psychonauts stage an elaborate interrogation construct in the mind of Dr. Caligosto Loboto to identify who hired him for the kidnapping. They learn he was coerced and his mind heavily booby-trapped against revealing any helpful information, but Raz sees the fear tactic instilled in Loboto’s brain: a vision of Maligula, a powerful hydrokinetic psychic believed dead for 20 years after flooding her home country of Grulovia and being subdued by the founding Psychonauts, the Psychic Six. Sasha and Milla conclude that Loboto could not have committed such a high-profile abduction without help on the inside, and resolve to identify the “mole” back at headquarters.

Upon arrival at the Motherlobe, Raz is stripped of his unofficial Psychonauts rank and assigned to the intern program under a mailroom clerk named Nick, who turns up brainless on his first day. During a routine classroom workshop to learn a new psychic technique, Raz manipulates the thoughts of Hollis Forsythe, the Psychonauts' second-in-command, to eliminate her inhibitions and allow him and the other inexperienced interns along on the particularly dangerous next mission to investigate Nick's missing brain and the new lead on the “mole”. After entering her mind and correcting his mistake, the agents and interns discover the hideout of a "Deluginist", a member of a conspiracy theorist group believing Maligula to still be alive or able to be resurrected, along with evidence of a possible plot to involve Lili, as Truman’s daughter, as a pawn to ruin the Psychonauts from the inside.

Back at the Motherlobe, Truman awakes from a feigned coma and instructs an impressionable Raz to bring him Ford Cruller—the only person able to match the threat of Maligula. Raz sets off on his confidential mission just in time for his father Augustus and the rest of his family to arrive at the Motherlobe, having caught up with him after his runaway to Whispering Rock.

After summoning Ford back to headquarters using the bacon strip given to him at camp, Raz finds that Ford’s erratic and fractured psyche requires repair. In the process of trying to access Ford’s multiple personalities around headquarters, Raz makes the acquaintance of the now-elderly members of the Psychic Six: Compton Boole, grandfather of Raz’s camp friend Dogen and the pioneer of psychic work with animals, and Otto Mentallis, research & development head of the Psychonauts and keeper of a vault of spare experimental brains.

In hopes of stabilizing Nick's brainless body, Raz claims an unmarked brain from Otto’s lab to temporarily keep Nick occupied. When the brain promptly causes Nick to experience sensory overload and fly into a panic attack, Raz investigates the mind and finds it to be the long-dormant brain of Helmut Fullbear, another member of the Six who was frozen into a glacier during their fight against Maligula twenty years prior. After helping Helmut handle his panic and recover some of his memories, Raz discovers Maligula was in fact Lucrecia “Lucy” Mux, once a dear friend of the Six and even romantically involved with Ford. Determined to reunite the Six and untangle the new Maligula threat, Raz is finally able to piece Ford’s fragmented mind back together.

Ford confesses to Raz that he never killed Maligula, too in love with Lucy to put an end to her. Once a pioneering Psychonaut, Lucy had returned to her home country of Grulovia amongst political unrest, and was pushed to the breaking point in service of the monarchy, violently quelling peaceful protests, traumatizing her to the point her fight-or-flight complex took over. Raz, horrified, is finally given the truth: that Ford locked the most dangerous part of Lucy’s mind away and rewrote her remaining memories to hide her amongst Raz's family, as his Nona. Then, to punish himself for his deeds and to forget the pain of losing Lucy, Ford shattered his own mind for good measure.

Now knowing his Nona is in fact Lucrecia Mux, with Maligula deeply buried in her subconscious, Raz reluctantly agrees to help Ford fix his mistake by helping him gather the remaining Psychic Six (Seven) to the Green Needle Gulch. Here, he meets with Cassie O’Piea, an expert in mental partitions and archetypes; and Bob Zanotto, uncle to Truman and expert psychobotanist, who succumbed to alcoholism after losing his husband, fellow Six member Helmut, to the fight twenty years prior. Cassie and Bob assist Raz in uncovering an old experimental tool, the Astralathe, necessary to fashion a mental "pit" and allow the Six to permanently banish Maligula into the depths of her psyche.

As Raz and the Six confront Maligula within Lucy's mind, Raz is pulled out and into reality where Truman Zanotto is erratically investigating the Gulch and tailed by a concerned Lili. When Raz and Lili peek into Truman’s mind, they find it is not his brain in his head at all: it’s Nick’s missing brain, except Nick is the mole, and is in fact Gristol Malik, exiled prince of Grulovia and hellbent on restoring Maligula to overpower the revolutionaries that ousted the royal family. Sasha, having independently connected the dots about the mole, races to the showdown at the Gulch along with Milla, Oleander, and Forsythe.

Ford and the others appear to lose the fight within Lucy’s mind and all are forced to flee as Maligula appears in full force, enveloping the Gulch in a hurricane and threatening to drown everything and everyone. Raz’s family, reeling from the revelation about their matriarch, physically and psychically help Raz overpower Maligula and, with a now-lucid Lucy’s help, banish her from Lucy’s mind and from reality forever.

While Raz’s family is left to bond and heal from their falsified past, and the Seven are left to reconnect and repair old wounds, Truman’s brain is restored to him, Gristol is put in psychoisolation, and plans are made to rescue Helmut’s body from the frozen glacier. Loboto escapes from Sasha’s lab amidst the confusion, mentioning to Raz that he needs to get back to Whispering Rock, as he “left his kid there”. Raz and the interns are promoted to junior Psychonauts for their role in uncovering the mole and for defeating Maligula.

Development

Background

Double Fine's first title as a studio was ''Psychonauts'', released in 2005. The title was considered a commercial failure, but was highly praised by critics for its characters and writing and gained a cult following. In the years following its release, fans and game journalists urged Tim Schafer, CEO of Double Fine and principal creative lead on the game, to develop a sequel to the title.

Schafer had expressed interest in working on the ''Psychonauts'' franchise again, with the company having envisioned larger story arcs for the game's characters over the course of its development. The development of the sequel would require a publisher that was interested in the game, and Double Fine approached publishers with the idea; Schafer said that in these pitches, he pointed out the large number of both legitimate sales through digital distribution and through the illegitimate means of software piracy. After Double Fine's success with the concurrent development and publishing of several smaller games, such as ''Costume Quest'' and '' Iron Brigade'', Schafer felt more comfortable about embarking on a sequel, knowing that it need not obstruct the creation of any newer properties. Despite this, the publishers continued to turn down the idea. Some called the concept too creative or too obscure, according to Schafer. For others, with whom Schafer said he had good relations, the deals they offered did not fit with the scale Double Fine had planned for the game.

In February 2012, Markus Persson, at the time the owner of Mojang, made a public offer to fund a sequel to Schafer through Twitter. Later that day, a company representative for Double Fine stated that Persson and Schafer were discussing the possibility, without further affirmation. Persson noted that the anticipated costs that Double Fine would need would be an estimated $18 million, far exceeding what was initially expected to fund and cautioned fans to avoid hyping the funding possibility. Persson and Schafer met at the Game Developers Conference in March 2012; no definitive plans were made for funding a sequel, however. In February 2013, Persson officially stated that he was no longer directly trying to fund the sequel, commenting that he did not "have the time at the moment to even try to get educated enough to make an 18 million dollar deal", though would be open to the idea at a later time after he left game development; Persson did note other potential investors have stepped forward to help any such effort.

Announcement and fundraising

At the 2015 Game Awards, Schafer announced Double Fine's plans to work on ''Psychonauts 2'' using a crowdfunding campaign through Fig. The company sought $3.3 million in funding for the game, which represented approximately one-third of the planned development costs, and would augment money being put in by Double Fine and a third-party investor. Schafer noted that while the amount was the same that they had raised for their '' Broken Age'' Kickstarter, which by the time of its release had significantly overrun its budget, he felt the studio was in a better position to manage the costs and processes necessary to deliver ''Psychonauts 2'' on schedule. Schafer noted that this funding approach — bringing in money from multiple investors instead of from a single publisher — is similar to the approach taken by the movie industry, and further, that the use of crowdfunding can alleviate some of the traditional risks associated with investment, being an effective means of proving public interest in a title.

Mere days after the announcement of the ''Psychonauts 2'' campaign, Double Fine announced the development of ''Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin'', a publisher-funded virtual reality game for the PlayStation VR. The game is a smaller standalone chapter that serves as a bridge between the original game and its sequel, featuring Raz and the other psychonauts rescuing Truman Zanotto, tying into the conclusion of ''Psychonauts''.

During the campaign, Schafer confirmed that in addition to voice actors, several team members who worked on the original game would return for the sequel, including Erik Wolpaw as writer, Peter Chan and Scott Campbell as artists, and Peter McConnell as the composer. 2 Player Productions, a video production company who had previously worked with Double Fine to document the development of '' Broken Age'', would be similarly documenting the creation of ''Psychonauts 2''. Double Fine planned to utilise Unreal Engine 4 to develop the sequel, allowing them to save time and money that would otherwise be spent developing a custom game engine, as they had done in the past.

The campaign reached its target funding goal with five days left in its 38-day campaign. Upon completion, a total of $3,829,024 had been raised from 24,109 backers, with about $1,874,000 (48%) coming from those who opted to invest in the game compared to those who chose the more traditional reward-based options. Some of this funding was tied up in process with the Security and Exchange Commission to authorize Fig's use of unaccredited investors; Fig during this time covered Double Fine's development costs from their own capital. The matter was resolved by September 2016, assuring Double Fine will receive the amount funded or invested.

In February 2016, Zak McClendon, who had previously worked as design director at 2K Marin and Harmonix announced he had been hired as lead designer for ''Psychonauts 2''.

In February 2017, it was announced that Starbreeze Studios had invested $8 million to help digitally publish the game across all platforms. They would recoup the investment by gaining 85% of the profit on sales, after the Fig investors are accounted for, until it is recovered, and then take 60% beyond that. The investment only affected the distribution, as Double Fine retains all control on the intellectual property and the development process.

Double Fine had originally planned on a 2018 release for the title, but announced in December 2017 that with the game in full development and their planned roadmap towards release completed, they did not expect to release the game until at least 2019. Double Fine premiered the game's first full trailer at The Game Awards 2018 in December 2018.
''Psychonauts 2'' was in alpha at this time.

By June 2019 Double Fine had been acquired by Microsoft as part of Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft purchased the publishing rights for the game from Starbreeze for . Despite the sale, Double Fine stated that ''Psychonauts 2'' would still be released on all previously announced platforms (not being exclusive to Microsoft platforms). The Microsoft acquisition allowed Double Fine to pay back the Fig investors earlier at a 139% return and increasing subsequent revenue-based return on investments from 70 to 85%. Schafer said in a 2020 interview that prior to Microsoft's acquisition, they were at a point that they cut the boss fights out of the game due to lack of funds, but were able to re-add them afterward.

In July 2019, Double Fine announced that they had delayed the game's release until 2020, wanting to make sure they make the game as good as players are expecting. Double Fine announced in July 2020 that the game was further delayed to 2021, which will allow for an Xbox Series X-optimized version to be released as well. A release date for the game was officially announced at E3 2021. Double Fine announced on Twitter that the game had gone gold on August 6, 2021. On August 23, 2021, Double Fine revealed that the macOS and Linux versions had been delayed to an unannounced future date. Both versions were then released on May 24, 2022.

Voice cast

Most of the game's original voice actors from ''Psychonauts'' returned to voice their characters, notably, Richard Horvitz and Nikki Rapp as the voices of Raz and Lili respectively. New to ''Psychonauts 2'' include Jack Black, who has worked on previous Double Fine games, as Helmut Fullbear, and Elijah Wood, who had also provided voicework with Black in '' Broken Age'', as Nick Johnsmith. As an Easter egg casting, Rikki Simons voices the embodiment of one of Raz's powers; Horvitz and Simons had previously voiced the characters Zim and Gir in the animated show '' Invader Zim''. Kimberly Brooks, who voiced Hollis Forsythe, won a BAFTA Award for Performer in a Supporting Role for her work on ''Psychonauts 2''.

Reception

Game critics considered ''Psychonauts 2'' a successful sequel worthy of its long wait. Reviews for most platform were "generally favorable" according to review aggregator Metacritic, while the Xbox One version received "universal acclaim". The story and character writing was praised for its depth, humor and treatment of serious themes with finesse. Further, the examination of mental health issues was praised for its warmth and sensitivity. Creativity in level design and the colorful art style were widely applauded. Criticisms were leveled at the combat, boss fights and upgrade systems. '' Pure Xbox'' considered the game one of 2021's best and among the "greatest sequels ever made". ''Ars Technica'' called it a strong Game of the Year contender and "one of the best video games hey hadever played". ''GamesRadar'' and ''The Guardian'' considered it a standout in the platforming genre, while ''The Daily Telegraph'' called the game a "straight-up classic". ''GameSpot'' felt the game was an "astonishing achievement" and Double Fine's magnum opus.

Wide praise was given to the narrative's quality. Its interspersion of sharp, witty humor with well-paced story beats and a delicate treatment of complex themes resonated with multiple critics. ''Ars Technica'' felt the writing "shines in every dimension". ''Gaming Bolt'' lauded the writing's charm and humor despite its heavier subtext. ''Polygon'' and ''Telegraph'' noted greater maturity in the game's themes over its predecessor; the former praised the handling of thematic complexities with "empathy and responsibility". ''Eurogamer'' highlighted the exploration of consequence and the ethics of invading one's psyche without informed consent. Reviewers noted this quandary manifested in an early level where Raz recklessly alters Hollis' psyche and must reconcile with the repercussions. ''Gaming Bolt'' considered Raz a strong lead character written with depth and relatability. The eclectic supporting cast was acclaimed by ''IGN'' as a testament to the strong writing. Horvitz and Black were considered by '' Video Games Chronicle'' (''VGC'') the standouts of a strong cast . ''Ars Technica'' called the performances wholly "pitch-perfect". ''Kotaku'' highlighted the cast's varied idiosyncrasies, supported by strong writing and performance. ''Hardcore Gamer'' lamented the interns' relegation to supporting roles in the wider narrative after a strong introduction and faulted the final act's pacing.

The narrative's capacity to harmonize its treatment of mental health issues with warmth, humor and sensitivity was applauded. ''Game Informer'' praised the artistic framing of mental health and ''Pure Xbox'' considered it the game's "most incredible achievement". ''The Guardian'' felt the portrayal was imperfect yet unpredictable. ''Gaming Bolt'' noted the pairing of "weighty themes" with humor and levity worked as the lightheartedness avoided irreverence. A balance between "caricature and empathy" was achieved, in ''Eurogamer''s view, with the thematic portrayal simultaneously playful and sophisticated. ''Hardcore Gamer'' found the game able to explore its themes with greater substance than its predecessor. The themes, in ''VGC''s assessment, were handled with "immense care" and eschewed cliché. ''Kotaku'' noted the examination of the human condition and its "challenging, painful, wonderful complexity". A positive and hopeful message amid the thematic gravitas was noted by ''Gaming Bolt''. ''Ars Technica'' and ''Kotaku'' praised the humanization of the secondary antagonist Gristol Malik. The former cited ambiguity in "where villainy lives", and the latter found empathy in the depiction of Malik's turmoil. ''Polygon'' panned the late-game allegory of the "tragic eastern European state" as beholden to antiquated tropes.

The vibrant color palette and originality of the art and level design was acclaimed. Design and presentation descriptors ranged from "creative" and "imaginative" to "colorful" and "inventive". Stylistic influences cited by critics included the works of Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Sigmund Freud and Pixar. ''Game Informer'' lauded the aesthetics and ''Pure Xbox'' called the architecture and character models "beautifully designed". Stylistic distinction between the different levels was noted by ''Guardian'', ''Kotaku'' and ''Polygon''. The design was considered "abstract" and "absurdist" by ''GamesRadar''. ''Telegraph'' and ''Ars Technica'' welcomed the atypical level environments, which subverted expectations by avoiding stock ice, lava and desert themes. Environmental storytelling was noted by reviewers to enrich story and character development. ''GameSpot'' observed that each level's art design reflected its respective character's mental disposition. ''Telegraph'' described the shifting story and gameplay elements as "delightfully disorientating". ''VGC'' posited that the levels would dominate a list of the all-time best in platform gaming. ''Game Informer'' observed occasional bygone textures, and ''IGN'' noted stiff facial animations and slight repetition in the level structure. While praising their creativity, ''Hardcore Gamer'' and ''EGM'' felt none of the levels eclipsed the original game's; both cited the acclaimed " Milkman Conspiracy" level among others. The music score was revered as "top-notch", "exuberant" and "incredible". The frequent musical motifs were noted by ''GameSpot'' to add cohesiveness between the different areas. ''Game Informer'' and ''Gaming Bolt'' found the music enhancive to each level's presentation. The cooking show level's soundtrack was highlighted by ''Eurogamer'' as some of the game's best music.

Some reviewers considered combat a notable weakness amid stronger elements. Others observed successful innovation on the original's combat. Negative gameplay descriptors ranged from "dated" and "fiddly" to "clunky". The limitation of having a maximum four abilities equipped at once was a common complaint. As foes were dispatched with different abilities,
critics found the constant need to switch abilities disruptive to flow. ''Telegraph'' wrote the game lacks '' Ratchet and Clank''s "pixel perfect precision" in character movement. ''Ars Technica'' felt overlong attack animations impeded fluidity. ''Gaming Bolt'' and ''Pure Xbox'' felt Raz's attacks lacked heft. The combat's intensity and pacing were praised by ''Hardcore Gamer''. ''Kotaku'' likened combat scenarios to "mini-puzzles", solvable only with command of Raz's abilities. They felt constant ability swapping aided immersion and described gameplay as "responsive and smooth". Some critics felt the original's poor controls were largely corrected, with greater command of Raz's acrobatics. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') said platforming achieved a "level of polish that feels modern", but that combat was merely functional. ''Ars Technica'' occasionally misjudged jumps and impassable ledges. Jump distance issues were broached by ''Game Informer'' and ''IGN'' as well, though both considered the gameplay largely satisfactory. Some boss fights disappointed ''GameSpot'' as repetitive strategies became a monotony; ''EGM'' felt the fights amplified combat problems, and that the tedium of waiting out attack patterns exemplified the underlying design's age. Unavoidable attacks and sparse battle checkpoints frustrated ''VGC''. Design creativity in the other gameplay elements was not, according to ''GamesRadar'', recaptured in the boss fights, and ''Eurogamer'' felt "rickety execution" slightly dampened their fun.

Reviewers praised much of the game's side content, but several faulted the upgrade systems. ''Gaming Bolt'' called the hub world a "joy to explore", with no disparity between the main plot and the side content. ''GamesRadar'' praised the world's visual design and the story vignettes players would enjoy discovering. The design was said by ''IGN'' to recapture the original game's "folksy feel". ''Hardcore Gamer'' complimented the world's breadth and enjoyed discovering its secrets. Because of their strong writing, ''Kotaku'' wanted to learn more about the supporting cast, whom ''VGC'' felt the side missions allowed to shine. ''GameSpot'' felt "natural intrigue" prompted exploration and that clever world design made it easy to navigate. They said character interactions deepened the world, typified by Raz's family exchanges. ''GamesRadar'' sought to navigate all possible dialogue paths with the ensemble. ''Ars Technica'' noted design cues taken from classic Nintendo games, with abundant side content to be discovered. They found that interactions with the supporting cast incentivized world exploration. ''GameSpot'' felt collectible objects were integrated effectively into level exploration. ''EGM'' posited that some players may tire of the backtracking necessary to complete all the areas. They saw little incentive to do so, as a fully upgraded Raz had no rewarding way to expend his powers. The upgrade system was considered laborious and redundant by some reviewers. ''EGM'' felt the upgrades added little to the meager combat. ''Ars Technica'' felt they supplemented Raz's abilities sufficiently. Some reviewers considered the pin system largely superfluous; the ability to equip only three at once was criticized as limiting by ''IGN'' and ''Kotaku''. Both reviewers felt the pins were expensive and that many lacked use, and the former found the game's economy unbalanced.

Awards and accolades

References

;Notes

;References

External links

''Psychonauts 2''
on Double Fine's website

''Psychonauts 2''
on Fig

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