#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS FULL#
#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS SERIES#
#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS WINDOWS#

But from here, the sequel's gimmick quickly emerges: you're tasked with tricking a villain while inside their mind. The new game starts out in a humdrum cubicle, as if your work as a mind-controlling superhero has been downgraded to Office Space-like monotony. (I went back to the 'previously on' video a few hours into the game and was all the happier for doing so I suggest you do the same.) Advertisement

#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS SERIES#

Series hero Raz narrates a 'previously on Psychonauts' video that recounts the 2005 original (plus some details from a 2017 VR-only morsel) before immediately dropping you into an opening mission that comically subverts your expectations. Psychonauts 2 hits the ground running with an introduction that pretends no time has passed it could honestly be a bit overwhelming for anyone with a lapsed Psychonauts memory.

This sequel offers more of what Psychonauts got right and smooths out the things it didn't. While the game is large and packed with an epic plot that connects existing and brand-new characters in satisfying ways, it somehow keeps its gameplay scope simple and manageable. 'Delightful' isn't the same as 'revolutionary,' mind you, and Double Fine hasn't reinvented any wheels to get this game across the finish line. The result of all that effort is Psychonauts 2, which clocks in at no less than 20 hours of delightful 3D running, jumping, combat, and mind-controlling. He's not as friendly in person as he is through his virtualized shops. They were convinced that the developer should deliver one more quest starring diminutive hero Razputin 'Raz' Aquato and his gang of mind-controlling secret agents. Even so, original Psychonauts fans showed up with $3.8 million of crowdfunded excitement in early 2016. The company's last stab came with 2009's Brutal Legend, whose MOBA-like twists on 3D combat met a confused gaming market. The resulting game was both a wonderful homage to the point-and-click era and a stern reminder that crowdfunding economics don't necessarily scale to how game development is funded.ĭespite all of that, Double Fine has struggled to establish itself as a maker of full-length games. Ultimately, they stuck to their very weird guns, and the studio survived long enough to find new life in the digital-distribution era through lower-priced gems like Costume Quest, Stacking, and Iron Brigade. The studio arguably made its biggest splash in the modern era with Broken Age, one of the first video game pitches to break Kickstarter records. Yet the game's creators at Double Fine, the studio founded by LucasArts design legend Tim Schafer, kept their boat afloat after Psychonauts' commercial shortcomings. (As a point of trivia: the project's prerelease woes nearly doomed the game before launch until SimCity creator Will Wright invested his own cash to save it.)

The result was a commercial failure, critical darling.

#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS FULL#

Sadly, that year's console marketplace was much more interested in shooters like Halo than a subversive, whimsical summer camp full of kids with psychic powers. The 2005 original arrived on PlayStation 2 and Xbox with loud nods to the game industry's best 3D platformers. If you've never heard of Psychonauts, you're not alone. (Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.) Context, from commercial dud to crowdfunded return Yet, whether you want a breezy, kid-friendly platformer bathed in incredible artistic direction, or if you're more eager to double-jump and speed-bounce to a 3D level's tastefully hidden secrets, Psychonauts 2 scales to your expectations-and it delivers for anyone who's playing or watching. And while this sequel massively improves upon the original game's control suite, it errs on the side of simplicity. Psychonauts 2 doesn't unseat the classic Banjo-Kazooie series in terms of level complexity and mechanical balance, for instance. That doesn't mean it'll be everyone's ideal platformer. It's been buzzing through me the entire time I've spent inside Psychonauts 2's minds-within-minds. If that sounds like you, play this new game-of-the-year contender as soon as possible.Īny conversation about Psychonauts 2 could start in so many other directions, but I'd rather open with that 'contender for game of the year' spirit. Links: Official website | Xbox | PSN | Steam Psychonauts 2 is the imperfect, astounding, hilarious, memorable, beautiful, long, drama-filled interactive cartoon for anyone who yearns for a certain era of 3D-gaming nostalgia.

#PSYCHONAUTS 2 NEW GAME PLUS WINDOWS#

Price: $60 (included with Xbox Game Pass on Windows 10, Xbox) Platform: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows (reviewed), Mac, Linux

Psychonauts 2 new game plus