Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts 2 is a fantastic game, and objectively a significant improvement over its predecessor. Almost every aspect feels polished, thanks to a clear dedication to refining the original’s flaws. It’s packed with charm, eye-catching visuals, and a genuinely delightful experience.

While the gameplay isn’t perfect, ledge climbing remains a bit unpredictable, and navigating rails can be quirky, still, it’s undeniably tighter and more consistent than the first game, aligning with other recent 3D platformers. The graphics have noticeably improved, alongside character design and, particularly, the animations, which are simply brilliant. Raz truly feels like an acrobat, every jump, landing, and skill execution brimming with charm. This extends to the well designed and animated secondary characters, enemies, and NPCs.

The enemy variety is significantly increased, and combat feels much smoother. Level design is generally improved and more consistent, offering large, finely crafted hub areas to explore alongside a good selection of quirky, colorful, and identity-rich levels. Playing it, I felt like the PSI King the whole time... minus, you know, the eyes, noses and tongues popping up everywhere and the tempting allure of those funny candies I desperately wished I could hoard... It’s that good. The boss fights are also cool and unique. I won't go into too much detail here, everything works really well.

If I had to find a single flaw, it’s that the game is a bit on the easy side. Neither the platforming nor the combat felt particularly challenging, and I only relied on a dream fluff during the final boss fight. A choice I made simply to unlock the achievement. Honestly, I could have used a PSI pop or two instead.
Still, I’d rather this than a frustrating experience. Psychonauts isn’t supposed to be a hardcore game, so is it even a flaw? The excessive healing items are a minor point, but nothing that truly detracts from the overall experience. I even encountered a bug during "Bob’s Bottles" that blocked all incoming damage but, thankfully, it ended with the level.
I'm also not entirely a fan of the skill selection wheel. It works, but I'd appreciate a quicker and less intrusive method to use them.

I replayed the original Psychonauts right before starting this one, and I’m happy to report that the story in this game holds up to it remarkably well. It’s a bit more mature, modern, and takes itself a tad more seriously (luckily, not enough to bother me), but I completed the game with a clear, bright feeling of longing for more... which is arguably the best compliment I can give to a writer and to the developers. You can stop reading here and buy it already; you won’t regret it... or you will, rendering any kind of friendship between us basically impossible unless we strictly talk about completely unrelated topics cause, boy... you would be so wrong on this one.

Anyway, now, allow me to be less objective and compare the two games a little further: There’s still stuff I prefer about the original Psychonauts, and it’s difficult to explain, but I’ll try. While playing Psychonauts 2 I could really feel the team’s passion to not let us down, to honor the original, and they succeeded and even exceeded my expectations.
However, what made the original a masterpiece, in my opinion, wasn’t the polished level design or the combat system; it was about courage. It felt like the entire team was under a spell, unafraid to make mistakes, and genuinely having a blast while developing it. And my most recent playthrough confirmed this sensation.
Let’s use “Milkman Conspiracy” as a paradoxical example, something I think has no direct comparison in Psychonauts 2: What made it special wasn’t the flawless game design; actually, quite the opposite. It was confusing, frustrating, and ultimately a credible product of a damaged, warped, brilliant mind. It was perfect.
I love Psychonauts 2... but I could almost feel the weight of those 16 years separating it from its predecessor and the incredible pressure applied to the writer who did a really great job seamlessly integrating the mandatory messages like: mental health is a serious topic, manipulation is wrong, asking for help is fine, accept your inner demons and keep them under control... positive messages we’ve all heard before.
Don't get me wrong, it’s cool to see this in a game a kid could play, and it would turn it into a formative and informative experience. I’m not going to complain about this... still I kinda miss that “mindless” (pun intended) fun we could have in 2005 when... not everything had to be a lesson. And sometimes, like in that specific case, you suddenly realized that it wasn't mindless at all and there was much more depth hidden beneath the surface. I feel there’s fewer and fewer commercially available games that really fill that niche.
And talking about pressure, a similar amount of it was clearly applied on the whole team behind this game, who delivered a great product... whose quality is just slightly below the highest highs of the original but that also gives a different sensation than that “having a blast” thing. It’s a safer product, and I can’t blame anyone involved for it. To be fair, it's still brave enough for me to really enjoy it.

This last paragraph is deeply subjective and doesn’t really mean anything.
Again, buy this game. It’s more than worth the price, and I’m sad it’s over. I want more.

Loved the game, gave the feel of those old single player platformer games i used to play. a 9/10 experience overall

Hot damn, Psychonauts 2 kind of blew mw away with how great they can make a sequel 20 years later that does not lose any of it's charm, characters, plot or comedy style. I feel like the OG game and this game were made in tandem and it's just being released later. I found the music beautiful and impactful as a part of a truly cerebral and introspective emotional experience. I am a human who has mental health highs and lows and Psychonauts too punches you in the gut while making you laugh and game. There may never be a third game in this world, but if there was- I would back them 100% for delivering 2 amazing games that outshines others of the same category by a long shot.

Such a beautiful visual game with interesting things to see. Lovely plot twist. Though I feel there wasn't as many spooky parts, but the story and characters are awesome.

This game is just a beautiful work of art from start to finish.

The characters are funny and interesting
The story has so much intrigue and suspense
The combat can be pretty fluid if you don't suck like me

Can't believe it took nearly two decades for this story to come to a conclusion. I'm glad I was able to experience it.

I like it cause i think it's good platformer game, also those animations are The goat, It's like you watch a professional animation.

In preparation to play this game (which I only now managed to afford due to being broke), I decided to quickly replay Psychonauts 1 from beginning to end. While some things did not age well in that game, the full product is still an excellent experience. The art direction aged like wine, the writing is still clever and funny, the psychedelic environments and setpieces are still as awesome as ever, and the gameplay, while clunky, is still very creative and fun. The Meat Circus, in particular, is as horrifying and fascinating as I remembered. With my memory of the first game refreshed, I set out to play the second one.

Psychonauts 2 starts with this adorable scrapbook recap of the first game's story, as well as the general plot points from the Rhombus of Ruin game (I have not played it on account of being too broke to afford VR stuff), before kicking us off "in medias res" trying to find out who Doctor Loboto was working with. This first brain we explore (Doctor Loboto's brain) brings back all kinds of fun things from the original game, like the emotional baggage, some of our old powerups, and the good old figments. It also introduces some new things, like the doubt and regret monsters, as well as a wall jump. As for the setting, story and writing for this first level, they are exactly what one can expect: funny writing and absurd surreal setting, all wrapped in mystery.

After this first mission which ends in failure, Raz and the crew land at the Motherlobe, which is like a hub for psychonauts of all walks of life, containing offices, classrooms, restaurants, recreation rooms, the works. This is the "center" of the game's hub world, similar to the campgrounds in the first game. The hub world is full of all kinds of trinkets and collectibles to find, like special keys to open psitanium-rich chests, the good old psi cards and challenge markers, a new scavenger hunt, a series of fun sidequests, and a lot of fun NPC dialogs to overhear. It starts out rather cramped and self-contained inside the Motherlobe, but it eventually opens up in a big way, which makes it pretty much the most amazing hub world I've seen in a 3D platformer to date. I'm serious about the hub world, by the way. It is so big and beautiful, and just as you think you've seen it all, it opens up onto a third really big loading zone. Lots of stuff to find, beautifully rendered and just very enjoyable.

Anyway, Raz gets demoted to a simple psychonaut intern because the head of the Motherlobe does not recognize Ford Cruller's authority to hand out psychonaut badges. As a result, Raz gets put in a colorful class of quirky teenagers who, at first, are jerks to Raz, but eventually learn to treat him as one of their own. Things start getting mysterious and dangerous once again, but Raz and his friends are told to step down and let the adults handle the situation, to the protest and discontent of Raz and his new classmates.

After that, the story evolves in really cool ways that I do not wish to spoil, but it's a Tim Schafer story through and through: smart, funny, clever, absurd, it has it all. The writing and characters are just as cool and fun as in the first game, each with their distinct personality quirks and fun designs. The story this time around takes a more serious tone, without abandoning the quirky and comedic tone, with some really interesting plot twists, character arcs and the like.

The gameplay feels like a smooth, pleasant evolution of the first game, with tighter controls, better camera, more convenient powerup mechanics, and often much better platforming design too. That said, I'm gonna say something rather controversial: the GUI design for the first game was cooler. I don't know, the second game's GUI focuses so much on being "convenient" that it forgets to have a personality. I mean, it does its job, and is certainly much easier to use than the first game's, but it doesn't add to the game's quirkiness like the original did. Also, the emotional baggage animations are not as cute as before, but boy am I glad they don't cry as much.

Now, how do the new in-brain levels compare to the original? Quite spectacularly, as it turns out!

Platforming wise, they're a big step up. The platforming design just feels more competent and straight-forward, with fewer unexplainable invisible walls and awkward ledge grabs, as well as just a better flow in general. The combat feels more fun and fluid, which is nice, but I hate how often the game forces you to finish off some enemies before moving on. In boss fights it makes sense, but this game also has a tons of, like, "gauntlet" sections that are needless. I mean, the combat is fun now, so it's not that bad, but they still get old.

As for the theming, I swear every single mental world is at least as good as the upper-average of the Psychonauts 1 worlds. They all have some insanely creative gimmick, absurd and fun setting, and beautifully surreal sceneries. I particularly like the Feast of the Senses and Cassie's Collection. Without wishing to spoil much, I swear the team at Double Fine went above and beyond with this one. I just wish the game was twice as long, but naturally, that would be impossible. The game is already much longer than Psychonauts 1 as it is. The usage of non-euclidean spaces is pretty cool too. Lots of situations where you enter a frame or something that leads you to another area, despite being able to look behind the frame in the previous room. I know this is silly, but the fact they managed to make this work so seamlessly is to be commended.

I really don't have that many complaints that aren't nitpicks. The biggest complaint I have about this game is that it ends. I mean, there's technically a 'post-game', but very little to actually do in it. All in all, though, this is an absolutely spectacular game, and I actually like it more than the first one now.

I bought this on a sale because I'm broke, but if I wasn't broke, I wouldn't have minded paying the full price, even more, for this game. I can't possibly recommend this enough.

1st game was more hardcore, this one is for kids. A lot of cutscenes that just cut the walking and reaching places by yourself

overall fun game, the only hiccup i'm having is that the game crashes a lot, and runs like crap because of my lack of graphics card.

A fantastic followup to a game 20 years after release. Everything about this game is unique.

For as long as DoubleFine stays afloat, they will be cursed to create the finest legacy-style action adventure games of all time -- love letters and passion projects to their respective genres and influences -- that are just barely too niche or high-concept to make satisfactory returns. They do not make BIG games, they make COMPLETE games with focus and all-star casts and writing that steers dangerously close to "perfect."
Psychonauts 2 will have you inspired to 100% the whole thing without ever touching a walkthrough, and to do so is very attainable and will not even set you back 20 hours. If you have any nostalgia for what existed of the non-"childrens'", non-mascot 3D platformer era or you have any curiosity for what it could have looked like in the modern era, you owe it to yourself to play this game because it is the finest example any of us could have asked for.
This thing is always on sale (again, the struggle to make returns :/ ) so just keep an eye on it until you can pick it up for pocket change. While you're at it, please PLEASE check out Brutal Legend, the most underappreciated gem of the 7th generation that almost killed the studio.

Masterpiece! The music, the set pieces and all the creative animation and elements makes it so much fun. From start to finish there are well crafted and unique environments so you never get tired! Highly recommend...

Brilliant game mainly due to very mature narrative touching serious topics such as love, family and mental struggles. The game also shines when it comes to humour, characters and level design creativity. Gameplay, especially fighting, can feel clunky at times, but it is definitely not bad- it is simply good. Definitely recommend.

I don't where to start but all that I'm gonna say is that I'm so glad that I finally got a chance to play Psychonauts.

I had so much fun playing through Raz's journey, the gameplay, the story, and experience all the characters and their minds. I have been appreciating and loving video games since my childhood and both of these games have proven that regardless of how much love and passion these developers put into their own craft.

Psychonauts is one of those games where I HIGHLY recommend others to play and experience this incredibly trippy world.

This game is an way more clean and optimized version of the first psychonauts game. The story is great and the gameplay is even better. I really enjoy that after the main story you can explore the rest of the maps and 100% the game.

-It was very easy and fun to 100% and to go back to levels to collect everything
-Story is great, and they still kept the dry humor that the first game had.
-The game movement, pins, powerups really add more pazazz if you may.
-Game feels shorter than the first game but that might be because the game is easy to traverse.

Overall 10/10 game hopefully they come out with a 3rd game.

All the good things the first one had, have been made better. A feast for the senses. Loved it through and through.

Many reviews explain why this game is great: Great story and characters, nice visuals, deep and interesting messages for mental health, fun game play for both combat and exploration and etc. I agree with all of these and I do recommend this game, I just want to add one thing that should be kept in mind if you want to play this game.

As a third-person game focused on exploration, camera angles and movement are very important. I honestly was unable to play the first Psychonauts game to completion because the camera felt very constraining (limited range of motion for trying to find if there were any collectibles) and there were many times where the platforming frankly felt inconsistent at best and complete bs at worst. Psychonauts 2 heavily improved on both of these aspects, both the camera angle which is usually a full 360 range now and the platforming are much better. But, the platforming especially will still be very frustrating and weird at times. Some great examples of this is trying to get to the mushrooms caves in the Questionable area and the ink stamps in the Mail room. I don't know enough about coding to know what the solution would be unfortunately, my best input would be not having the camera angle suddenly move so much during these sections, often messing with you're sense of where you are and also just maybe being more generous for some landing like for tightropes.

Psychonauts 2 is a very good game. Perhaps a little short for 60$ but the scale of the project still makes it feel worthwhile. If you are some who gets prone to motion sickness in video games or gets frustrated over confusing platforming mechanics, I still think this game is worth playing but maybe taking a breather and mentally preparing yourself for this ahead of time.

licking my lips at the environment design. the bouncy ball in the original feels better to use, but this is still great.

Very fun platforming,hard hitting story,visual feast,banging music; Simply put, Exceptional piece of art.

TL;DR: The intriguing story compels you to continue through pretty yet often mechanically mediocre levels. Beautiful overworld. Good VA.

🧠 LEVEL DESIGN: 7/10. Not as imaginative/compelling as the first one, but has its moments. Lack of innovative gameplay mechanics and puzzles got me bored at times. Combat has a learning curve and feels somewhat enjoyable after getting the hang of it.

🧠 OVERWORLD DESIGN: 9/10. Had a lot of fun exploring and the game rewarded it, both with collectables and the scenery. My favourite part of the game.

🧠 STORY: 8/10. Intriguing and surprising. Quirky and delightful. Somewhat educational. Too many cutscenes. Sometimes patronizing.

🧠 VOICE ACTING: 8/10. This one's a mixed bag. Raz and the old cast feel and sound nice while some of the new supporting characters aren't believable in what they do.

🧠 OVERALL ENJOYMENT: 7,5/10. The minds were not as fascinating as in the original. It was interesting to see them, but the magic from the previous game was gone, as were most of the puzzles. Character driven story did not disappoint and I feel happy that I completed the game despite its flaws.

I find it an amazing game, the content of the game is beautiful with timeless graphics, amazing writing and voice acting, It is less of a combat centered game and more of a puzzle/collectathon, sadly there are some downsides, the game has a very linear story and doesnt offer much replayability, (unless you really want to get all the collectables), but if you are able to ignore these downsides and just breathe in the beautiful level design and love put into this, you will not regret it.

Loved the first, really liked this one as well. I dunno if it's better than the original because they both have pros and cons that vary and outweigh each other. The first game is very direct and lets you get into the action fairly quick while the second takes its time, playing out a story that's larger and more cinematic in scale. This can act as a hindrance due to the sheer number of cutscenes that are in this game compared to the first, far exceeding its length. A good number of cutscenes feel they'd work and flow better if it were just a scripted segment during gameplay instead of constant interruption after interruption. The gameplay is fantastic however, definitely a major step up from its predecessor, abilities feel more useful across the entire game. If you enjoyed the cast of the first game, I'm so sorry because everyone gets underutilized besides Raz & Ford. I loved Ford in the first game as this loose and eccentric mentor but his story arc and depiction in 2 sours my enjoyment of him as a character. Sasha, Milla, and Oleander are completely neglected for a majority of the game, relegated to just optional small talk in the Hub, really wish they got more to do besides stand around. Otherwise, really dig the game. It's like almost 2am while I'm writing this so sorry if this is all over the place, but def try this game out.

Amazing 3d adventure game with a very peculiar and bizarre style. The way they linked the first game with this one is outstanding, and the plot twists mind blown!

Phenomenal game, I can not recommend it enough. Platforming and controls are great, level design and atmosphere are amazing, character design and dialogue are witty and hilarious, and the story isn't half bad to boot!

I can't believe how high Double Fine raised the bar with this game. I loved Psychonauts 1, I actually just played and beat it for the first time a couple weeks ago and then went straight into this. That first game was really great, this one is much much better.

Colorful, vibrant, pushing boundaries. Play this game.

love it, it's like a acid trip expesally the level I just played where I have to get the band back together in someones mind

I replayed the first Psychonauts before going into this one, and even though the original is still really good (and works great on modern PCs without any fan made patches!), the sequel is even better.

Not only it has a better gameplay and visuals (duh!), I believe storytelling and writing have been improved as well. The story takes off where the first game left (you don't have to play it, but I recommend you do), and the writers do an amazing job in tying up everything together. There's no lose ends, and both games make total sense as one coherent story.

Gameplay wise, it's still a mix of adventure and platformer, and this combination works pretty well. There's plenty of secrets to find, items to collect and abilities to upgrade. This is not required to beat the main story - Psychonauts 2 is not a hard game - but provides a lot of additional tasks for completionists. And, unlike in the original, you can continue playing after the main story ends just to collect everything.

Overall, it's a rare type of game nowadays, so I definitely recommend it. It's hard to find another modern adventure/platformer with such a good combination of gameplay, visuals, writing and storytelling.

16 years after Double Fine released the first Psychonauts game, they took everything they learnt and made Psychonauts 2.

Simply put, it's better in every practical way. Losing some of previously available powers does suck a bit, but it does not take away from the fun I've had playing.

Narrative wise, having the story focus on Ford and the rest of the OG Psychonauts is amazing.

This was the most fun I've had in years. Great level designs, touching story, funny and sometimes extremely sad characters, and fantastic gameplay. If you liked the first one, you'll love this one.

The level of creative genius in this game is enough to make it an absolute recommend - and yet - it's paired with gameplay that's actually fun!? What are you doing reading reviews? Get it!

This game is everything a sequel should be

Practically everything from the original has been enhanced and modernized, and I love everything about it.

Gameplay is soooooo smooth and good, I LOVE how the combat has been changed, making it so much more engaging and fun, with every single psychic ability having a use in enemy encounters. Platforming is SO good too, with it being super smooth to control Raz in this, never once felt like I was robbed due to the game messing me up, and there is just so much variety for traversing the environments too.

The levels are absurdly good, with visuals, themes and gimmicks that are oozing with creativity and excellent design. Not a single level felt poorly thought out or had some sort of section that ruined it, it's incredible.

The story is very engaging, with many unanswered questions from the original game being explained, with many twists and things that keep you constantly wondering what's going to happen next.

The only problems I have with this game are:
- Performance, as this game's framerate chugs quite a bit in places such as the Questionable Area and some others, which isn't TOO bad, but it does lead to things looking a little weird.

- The fact you cannot manually save, forcing you to depend on the auto save, which, especially when you're in someone's mind, does not save very often, which ends up making you lose progress if something comes up and you are forced to quit mid game. I also don't like how this game only has a single save file, as I would really like to keep my 100% completed file if I ever decide to replay this title.

- Some of the story decisions this game made towards the end were a bit weird, such as how Lucy ended up suffering zero consequences for her past crimes after you send her Maligula side to the deepest part of her mind, despite committing genocide against hundreds of innocent people, with it all being seemingly forgiven by all, even the ones most affected. It does not matter that she was not being herself when she did those things, I just feel like she should've gotten some sort of punishment for it instead of getting hugs and love from all.

But, yeah, this is, overall, a pretty fantastic title that I recommend anyone that digs 3D platformers to try out.

Though, I would HIGHLY recommend playing the OG Psychonauts first, as this game spoils many of the twists from that game, as they are very relevant to it's story.

One of my favourite platforming games it’s very unique creative and deals with mental health/illness topics very well and jack black isn’t an insufferable c@&t in this

Great game, super good dialogues, interesting gameplay and very entertaining.

Was a good game, ended up playing it twice, non-stop each time. It has a nice blend of cinematic and game play
Classic platform feel. nothing insane. Doesnt go to overboard with collectible grind.

A very good game and a very good sequel.

I have some issues with it - particularly some of the mechanics are rough with limited ways to go around them (nothing on par with Meat Circus, at least). It also has an issue with maybe even a bit too much freedom in places, making it hard to tell where the story is trying to send you next until characters are literally refusing to leave areas. The story really picks up in the latter half, which is very good but also fits a bit weirdly with the opening.

Still, it's a very fun game that matches the tone and writing of the first game, and expands on it in ways that feel not just natural but genuinely thrilling and engrossing. I didn't expect such a powerfully emotional narrative with some extremely interesting insights on the dark side of the power of love in the same series that has you sneezing out brains and paddling through livestock vomit. Somehow, these things manage to coexist in the same game pretty well, though the tone is slightly more serious as it moves on.

And about that spoiler - the thing is that this game also really expands on Raz's personality and backstory, in a way that definitely still fits with the first game (seriously, it is a very good sequel and a good game; these are not always the same thing). Because Raz is so full of love and we see the good and bad sides of The Power Of Love (and that includes filial and friendly love!), and because the writing itself does not feel cynical or bleak, it hits really well - these are people who meant well and made terrible mistakes for very good reasons, in ways that can't be undone. Needless to say, I was not expecting that in this series - nor was I expecting to actually cry over it, but here we are.

Playing it feels about as fun as the first game, and the new powers are interesting and fit well. The game has some assists - I had problems with platforming (sometimes the camera evokes Ocarina of Time's camera in the worst way), so being able to completely turn off damage from tripping off cliffs was really helpful.

The zone design is fantastic, just as solid as the previous game while introducing completely new ideas. I really liked the design and writing of Hollis' Hot Streak, which combines two completely different things in a surprisingly solid way. The levels are, generally, just really fun to play and fun to look at.

My one major complaint here is this game really ups the grossout factor - from Loboto's dentally-squicky mindscape, the boss fight of Compton's Cookoff, and the germ goo of Strike City, it felt a little excessive. Meat Circus was a bit gross but it wasn't constantly shoving that in the player's face.

All in all, it has some issues, but it's a very good game with good writing and expansion on the first installment, and if you enjoyed Psychonauts 1, it's a must.

Quite possibly the greatest redemption arc in the history of game development.

Psychonauts 2 exceeds expectations in almost every way, and is a worthy sequel to one of the greatest games of all time.

one of the best sequels of all time, this game was made in a very creative way and carries a tremendously important message

After 20 years of waiting, this game delivers on all my expectations (more hopes and dreams as it was really). Great story, great humour and great art style. Also very well optimised. Can't wait to play through it again in 2 to 3 years time.

Fantastic game. Probably gonna be playing this one over and over again

Such a good follow-up on the first game. Less flashy in the themes it brings (sometimes) but it more than makes up for it in imporved tactfulness from it's predecessor. Couldn't believe just how immersed i was as i steered around Bob's bottles or platformed up through the emporium. Ford is magnificently represented in his fractured levels. And of course Raz's family being around and trying to accept a part of their ancestry they didn't know about is such a good point. As that saga keeps reminding me; We all struggle with our own problems and there is no shame in asking for help. Until next time my fellow psychonauts!

Really nice game with a lot cuuute stuffs. The plots and missions are all clearly laid out. Played Split Fiction &It takes Two before, tho their images are better but this game has more profound themes.

a perfect continuation and finale to the first game. Go play psychonauts, it's almost always on sale for like, 89 cents.

Has peak level design, storytelling, plot, and is a perfect sequel to an already great game. Also some of the best mental health rep i've seen in a video game (makes sense cuz its the whole premise basically). Its a collectathon but a very satisfying one, i have all the collectibles in the game, only achievements left are shop upgrades. Don't spoil yourself on anything because the game explains its story perfectly and has great plot twists along the way. It is $60 worth of content but in this economy just get it on sale.
Also don't download the DLC, its a docuseries on the game's development i think

In summary: play the damn game, maybe the original first but its not necessary unless you want the story to be a bit smoother

Holy shit this game is good. The world building, character design, story telling...
Absolutely incredible

Has the same sort of magic as the first game, best played around the summer.

Psychonauts 2 Review

The Psychonauts series is honestly one of the strangest gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time but I mean that in the best way possible. It's the kind of weird I’ve been craving. Even after playing both games back-to-back, I was amazed by how well the developers managed to preserve the spirit of the original, even after nearly 20 years. It may not be as chaotic as the first game, but it still feels like Psychonauts and that's something I truly respect.

STORY & PRESENTATION

Each level (or "mind") in this game feels like it was crafted with care and deep thought. The presentation is some of the most creative and thoughtful I’ve ever seen in terms of how it explores mental health. Honestly, this might be the best representation of psychological disorders I’ve come across in any media. (There’s even a fantastic 8.3-hour analysis on YouTube by Gaming University that dives into the psychology of both games!)

As for the story itself don’t let the art style fool you. I definitely didn’t expect a story this dark from a game that looks so cartoonish. Especially in Psychonauts 2, the narrative is surprisingly mature, emotional, and incredibly well told. All I ask is: please, avoid spoilers! There are some major plot twists that i love.

Score for Story & Presentation:

9/10

GAMEPLAY

Now... my biggest complaint with Psychonauts 2’s gameplay is the skill selection system. The combat is built around combos and psychic powers, but you can only equip four abilities at a time. That might sound like enough, but trust me it’s not. You’ll often find yourself needing to switch powers mid-combat, which seriously reduces the fluency of the combat.

That said, the combat is still really fun, especially when compared to other 3D platformers it feels satisfying. As for the platforming, Psychonauts 2 doesn’t introduce a lot of new mechanics compared to the original, but it does polish everything about it. Don’t expect deep platforming mechanics like Mario 64 and... that’s okay. It didn’t disappoint me, but a bit more depth wouldn’t hurt.

My Score for Gameplay:

7/10

SOUNDTRACK

I CAN’T GET THE GRULOVIA SONG OUT OF MY HEAD AAAAAAAAAA

The soundtrack is fantastic and absolutely fits the bizarre and weird tone of the game. I love it.

Score for Music:

8/10

VISUALS & ART STYLE

I’m in love with this game’s art direction. It’s amazing how they managed to keep that iconic "ugly and asymmetrical" style alive after all these years. The graphics and animations are AMAZING. I still have no idea how they managed to render the animation during the Psi King’s concert it’s absolutely mind blowing.

Score for Visuals & Art Style:

9/10

OVERALL

Psychonauts 2 really stuck with me. I went in expecting a quirky platformer like original —and yeah, it is that— but it also hits you with some surprisingly dark humor—still like the original—. Not like deep, emotional darkness or anything, just unexpected stuff that catches you off guard and actually makes you laugh. and honestly I wasn’t expecting it to be that good at being funny and a little messed up—speaking this for the both of the games—

It’s bizarre, it’s stylish, it’s funny, and it never takes itself too seriously—but it also knows exactly what it’s doing. I’m still thinking about this game even after a month! It’s definitely gonna stay with me for a while.

Final Score:

8.5/10

easily the best game i have ever played. it's peak. the level design and depictions of mental health issues are both absolutely incredible. 1,000/10

Psychonauts 2 is an absolute PSI-Blast! This game features a healthy amount of challenging platforming, engaging combat with a variety of enemies, and awesome psychic powers for fighting and utility. As a sequel, the game builds on the story and characters from the first game revealing surprising new facets to each character. The environments in the game embody the definition of creative, and the game might change some of your mental connections; embedding itself in your brain for years to come.

Genuinely one of the best single player games I've played in the last few years.
The amount of love put into the details of this game together with how fun the levels are to run through is simply amazing.
I truly wish for a third game to come!

What an absolutely fantastic experience - i dont even like platformers normally. But this is a good game, that made me realize that maybe missing a father actually was a big deal after all.

I grew up with the first Psychonauts. This is faithful to the lore, look and feel that the universe established.