Psychonauts 2 Review – Worth the Wait

Over 16 years have passed between Psychonauts games, but it hasn’t been long for protagonist Razputin “Raz” Aquato. His harsh, high-pitched voice still screams of youthful inexperience, and his actions almost always show an eagerness to learn.

That’s precisely what developer Double Fine Productions has done over the years as well. Time has allowed this art studio to hone its platforming craft, sharpen its already hilarious wits, and create a sequel that showcases the tremendous complexity of the human brain and the thrill of unearthing its wonders. Psychonauts 2 invites players to explore colorful dreamscapes that melt into dangerous nightmares and quickly establishes the idea that almost every turn will lead to something unexpected and strange.

With summer camp under his belt, Raz is now a talented intern for the Psychonauts, an organization of super-beings psychic spies who are dealing with a mole within their ranks. Raz wants to get involved in solving this mystery, but his impulsiveness gets him into trouble early on and he quickly needs to undo his mistakes. The story roars out the door with silly emotion and never stops thanks to witty jokes and a wonderfully performed cast of characters. Their joke is fantastic and usually offers deep insight into their motivations and personalities, especially when Raz is immersed in their minds. Some thoughts are haunting and explore serious mental health issues, but Double Fine handles them with care, often framing them artistically.

Many of the dreamscapes that Raz explores are likely to elicit an audible “wow” thanks to their visualization and dynamic compositions. Colorful, loud, uneven, and almost always with a clay-like aesthetic, these worlds dazzle with creativity and double as great play areas for the platforming experience in question.

Although there is no shortage of animated story sequences to sit and watch, Psychonauts 2 is a platformer at its heart. Raz, who happens to be the son of acrobatic parents, follows in their footsteps with a little more grace and skill. His jumping prowess and life-giving controls have been improved, but he still doesn’t move with Mario’s precision and fluidity. A bit of uncertainty and guesswork comes with measuring jump distances and grip points. That said, no platforming sequence is as unfairly challenging as the deadly Meat Circus level from the first game. Psychonauts 2 consistently delivers solid platforming fun and encourages players to veer off the beaten track to find secret collectibles and upgrades galore. The most enjoyable collectibles to grab are the Figments, two-dimensional works of art scattered throughout the levels that often push the player to throw caution to the wind.

Raz’s new acrobatic state also moves into combat, where dodging movement and creating space are paramount. That distance is essential, as you don’t have to hit every enemy you come across, and you can now use a wide range of psychic powers to achieve victory from afar. You can set them on fire, fill them with holes with psi blasts, or use other abilities to bring censors and other enemies to their knees. Combat has been vastly improved over the original game, but is sparsely used, mostly in brief arena-like or boss conflicts.

However, the focus is not solely on platforms. Even those sequences often feel truncated given how often Double Fine flips through different game sequences or story moments. The flow works as it keeps the player off balance and unsure of what might happen next. At one point, I cut an adorable bacon character to fry and feed a goat puppet, and at another, I was balancing precariously on a giant bowling ball. Most of the gameplay sequences are fun and blend very well with the platforming action. The constant change of game types creates a problem, as the player must pause frequently to assign specific abilities to the action buttons. Some of the powers are quite ingenious; one even putting into play a wildly different version of Raz.

Psychonauts 2 is primarily about Raz’s psychic development, but it is also intensely focused on the life of Ford Cruller, a character who appeared in the first game and who is reborn in a truly fascinating way. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go too far into Ford’s involvement, but the satisfying (and shocking) rewards come from it, and the worlds that Raz presents are startling in the best possible way for a gaming experience.

I adored almost every second of Psychonauts 2. It achieves something I don’t see often in games: a continual sense of wonder as each of its worlds unfolds. It took 16 years to get to release, but Double Fine has delivered an incredible sequel. I hope we get a third installment that doesn’t take that long to create.