First part Psychonauts, which became the studio’s debut project Double fine in 2005, quickly earned the status of a cult classic thanks to the non-standard look at game design of the notorious Tim Schaefer, whose work was previously appreciated by players in projects such as Grim fandango and Full throttle… However, in recent years, Tim’s name has been forgotten – from large projects, only Brutal legend and Broken Age… The rest are small releases that have gone past the attention of the masses. And then, in 2015, something happened that fans of Double Fine have been waiting for ten years – the announcement of the continuation of Psychonauts. Now that the game is finally out, we are ready to tell you about it in detail in our review.
Although it has been 16 years since the release of the original for you and me, the history of Psychonauts 2 begins immediately after the events described in the VR quest. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, which in turn immediately continued the story of the first part. Our protagonist Razputin Aquato, as part of the Psychonauts detachment, arrives from a mission to return the kidnapped head of the organization, Truman Zanotto. The only problem is that the latter is unconscious, and no one knows how to bring him to his senses. Psychonauts are trying to find out valuable information straight from the mind of the kidnapper, the insane Dr. Loboto, familiar to us from the first Psychonauts, which, however, fails. However, at the same time, the heroes open the veil of secrecy over a much more serious problem – someone is obsessed with the idea of bringing back to life Maligula – the longtime enemy of the Psychonauts, who in the past has already become a huge threat and destroyed the whole state – Grulovia. Maligula was defeated by the forces of a group led by Ford Kroller, Raz’s mentor from the first part, and since then no one has heard of her. The trouble is aggravated by the fact that a traitor has wound up in the ranks of the Psychonauts, supplying information to the conspirators. And, as if all this was not enough, Once upon arrival at the main base of the organization, he learns that he is not a psychonaut, because Ford Kroller, who took him into service in the finale of the first part, has not been an active agent for a long time. So Razputin receives an intern’s sticker and, together with other interns (who first make fun of him and steal clothes), continues on the path to the cherished goal.
The further narration develops in several directions at once and tells how about the past of psychonauts, bringing to the fore the Psychic Six – the founders of the organization, whom Raz will have to return to duty, and will acquaint the player with Aquato’s relatives and their attitude not only to the hero’s escape from the family circus troupe at the beginning of the first part, but also to mentally active people in general. At the center of the story is, of course, Razputin’s becoming a real psi-agent.
The plot is truly engaging and reveals each of the major narrative arcs in detail. A slight disappointment was only the fact that the cast of the heroes of the first part, among which agents Nine, Vodello and trainer Oleander, although they participate in the events of the sequel, still fade into the background. On the other hand, the minor characters of the sequel turned out to be no worse. Raz is perceived by interns differently. Someone makes fun of him, someone ignores, but as the game progresses, their relationship with the protagonist develops, thereby keeping the player’s interest. The elaborate characters of the characters result in many funny scenes that leave a smile on their face. For example, Dogen’s sister from the original is Sam, as well as his brother knows how to communicate with animals, but if Dogen was afraid of them, then Sam gets along well with them. At least, she thinks so – the animals are afraid of her to a shiver and carry out any of her orders, just to avoid punishment.
In general, humor is one of the virtues of both the first part and the sequel. And this is not the case when events on the screen make you laugh – no. The game knows when to stop, without slipping into a collection of punches and jokes. She competently maintains the required degree of good mood, and this is wonderful.
The gameplay has retained the basic features, representing an action-platformer, but has grown substantially in detail. Razputin is still exploring a large hub location that includes the psychonauts base and its surroundings, and also travels through the minds of other people, using psychic abilities in both the first and second cases. Most of them are familiar to us from the first part – this is levitation, psi-shot, pyrokinesis, as well as the ability to look at the world through the eyes of another character or animal (to find out how Raz looks in the eyes of other people is a separate entertainment). Several new ones have been added to the usual abilities in the sequel. Of the replenishments, it is worth noting the possibility of using mental connections. From the point of view of game mechanics, mental connections allow Raz to be attracted to special points in space and thereby climb into places inaccessible in any other way, and in battle this ability attracts enemies to the hero (or the hero to enemies, if they are too large). Another novelty is the ability to create an astral projection, which in turn will help to gain access to the rooms locked from the inside.
