Raz helps the estranged cerebral matter rediscover its five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The most heart-rending of these revolve around two characters, Bob Zanotto, uncle to the grand head of the Psychonauts, and the cryptically named “Brain in a Jar.” It's best not to spoil exactly what happens, but I found their subplot utterly touching.īrain in a Jar is also the catalyst for the game’s most celebratory depiction of the brain. It’s the kind of story I imagine benefits from the perspective Schafer, now well into his 50s, brings to the table the heavily felt emotions ring true. Schafer’s script draws clear parallels between what happened to its cast of characters in their early life, many of whom are elderly, and the figurative representations we see inside their mind - a universe of memories, repressed pain, and coping mechanisms. So too has society started to catch up with the franchise’s nuanced depiction of mental health, even if many video games haven’t (the recent Moons of Madness typifies the all too common mental-illness-as-horror trope). It really feels as if technology has caught up with Double Fine’s considerable vision. There’s a weight, solidity, and tactile quality to the varied high-definition spaces you traverse - everything looks good enough to eat, or at least plunge your head into. In this regard, it really feels as if technology has caught up with Double Fine’s considerable vision. While the mechanics of movement don’t change a great deal throughout, the environments absolutely do, whisking players through a woodsy adventure park, hare-brained game show, and softly quilted world, amongst others. Here, there’s a delightful snap to Raz’s movement as he flits between running, jumping, rolling, and levitating. The platforming of Psychonauts 2 is a big improvement on the 2005 original, which often felt floaty and inconsequential. As the jazz soundtrack bubbles along, you ultimately help Hollis overcome her newfound addiction. Ideas float inside it, depicted as classic thought bubbles, and Raz must teleport between them to solidify their connections. You spend the next 45 minutes trying to undo this mistake by rewiring her glittering, obstacle-filled casino brain. How? By uniting the ideas of risk and money in her head using his own mental powers. One, near the start of the game, sees Raz accidentally turning his line manager, the serious-minded Agent Hollis Forsythe, into a foolhardy gambler. If Psychonauts 2 is less formally ambitious than some of its peers, the game makes up for it with the ingenious scenarios that frame each psychic excursion. It feels very different to the large open spaces of recent platforming classic Super Mario Odyssey which was full of activities you could tackle in any order you liked. The bulk of it, though, is spent inside the heads of its non-playable characters, and you advance through these sections in linear fashion. You go outdoors and gain abilities that make it possible to access hard-to-reach areas. The game does widen further as you make progress. You get the sense that the scope of this computer-generated world goes beyond what you will necessarily encounter directly.Įye feel like we’re being watched. Stepping out into its buzzing atrium - all sleek, curved 1960s design - is a thrill, reminiscent of the great reveal shots of Pixar’s output like that of the great bug city in A Bug’s Life. The headquarters of the espionage group is a hub world which you’re free to explore almost as you please. With the intro out of the way, Psychonauts 2 opens up. Laboto has his own hang-ups, but writer Tim Schafer (also co-founder of Double Fine), never makes a joke at the expense of these troubled individuals rather, the game is a grand exercise in understanding and empathy. Laboto’s is one in which unnervingly realistic teeth and squidgy red flesh line corridors that defy spatial and temporal logic, all while the game’s peppy script ensures every orthodontic pun that can be made does indeed get made. In these opening moments, we get a taste for how discombobulating and strange the insides of our heads are. Inception-style, in a bid to extract information on his boss’ whereabouts. Its leader, Truman Zanotto, has been kidnapped, and the prime suspect is an unhinged ex-dentist called Dr. Sequel to the beloved 2005 original, Psychonauts 2 kicks off with young Raz joining the internship program at Psychonauts.
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