Razputin’s tendency to wildly and very invasively mess with people’s minds in the most literal sense was an issue that some had with the original Psychonauts and is something that is not only amended in Psychonauts 2, but is addressed by the other characters around Raz. Even small improvements over the original, such as Raz asking permission before using the Psycho-Portal to enter people's minds, and still, only using it to enter the minds of other psychics who fully understand what that means. It is arguably something that occurred in a few cases with the 2005 Psychonauts, but here a lot of real conditions are given labels, personified or otherwise physically represented in such a way where they don't feel disrespectful, even given the more comedic tone Psychonauts 2 can take at times. In general, it is very easy for representations of mental illness and psychotherapy in the media to be done in a bad tone. It’s essentially the entire premise of the game. Upon opening Psychonauts 2, you are greeted with an advisor warning for artistic depictions and interpretations of real and serious mental disorders. It falls to Razputin to figure out what’s really going on and put a stop to whatever plan Maligula’s followers have as he travels across the minds of powerful fellow Psychonauts, both friend and foe, in order to unravel the past. From here, a plot involving the organisation’s head and the fabled Psychic Six (one of which, Ford Cruller, played an important role in the previous game) starts to arise, all revolving around the return of an elusive figure known only as ‘Maligula’. Psychonauts 2 follows Razputin’s first day among the Psychonauts HQ, a huge brain-like structure called the Motherlobe. Given how long it’s been since the previous main iteration to the series, it is assumed some players would not have played the previous titles and thus you are treated to a cinematic detailing the main plot of Psychonauts and Rhombus of Ruin, allowing people new to the series to very easily pick up Psychonauts 2 even with little to no knowledge about its predecessors. Yet here we are, over 16 years and 30 games since the launch of Double Fine’s debut title Psychonauts and we have Psychonauts 2, which picks up right where Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin (a short VR tech demo) left off, which in turn picks up right where Psychonauts left off, meaning that series protagonist Razputin is probably having the absolute worst 24 hours of his life right about now. Most projects likely get finished or abandoned long before that point. It’s not often a game has to wait 16 years for a sequel. As such, when Microsoft provided us with a copy of Psychonauts 2 for review, I was more than eager to get my hands on the game that I’ve wanted to exist since I was a child ![]() But I am currently a university student and therefore have more slices of bread than I do money in my bank account. ![]() It feels weird being one of those people who waited their whole life for a follow-up to a game and then actually getting to play it like I’ve finally undertaken a rite of passage in growing up as a gamer. It was even featured in one of the first write-ups I did for this website - an article about my favourite music pieces in videogames (although in hindsight, the fact I didn’t mention ‘Stay out of the Moonlight’ is borderline a crime). I mentioned it in my article about Dragon Age: Origins, citing it as a game I used to play a lot when I was a kid. Those who follow my writing here would know that Psychonauts holds a special place in my heart. Reviews // 23rd Aug 2021 - 10 months ago // By Luke Greenfield Psychonauts 2 Review
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