KickStarter Psychonauts 2

[Unkillable Cat]

Don't mind me, just realizing that these two doctors are voiced by the same actor:

 

[A horse of course]

This looks like one of those titles critics jerk themselves off trying to elevate as high art. I'll wait for BroTeam's review.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

The critical response thus far does smack a bit of the “See?! We are totally in touch with what good games are and are no way beholden to publishers or our own midwit tastes” thing that gamejournos do every time a legacy title gets released (see Pillars of Eternity for the most absurd example). Still, I’m preloaded and hopeful. Guess we’ll find out later tonight!

 

[Infinitron]

When mysterious forces threaten to revive a murderous villain, it's up to acrobat/psychic Razputin "Raz" Aquato to unravel a plot to destroy the International mind-exploring spies known as the Psychonauts!

Experience this grand story in Psychonauts 2! Out on August 25th! You can play on Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PC and PS4 with PS5 backwards compatibility!

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Wait, Elijah Wood is in the game?

 

[Ghulgothas]

Streamers are beginning their day-early coverage, tidbits and details are disseminating across /v/. Everything is... oddly positive. At least so far.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Available on GOG now... but for me the price-tag was $71.

The installer alone is 30 Gb, this is gonna be a big chunk to download.

I purchased it on GOG because of the friendlier refund policy, in case something goes wrong.

EDIT: Also, I fixed the image in the top post on this page, both doctors should be visible now.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

So I've now played the first level. Thus far it feels very much like "Psychonauts... 2" which is a compliment, not a criticism. Bit too much exposition for my taste, but I imagine they felt they needed to get everyone back up to speed after 16 years between the two games. Not quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as in the first game, but there have been some pretty good background gags, and the first game takes a little while to hit its stride so I'm reserving judgment.

All of the principal VAs have clearly aged in the intervening 16 years. Obviously not anyone's fault, but it is noticeable.

Edit: Also figments are now much easier to see, which is a definite improvement.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I also just finished the first level (found all the figments!) and there's clearly a bigger emphasis on the combat.

I had to ALT+F4 out of the game though, as I had redefined the keys and the game got stuck on the journal as it explicitly requires that the page be turned using the 'E'-key as part of the tutorial... which I had assigned to another task, but that key didn't work either.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I had to ALT+F4 out of the game though, as I had redefined the keys and the game got stuck on the journal as it explicitly requires that the page be turned using the 'E'-key as part of the tutorial... which I had assigned to another task, but that key didn't work either.

I had that bug too. Pretty embarrassing. Alt+Tab fixed it for me, but still, what the fuck?

Also I missed a figment so fuck you UC.

 

[flyingjohn]

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I had to ALT+F4 out of the game though, as I had redefined the keys and the game got stuck on the journal as it explicitly requires that the page be turned using the 'E'-key as part of the tutorial... which I had assigned to another task, but that key didn't work either.

I had that bug too. Pretty embarrassing. Alt+Tab fixed it for me, but still, what the fuck?

Also I missed a figment so fuck you UC.

I think I know which one. Remember when you busted through a shelf to find a memory vault?

When you come back there later, there will be a figment in the dentist's seat that wasn't there before.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I also played through the first level and while I had some fun, the humour and quirkiness felt quite forced (look at me! I'm speshul!), not spontaneous or effortless like in the first game.

I'm sure some of this has to do with this being a sequel and it's inevitable to some extent. Also, it's only the first level (which doubles as a tutorial - also missed that last figment in the chair ), but I can't shake a sort of... patronizing feeling.

Whispering Rock was definitely a much stronger opening, that's for sure.

 

[J_C]

I also played through the first level and while I had some fun, the humour and quirkiness felt quite forced (look at me! I'm speshul!), not spontaneous or effortless like in the first game.

I'm sure some of this has to do with this being a sequel and it's inevitable to some extent. Also, it's only the first level (which doubles as a tutorial - also missed that last figment in the chair ), but I can't shake a sort of... patronizing feeling.

Whispering Rock was definitely a much stronger opening, that's for sure.

Don't forget that you are 16 years older, your taste and humor probably changed as well, so maybe if you experienced the first game now, you would find its humor forced.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I also played through the first level and while I had some fun, the humour and quirkiness felt quite forced (look at me! I'm speshul!), not spontaneous or effortless like in the first game.

I'm sure some of this has to do with this being a sequel and it's inevitable to some extent. Also, it's only the first level (which doubles as a tutorial - also missed that last figment in the chair ), but I can't shake a sort of... patronizing feeling.

Whispering Rock was definitely a much stronger opening, that's for sure.

Don't forget that you are 16 years older, your taste and humor probably changed as well, so maybe if you experienced the first game now, you would find its humor forced.

That's a distinct possibility, but I wasn't a kid when the first game came out (25) and I have no special nostalgia for it. I thought it was cool and played through it once, but that was it.

Another thing that bugged me about 2 is the UE shader stutter. They'll probably fix that in an update, though. Also, no HDR on PC, which is a minor quibble but makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

First hands-on impressions:

# The controls are much smoother.

# Character animations are much improved over both Psychonauts 1 and Rhombus of Ruin. Also far more detailed. Oleander never had that facial scar until now.

# You can have four Psi-powers active and ready now, instead of three from the original.

# Rats are a common theme now. Harold the rat is there, and you learn Clairvoyance via a scripted scene with him, but that's not all. There are rats and ratholes in other places. If you use Clairvoyance on these other rats, and then 'guide' them towards their holes, they'll dig up whatever goodies are in the holes.

# Story-wise I'm not gonna spoil anything, except to say that I think I've found the mole working at Psychonauts HQ. It's not a clear case of "A-ha! This character is clearly a traitor because of how they act!" but a more subtle tell related to the character's abilities.

# Far more attention has been put into the 'gaming' parts of the game. What I mean is that the gameplay is more formulaic. Cutscene -> corridor walking -> enter new area -> short cutscene -> battle arena -> victory cutscene -> freestyle platforming to gather up collectibles. Repeat with minor variations.

# What do I mean "battle arena"? Enemies appear in certain sections, in waves, and the game won't let you progress until you've dispatched of them all. That's right, you must fight. Have fun with that.

# The levels are far more linear. The introduction of the Mental Connection Psi-Power only underlines this, where the 'dots' make level progression feel like one long-ass corridor with stops. Also, instead of levels being open-worlds with platforming challenges, they're carefully crafted mini-sections with small platforming challenges, linked together with cutscenes and Mental Connection-paths.

# Pretty much every Psi-Power has been nerfed, even though Raz just worked his butt off three days ago to learn and hone them. By far the worst affected in this regard is Levitation. Now you can only keep that floating balloon going for so long. Want to regain that ability? Get ready to spend 'Intern Points' (read: Skillpoints) on... Clairvoyance, oddly enough, as that's where the 'Unlimited Psi-Powers!'-upgrade is kept. You get one Intern Point every time you rank up, and that 'Unlimited power!'-upgrade requires Rank 102. Purchasable Pins then help you customize and fine-tune your Psi-Powers further.

# Therefore, I strongly recommend that you read carefully how each Psi-Power works, and how they can be upgraded.

# Either I'm missing something big, or Double Fine did; remember the weird green little dudes in the original game that teleported you around in the mental worlds? They're nowhere to be seen. And that's actually a HUGE PROBLEM because after I finished the 'Maternity Ward'-section in the third brain I went back there to try to nab all the collectibles in there... and I can't get back out. I can't trigger an exit condition. Killing myself does nothing, I just keep respawning at the start of the section. What, I should just load an older save? Psychonauts doesn't have manual saves anymore, only auto-saves that save after every section.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it. The distance needed to trigger the activation prompt on 'the door' is so short you literally have to put your nose up against it.

Current opinion? Psychonauts 1 got better as it progressed, so I'm not going to write this one off anytime soon. But that said, it is having some teething problems at the start though, and cautious players might want to hold out for the first patch or two before committing to the game fully.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Made a little more progress. The weird green little dudes make a comeback once the collective unconscious has been unlocked.

One little tidbit for the story progression that goes back to Psychonauts 1: Remember the campfire area, and how there were seven carved logs there with the names of renowned Psychonauts? Well, how come the greatest team the Psychonauts ever had were known as the Psychic Six?

 

[Ghulgothas]

Making it a point to try Clairvoyance on every possible thing. The visual for each of the interns changes after the first mission, but wasn't able to get one for the first brains boss. Will see if that's true for the others.

Spoiler

The first scavenger hunt item is in the cafeteria.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Ghulgothas That's the only one I've found so far, but I've reached a point in the game where I can explore exterior areas, so I'm guessing a few more will pop up shortly.

 

[Ghulgothas]

Ghulgothas That's the only one I've found so far, but I've reached a point in the game where I can explore exterior areas, so I'm guessing a few more will pop up shortly.

Spoiler

The second is in that same hub. It's hidden on a door in plain sight.

 

[Curratum]

So, can someone actually tell us if the game is fun to play and feels good / entertaining enough to spend money on, or do I need to waste a ton of time pirating it to check for myself?

 

[Great Deceiver]

So, can someone actually tell us if the game is fun to play and feels good / entertaining enough to spend money on, or do I need to waste a ton of time pirating it to check for myself?

"Waste a ton of time pirating it" = clicking on a torrent magnet and then clicking an executable

Game's alright, I wouldn't spend 60 dollars on it, though. Plus, if you have Game Pass it's available there.

 

[Curratum]

So, can someone actually tell us if the game is fun to play and feels good / entertaining enough to spend money on, or do I need to waste a ton of time pirating it to check for myself?

"Waste a ton of time pirating it" = clicking on a torrent magnet and then clicking an executable

Game's alright, I wouldn't spend 60 dollars on it, though. Plus, if you have Game Pass it's available there.

You forgot the part where it takes 2 hours to download it, then another 2 hours to unpack the retarded ultra-compressed installer.

 

[Bohrain]

I paid 1 dorra to play it on gamepass.
Froze on the intern pamphlet menu after the first level. Is it too much to ask to get a functional video game on release these days?

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Don't forget that you are 16 years older, your taste and humor probably changed as well

i still laugh my ass off with scrubs, firefly and azumanga daioh. after 20 years and countless views. hell, for "space balls" it's 40 years. good humor is good humor.