KickStarter Psychonauts 2

[Riddler]

I think that Psychonauts 2 is basically fine in most departments and I don't think practically anyone would have had any real complaints if the game just had been funny, but it's mostly not.

The few actually clever and poignant moments can't carry the game when the general writing just is... "there" rather than funny. Perhaps the writers are older and have different experiences now or whatever but that is no excuse to not be funny.

The impact of the emotional stuff and even Psi-King would have been elevated to greater heights if it could have been contrasted to an otherwise funnier game.

Perhaps there should have been more introductions to the 6 and perhaps the kids should have been less woke props but the main sin here was that they and their levels weren't funny and the other stuff could have been forgiven if they were.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

A homosexual relationship is put into the game and story for absolutely no reason. Nothing justifies it.

Unkillable Cat literally:

 

[OctavianRomulus]

Interested in this game. Is it worth 60 dollars?

Also, just how woke is it? I can ignore it if it's here and there but if the entire game revolves around it then it's a pass for me.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Interested in this game. Is it worth 60 dollars?

If you were the fan of the original, probably it is, though full price is probably too much (I paid for this $15 as a third-world inhabitant).

Also, just how woke is it? I can ignore it if it's here and there but if the entire game revolves around it then it's a pass for me.

There are woke elements, but they are not influencing the plot really.

 

[Riddler]

Interested in this game. Is it worth 60 dollars?

Also, just how woke is it? I can ignore it if it's here and there but if the entire game revolves around it then it's a pass for me.

Just get it on gamepass for a buck

 

[Morgoth]

 

[Visperas]

I stopped playing the first Psychonauts. The pace was so slow. It became too much in the level where you're a big monster in the city. Raz moves in slow motion in that one! I don't know, it didn't hook me at all. I might try to give it a second chance, maybe...

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I stopped playing the first Psychonauts. The pace was so slow. It became too much in the level where you're a big monster in the city. Raz moves in slow motion in that one! I don't know, it didn't hook me at all. I might try to give it a second chance, maybe...

Yes, stop playing right before the best level(s) show up.

 

[Infinitron]

A big patch is releasing for Psychonauts 2! From easier ways to locate figments to replayable combat challenges, lead designer Seth Marinello outlines all of the cool the new features.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

did they cut the quota interns and added actually interesting worlds?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Went and dug out the patch notes for this one. The problem that broke my first playthrough and forced me to start from scratch has finally been addressed (by their claims) and some other genuine bugs have been squashed, but it also has stuff like this:

# Expand the mental health advisory message.

What? They weren't inclusive enough in their craziness disclaimer, so they updated it to welcome more crazy people, so that Double Fine can claim Rank 102 in Diversity?!?

I'm also curious to know if they fixed the major graphical errors that I pointed out in my review, but that would require me to reinstall the game.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

the major graphical errors that I pointed out in my review

I'm too lazy to search which problem you pointed out, but in my playthrough there was a big problem with lightning that was immediately fixed by updating the NVIDIA drivers.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/psychonauts-2/updates/1498

Psychonauts 2 Update #22: Closing Out 2021!
POSTED: 12/17/2021


Hello friends! The year comes to an end and what a year it has been. Psychonauts 2 released and plenty of folks seemed to really enjoy it. We’ve won some awards including the Golden Joystick Award for Best Xbox Game, Xplay’s 2021 Game of the Year, and more. That’s cool but the more important thing is that fans have enjoyed the game. We could not have done it without all of you and your support turned what seemed like an impossible dream into an astonishing reality. Thank you so much for everything. You are the best people ever!

As the year closes out, we have a few things to share with you. First, some information on physical rewards and other campaign goals. Here’s the breakdown from our marketing and communications Psychonaut James Spafford:


The remaining physical items are still going to take a bit of time. Manufacturing things in the times of Covid-19 has thrown hurdle after hurdle our way, but along with our partners iam8bit and Fangamer, we are navigating them as best we can!Our ideal plan is to ship every remaining item in one go, which means we’ll be waiting on the item with the longest turnaround. Currently it’s looking like that item will be the art book, which needed the game to be complete before we started work on it, but we are also running into a problem with a shortage of paper stock, of all things. The plushies are also taking longer than expected, largely because the company we were initially working with sadly went out of business due to the pandemic.The Mac and Linux ports are still being worked on, and we’re hopeful those won’t take too much longer, plus Peter McConnell’s second volume of the epic soundtrack will be ready very very soon. Bonus: there will be a third volume too!2 Player Productions are hard at work turning 6 years of footage into a huge making-of documentary, a true follow-up to the Double Fine Adventure which will be even longer and more in-depth. It’s been quite the journey making this game for the past half a decade, it will be interesting to share that whole adventure with you all!Here is a roundup of all the remaining rewards / ports etc, and which quarter of 2022 they’ll most likely appear:Soundtrack Vol 2 - Q1Soundtrack Vol 3 - Q1Russian & Latin American Spanish language options - Q1Mac & Linux Ports - Q1Documentary from 2 Player Productions - Q2Physical goods - Q3Physical copiesCollector’s editions (with art book)PlushiesPsychonauts pin


New Languages!
What else has been going on? Well, how about new language support! That’s right, baby! We’re adding two more languages to the game via subtitles and in-game signs. A future patch will add official Russian and Latin American language support. Russian was something we really wanted to do early on and fans have been eager for, so it’s great to have that done. We also know that our Spanish speaking friends and players wanted more options that reflected the world around them. It’s unclear if future languages might come down the line. Nothing is impossible but for now, it’s our hope that these new options will allow more people to enjoy Raz’s adventure.


Speedruns, Singing, And Shenanigans!
To close out the year, we've done a lot of fun stuff that we're eager to share right now in a big burst of exuberance. Remember those “Basic Braining” episodes we did before the games release outlining powers and story and pins and more? We actually made one more but we decided it might have been a little too spoilerific before the game’s launch. Time has passed and we’re glad to share it now. Enjoy a history of the Psychic Six!

We’ve also been goofing off a little! By which I mean having our brains blown out by a speedrun of Psychonauts 2! A handful of us gathered to watch our speedrunning friend Edgar (Itzbytez on Twitch) complete the game in one hour and 32 minutes. Our lead programmer Kee Chi was particularly happy to see all the glitches and totally not mortified! Check it out!



But wait, what’s this? Who is this bearded man? That’s right, champs, it’s Jack Black playing through PSI-King's Sensorium with Tim. It’s a time for laughter, singing, and some good banter between friends as Jack’s mind expands with each step further into the Sensorium! Also: if you want to perform karaoke of the PSI-King kickin’ musical number, we have that for you as well! May your gorgeous voices impress all your friends! Check it out! Sing it loud and scare the neighbors!





Broken Age On Game Pass!
Back when Tim wanted to take another crack at adventure games, I’m sure plenty of you helped make Broken Age a reality through Kickstarter. At the time, it was one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns ever and helped bring an entirely new adventure to life. One which was even documented.If you’ve never experienced Shay and Vella’s story, this is a chance for you to explore another piece of Double Fine adventuring goodness that couldn’t have happened without cool folks like you. Two teens, one story, and a mysterious connection that will bridge two vastly different worlds. Because, you know, Game Pass has like a bajillion games and we want folks to enjoy as many of ours as possible.

See Ya 2021!
Psychonauts 2 has essentially wrapped up as a project although there will be tweaks and fixes as we move forward. The studio is already splitting up into various teams and starting different projects that we think you’ll enjoy. We like experimentation here at Double Fine. Every game is a chance to explore new ideas, new visual styles or gameplay, emotions, and more. Psychonauts 2 was a chance to revisit and reimagine the classic that launched our studio into the future. It was a long process but we like to think the pay off was pretty great. We stuck the landing.

Our focus moves to these new projects but we’re also intensely tracking incoming support tickets sent our way and working with distributors to get folks their rewards as soon as our strange world allows. These are still somewhat uncertain times where even something like paper can be in short supply and affect production of goods. As the year ends, I hope each of you get to enjoy some rest and comfort with family and friends.

We leave you with this holiday card drawn by studio artist Miyuki. We’ll catch you in the new year. Until next time: keep being awesome.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I just completed this game. Ran it on Solus 4 (linux). Zero crashes, glitches, or bugs. Perfect and snappy performance and load times.

I liked the game. A worthy sequel. The character and virtue was well intact. This was definitely more of the same, which is perfect. The presentation was superb and the combat was greatly improved. I would have actually appreciated more combat. They kept it fairly constrained to few arena areas in each level, which is too bad. Nearly all of the psi-powers were improved and made good use of with only 1 or two weak elements. Badges to customize powers were a nice addition. Best parts of the game are the more open areas and levels where you can explore and mess around. I greatly appreciated the improved QoL elements for cleaning up the levels to find all of the figments and such. The plot was decent until after Green Needle Gultch, after which it got a bit lost. Bob's Bottles also had a plot twist that was both as uninteresting as it was unnecessary. Even if the game still exuded charm, the humor didn't quite live up to the original. This one was far moodier, not that it suffered for it. Of all of the levels, the only one that annoyed me was the bowling level. It wasn't particularly difficult, just obnoxious. I didn't appreciate the rolling segments in any of the levels.

While Psychonauts 2 is a very worthy sequel, and in several ways objectively better, Psychonauts 1 still holds place at my #1 GOAT adventure game. That's not nostalgia speaking either. I played it for the first time in late 2011 on PC as an adult. Still, it's a great purchase. 4/5 if not better. Highly recommend.

PS: I just watched the ZeroPunctuation review. It's quite apt, even if harsher than I would be.

 

[oldbonebrown]

An hour in and I am really struggling to deal with how many cutscenes there are and how little they add. The amount of interaction prompts in psi headquarters that I expect will take control away from me for no good reason made me shut the game off.

I don't remember the original being this heavy handed.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

An hour in and I am really struggling to deal with how many cutscenes there are and how little they add. The amount of interaction prompts in psi headquarters that I expect will take control away from me for no good reason made me shut the game off.

I don't remember the original being this heavy handed.

It gets better after a couple hours. Similarly to the first game, P2's middle act is its strongest, although it never hits the highs that P1 does.

 

[Infinitron]

In this collectible, physical edition of the much anticipated, Psychonauts 2 - The Motherlobe Edition, get the platform-adventure game and then some! Packed in the game are quirky missions and mysterious conspiracies with cinematic style and tons of customizable psychic powers. The game pack-ins include exclusive stickers, art cards, a reversible coversheet AND a digital download code for behind the scenes footage.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Raz looks like Zool on that box art cover.

 

[Vlajdermen]

Unkillable Cat brilliant analysis. Made me want to give Psychonauts 1 a second chance (didn't give the substories their due the first time), also captured a lot of my gripes with modern games in general. That enemy roster, paired with the woke factor, really resonated with me. Used to be in games you'd go to faraway mountains to slay dragons, now you go to your inner feelings to slay anxiety and depression.

 

[Modron]

This is at an all time low right now:

 

[AndyS]

Getting going on this game, which I just picked up on sale. I'll plug away at it since the gameplay is fine, but I have to say, having gotten through the casino level so far, it feels like it was made by a different crew than the original. I mean, I know it's the same company and Tim Schafer behind it, but their sensibilities have obviously changed over the years and not for the better as it completely lacks the impish sense of humor Schafer's old games had. Seeing Raz learn A Very Important Lesson about the use of his powers and have to sincerely apologize was embarrassing, and the new characters introduced (the interns and Hollis) are deeply unlikable compared to the crew from the original. Hollis in particular is just death whenever you're forced to interact with her.

 

[AndyS]

Well, done with this one. I did end up liking it better as it went along. It feels like the game settles down a lot after the introduction and it feels like it's more of a piece with the original. It's just that opening with the hospital, casino, and the interns is like the game is trying to make the worst first impression possible, to the point that I wonder if Schafer delegated that part of the game to the juniors while he focused elsewhere and that's what the idiots crapped out. Get beyond those bits and it's just Raz exploring stuff and the game even rediscovers a little bit of its sense of humor in parts and some of the levels like the 60s band world are very creative. It is not as good as the original and I'm not sure I'll replay this one while I tend to replay the original every few years, but it's a better sequel than Beyond a Steel Sky, which I recently played. I used to think I wanted a Brutal Legend 2 but I think I'm fine without it now. I don't think I trust current day Double Fine to pull that one off even if they could afford it.