The original Psychonauts is a gem within the platforming genre. A fantastically charming and creative acid trip of a game that got me eager to play the sequel right after... but I didn't, because this exists.

Serving as a bridge between the original and its sequel, this short VR title also served as a holdover for people who were eagerly waiting for the sequel. And since it's plot relevant, I just had to play it. Let me just get this out of the way: Rhombus of Ruin is in no way a bad game, which is all the more reason why I hate to give it such a low score. So... what gives? In the end, this is mainly a me problem.

I don't have much experience with VR, but from the few games I've tried, I've learned that I have a very low tolerance for such experiences. VR in general just makes me really motion sick, but that's especially true for games with free movement. While this game doesn't feature said movement, it is hampered by the fact that it is a puzzle game, and puzzle games are not my forte. While the puzzles aren't necessarily very difficult in this game, they often feel that way to me because I tend to get overly disoriented trying to think of solutions in VR, making me susceptible to just touching everything in sight and hoping something works, until my headache gets bad enough that I need a break. As such, I ended up looking up many of the solutions, as embarrassing as that is.

If this game was more of a linear narrative experience without all the puzzles, I would have probably enjoyed it more. As it stands, I still think the humor is solid and the story is decent enough as a sort of interlude to where I do recommend playing it if you are a fan of the main games if you can get it on a sale, but alas, it wasn't a very pleasant experience for me.