When I played through the first game, I game it a sort of middling review; the plot and design ethos were perfect, the tone was wonderfully funny without undermining it's characters, and it was so irreverent and caustic but at the same time so kind. But the gameplay was very difficult to adjust to; the physics were bad, Raz was incredibly floaty (and not just when he's meant to be) and the difficulty ramp was weird. I went into Psychonauts 2 extremely optimistic, having heard that it stayed true to the tone of the first game, now with much better combat and more consistent physics.
I went in optimistic and was thoroughly blown away. The gameplay is wonderful; movement is fast, snappy, and satisfying. Combat is much faster, and Raz can use multiple psy-powers at once. It's honestly some of the best, if not THE best combat I've EVER seen in a platformer game. The combat doesn't feel like a break from the platforming, but like it builds upon what's already there, and neither platforming nor combat distracts from the other. By the end of the first game I'd given up on anything resembling completionism; I didn't enjoy moving around the world enough to keep doing it more than I had to to progress the plot. But in this one, I put off the final section for three days because I was having so much fun with the gameplay and didn't want it to end.
And the plot and design! The game hasn't lost any of its stellar artistic sensibilities; the most beautiful levels of the first game are easily matched or outdone by every level in this one. And the first's plot is built upon in a genuinely beautiful way, making way for a deeper story, more characters, and all without losing any of the personality that made the first one feel so...well, personal. I loved the new characters and their relationships with each other; Bob and Helmut especially. I won't get into spoilers, but the game's overarching theme of 'people can do horrific, irredeemable things without being horrific, irredeemable people' is so, so lovely, and delivered with such empathy and care.
I have my personal quibbles, of course (Donatella you need to apologize properly to your son for being passive-aggressive and guilt-slingy!!!!) but honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to call this a very nearly perfect game. It's gorgeous, it's unique, the story is incredible and the gameplay feels really, really good. One of the best games I've ever played for sure.
I went in optimistic and was thoroughly blown away. The gameplay is wonderful; movement is fast, snappy, and satisfying. Combat is much faster, and Raz can use multiple psy-powers at once. It's honestly some of the best, if not THE best combat I've EVER seen in a platformer game. The combat doesn't feel like a break from the platforming, but like it builds upon what's already there, and neither platforming nor combat distracts from the other. By the end of the first game I'd given up on anything resembling completionism; I didn't enjoy moving around the world enough to keep doing it more than I had to to progress the plot. But in this one, I put off the final section for three days because I was having so much fun with the gameplay and didn't want it to end.
And the plot and design! The game hasn't lost any of its stellar artistic sensibilities; the most beautiful levels of the first game are easily matched or outdone by every level in this one. And the first's plot is built upon in a genuinely beautiful way, making way for a deeper story, more characters, and all without losing any of the personality that made the first one feel so...well, personal. I loved the new characters and their relationships with each other; Bob and Helmut especially. I won't get into spoilers, but the game's overarching theme of 'people can do horrific, irredeemable things without being horrific, irredeemable people' is so, so lovely, and delivered with such empathy and care.
I have my personal quibbles, of course (Donatella you need to apologize properly to your son for being passive-aggressive and guilt-slingy!!!!) but honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to call this a very nearly perfect game. It's gorgeous, it's unique, the story is incredible and the gameplay feels really, really good. One of the best games I've ever played for sure.