I started playing Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 after watching the making of documentary of Psychonauts 2 (PsychOdyssey). I had never played the first game before, so I had no nostalgia for the game. Back in the day, when part 1 was released, I was deep into FPS games, so I completely skipped it - unlike today, where I mostly play platformers. Let's make it short: I didn't care for part 1 after playing it for the first time. It didn't age that well, although the basic gaming mechanics are nice, and the story is fun. My hopes were high for part 2.
Man, Psychonauts 2 didn't disappoint me at all. It's easily one of the most beautiful games ever. The artwork is amazing, and it's just fun exploring the world. The gaming mechanics are a huge improvement over part 1: movement, jumping and fighting mechanics feel nice, smooth and modern, although from time to time, the camera is doing crazy doing s**t. The level design is outstanding. The story: There is nothing not to like about the story. Maybe it's too childish in the first place, but if you want a nice action-adventure story, this game offers a lot.
Gameplay-wise, this game is easy. If you are hoping for a tough challenge, this is not your game. Stay with God of War or Eldenring, or even Mario Odyssey. The one thing I don't really care about is all the collectibles. Although the figments are beautiful little charms to collect, they don't add much to the gameplay. Basically, these are just beautiful coins, like you know them from the Mario games. Same with the emotional baggage and the brains. If you are a completionist, you might enjoy searching for every little secret. I don't care.
Knowing the story behind the game creation made the playthrough feel special. I really hope we get more of this in the future. As someone who worked on a project for the same 7 years as this game was in development, I can feel all the struggle this game has gone through. Kudos to everybody who worked on this game at one point or another. A true labor of love.
Man, Psychonauts 2 didn't disappoint me at all. It's easily one of the most beautiful games ever. The artwork is amazing, and it's just fun exploring the world. The gaming mechanics are a huge improvement over part 1: movement, jumping and fighting mechanics feel nice, smooth and modern, although from time to time, the camera is doing crazy doing s**t. The level design is outstanding. The story: There is nothing not to like about the story. Maybe it's too childish in the first place, but if you want a nice action-adventure story, this game offers a lot.
Gameplay-wise, this game is easy. If you are hoping for a tough challenge, this is not your game. Stay with God of War or Eldenring, or even Mario Odyssey. The one thing I don't really care about is all the collectibles. Although the figments are beautiful little charms to collect, they don't add much to the gameplay. Basically, these are just beautiful coins, like you know them from the Mario games. Same with the emotional baggage and the brains. If you are a completionist, you might enjoy searching for every little secret. I don't care.
Knowing the story behind the game creation made the playthrough feel special. I really hope we get more of this in the future. As someone who worked on a project for the same 7 years as this game was in development, I can feel all the struggle this game has gone through. Kudos to everybody who worked on this game at one point or another. A true labor of love.