Psychonauts 2 review. Maximum authenticity
Psychonauts is a game with a very complicated history. It took Double Fine four and a half years to develop the first part. The work on the game was accompanied with very dramatic events. Microsoft, that the game was going to be published by, went out of business and the project was left without a publisher. The first version of the game was not a commercial success, but connoisseurs appreciated it. To this day, many avid gamers consider Psychonauts to be one of the best computer games of all time.
About the development
When the second part was in development, the creators also had their hands full. On the one hand, it was one of the most successful projects in the gaming history. But on the other hand, creating a sequel to a project that did not even show relatively good commercial results in the beginning is a serious risk. But when the sequel was created, Microsoft was very helpful and actually saved the project by joining it as publishers.
The story of the protagonist
As in the first part, the protagonist of the game is a ten-year-old boy with a simple Russian surname Razputin. At some moment he realized that he has paranormal powers and can penetrate into people’s subconsciousness. The boy escapes from the circus, where he and his parents participated in an acrobatic show, and gets into a strange children’s camp, where children with one or another abnormality are taught to control their superpowers.
The boy does not get along with his peers and teachers. The camp is not easy for him. Nevertheless, he gets full training, even gets a girlfriend and meanwhile saves the mankind from unusual tanks which are fueled by… brains of talented children.
Missions in Psychonauts 2
The main character has a number of missions to complete. Some of them are quite tricky, such as finding a high-ranking official Truman Zanotto, who is also the father of Raza, Rasputin’s beloved.
No less difficult will be such a mission as to prevent Maligula, a wicked sorceress who wants to resurrect a certain villain, from coming back to life.
Psychonauts 2 storyline
We can’t help but notice that the second part of the game is much more interesting than the first one. If in the first one Razputin’s superpowers were demonstrated occasionally, in the second one they are revealed in all their glory. The developers also demonstrate inner worlds that reside in different characters’ subconsciousness, where the protagonist travels. This is a rock concert, a cooking show, a casino and much more.
Game mechanics and combat
The game mechanics are based on a three dimensional platformer. You can upgrade your character for in-game currency – the fruits of your imagination.
Users are also very complimentary about the combat techniques in this game. The developers made a very right decision not to complicate this segment, so that the fun for users did not turn into a torture.
Psychonauts 2 is unquestionably a very successful sequel. By and large, a serious reproach to the developers can only be one: for some reason the script was written only by Tim Shafer without Eric Walpo. The absence of the latter affected the humorous component of the game. It left a lot to be desired in comparison with the first part.
