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Psychonauts 2 Preview: Prepare Your Mind

I was pretty nervous about the prospect of Psychonauts 2. The original game is one of my all-time favourites – a masterclass in humour, world-building, and character. There’s always a fear that maybe lightning won’t strike twice, which unnerved me as I sat staring at the title screen, waiting to start a game that already meant a hell of a lot to me before I even pushed a button.

After six hours with Psychonauts 2, it’s pretty clear that I had nothing to worry about. If my time with it is anything to go by, Double Fine’s sequel captures the same magic as the 2005 cult classic while also massively improving areas of the game that didn’t age quite so well, such as its somewhat floaty platforming and simple combat.

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Psychonauts 2 takes place three days after the events of the original game and sees Razputin visiting the base of the Psychonauts, an organisation of psychic agents who can dive into people’s minds and help them deal with their inner demons. Raz quickly learns that he’s not as far along in his training as he once believed, and discovers a plot that threatens to tear the team apart and pit the Psychonauts against a powerful old nemesis named Maligula. I played around six hours in total and got to see four mental worlds, including two previously unseen levels from later in the game.

One of the most important elements of Psychonauts – and Double Fine games in general – is the humour, which has once again been nailed. I found myself constantly chuckling at the wordplay and quick wit – it’s already the best comic writing I’ve seen since Disco Elysium. Several moments had me laughing out loud, like when Raz attempts to do the pose from the first game and gets shouted down by his classmates for being weird, or when he runs into a skinless papercraft man who talks about bleeding over the horror books for a laugh. They also call the ID scanning device of the Psychonauts HQ a “ThinkerPrint Scanner”, which is so awful that it’s brilliant.

A good deal of that humour comes from how bizarre each brain level is. Every time you delve into someone’s mind, you’re met with absurd landscapes that reflect their personality and mental state. One level, for example, is styled as a competitive cooking show that tasks Raz with collecting sentient ingredients to make meals for billy goat puppet versions of the Psychonauts, while another is a mixture between a casino and a hospital after Raz accidentally creates a mental connection between gambling and risk.

The concept of these mindscapes is one of the main draws of Psychonauts, and the four available in the preview build are fantastic, easily standing their ground next to classics from the original like Black Veletopia and The Milkman Conspiracy. My favourite level, Cassie’s Collection, hasn’t featured in any trailers so far, which made it the most exciting of the lot. This places Raz in the mind of Cassie, a Psychonaut who has developed identity issues, resulting in multiple versions of herself designed to represent the different aspects of her personality – a writer, a teacher, and a money-launderer. The whole level is themed around papercraft: everyone Raz runs into is made of paper and behaves like a storybook character, while many of the platforming sections transpire across actual pages from a book.

This world also demonstrates the game’s last mental power – the ability to create a small paper version of Raz who can help with puzzles and distract enemies. It’s an inventive ability, helped by the fact that the construct sounds exactly like Gir from Invader Zim, which I’m hoping is a deliberate reference. More than anything, it proves that all of the powers in Raz’s roster feel essential this time around. Every power can be used in multiple different ways in both combat and exploration, as opposed to abilities like Confusion and Shield from the first game, which were highly situational. To nerd out for a second, I was also very happy to see Clairvoyance return from the first game, which lets you see how other characters view Raz, complete with unique art depending on who you use the power on.

Beyond the great concept, the level also tackles the idea of which aspects of yourself constitute the “real you”, with Cassie coming to the realisation that every part of her personality is important to her identity. Psychonauts 2 is still as funny as the first game, but it’s putting a purposeful focus on representing mental illness correctly and treating the themes with respect. Whereas Doctor Laboto was treated as a “mad scientist” in the original, he’s presented as a sympathetic figure who has experienced trauma here. It’s not about ‘fixing’ the issues the characters have, it’s about helping them come to terms with them. One of the characters even calls Raz out on this, saying that it’s a Psychonaut’s duty to help people learn to live with their issues rather than outright trying to change them.

The cooking level I mentioned earlier is actually an allegory for the character’s anxiety and belief that they aren’t good enough for the Psychonauts. Raz helps them out by guiding them towards being less anxious and believing in themselves more, and there’s dialogue about how important it is to give yourself a break when needed. So far, Double Fine has been very careful with these topics and given them the right amount of levity and respect, which I hope continues throughout the rest of the game.

The core gameplay of Psychonauts 2 has been evolved for modern times, too. Even the biggest fans of Psychonauts would admit that the platforming is a little bit floaty, something that’s only become more apparent as the years have gone by and 3D platformers have evolved. Thankfully, that’s not the case here, as Double Fine has completely revamped how Raz moves – he’s much heavier now, reacts quicker to button prompts, and has a suite of new moves like being able to wall-jump.

It still feels like Psychonauts platforming, but some of the rules have changed. For example, levitation no longer lasts forever, you can't swap to a levitation ball from floating, and Raz now suffers from fall damage. Some of the tweaks are a little hard to unlearn as someone who’s put so many hours into the original, but after a while, the platforming becomes infinitely more satisfying and precise because of the changes. All of this isn't even mentioning some of the new mechanics like pins and actual upgrade trees for the mental powers that look to give the player even more control. It also helps that the camera doesn’t behave like one of those balloon men outside a car dealership this time.

Combat has also been massively overhauled, which is definitely appreciated given that it was the weakest aspect of the first game. The original basically had you mashing Square (or X if you were lucky enough to play it on a console that could run it at more than 10fps) and throwing out Psi-blasts while hoping for the best. It’s far snappier now, with a greater focus on mental powers, and a much more reliable basic combo for Raz.

One particular enemy wields a massive gavel and Raz has multiple ways to deal with them. He can either slow time to run in and attack, shoot them from afar with Psi-blasts, or use telekinesis to throw his own hammer at them for massive damage. Although some enemies have specific weaknesses, there are always multiple ways to take them down. It’s a little chaotic at first, but it’s a much better system than aimlessly spamming the palm-bomb attack.

More than anything else, my time with Psychonauts 2 was exciting. I’m excited to see every mental world, collect every Figment, and find out what happens to the characters, all while playing a game featuring gameplay that matches the quality of its endlessly creative ideas. Psychonauts 2 is shaping up to be the sequel I’ve always wanted, and if it can keep up the momentum I saw here, it’ll be stuck in the minds of gamers as a classic platforming gem for years to come.

NEXT: Interview: Double Fine On Psychonauts 2, Accessibility, And Depicting Mental Health

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