Hello there. That's right you digital degenrates, my crusty corpse is back at it again. I'm here to review a video game in hopes that I'll garner the attention of some huge whale and open his 3rd eye with my hot takes, which will then lead to me becoming a millionaire and getting a license plate that says 1percent to become the ultimate douche. Today, I'm going to be going over Psychonauts 2, the sequel to the cult classic video game that I'm sure at least some of you have played back in the day called Psychonauts, obviously you pussy. This is a game that a lot of people, myself included, have waited well over a decade for without even expecting it to ever happen.
So, after such a long wait I couldn't wait to dive into this games asshole to see how it is. And, thankfully, the game is wonderful.
The graphics and art design of the game are pretty damn beautiful. The original game had a very cartoonish design to it, and they chose to stick with that over trying to make it look hyper realistic where you can see the sweat beads on the ass crack of every character. And, I think that was a great decision on their part, because it fits with the games narrative and characters perfectly. It's just a good aesthetic choice and in this day and age is something you rarely see anymore. The game is filled to the brim with beautiful colors and very trippy designs making you feel like you've slid some LSD up your rectum. Pretty much every game that comes out these days is trying to be dark and gritty and grey with varying shades of dark blood and ass thrown around. Where as this game does the complete opposite instead going with a warm, colorful feeling with wacky blood and ass thrown around. It stands out so much from other modern games, and I just love the look of the game.
The real star of this game is the narrative and world exploring. They've taken everything from Psychonauts and improved upon it with this sequel, having larger more unique levels to get through with tons of interesting designs to each one. There is way more characters to find and interact with in this game, tons of side quests for you to take on as well as a great amount of lore to find and learn. The narrative is a very fun one to go through, with the dialogue being really entertaining and the jokes being actually funny. I felt very immersed and happy with just listening to the characters talking and joking around, it all feels like a fun adventure. So, you always look forward to getting to the next cut scene or the next dialogue exposition. I think the story is definitely the part that a lot of people will find sticks with them the most.
The world itself feels very alive and filled with things to check out. Each mind that you explore is entirely different from the previous or next one, with different things to do and see. It all of course has a very psychedelic design to it, which matches with the rest of the game. The mechanics will be changing a fair amount from level to level, keeping things feeling really fresh and interesting as you go along. In one level you might be sailing around in a canoe exploring tropical islands and tending to plants for an alcoholic man. In another you're suddenly cosplaying as Gordon Ramsey and trying to win a cooking show to appease some demonic beings. It's a wacky, fun ride throughout.
They've introduced a lot of old faces throughout the world that you'll recognize from the first game, which brings a bit of nostalgia into the equation. It was just really nice being able to learn more and get new interactions out of old characters that most people probably haven't seen in 10-15 years now. Obviously this point would be moot if you weren't a fan of the first game or ever played it, but, as someone who played the OG I think it's worth mentioning. The characters new and old all have some depth to them and I feel like you'll grow at least a little attached to them as you go on. The writing and characterization for this game is very well done and I was super happy with it.
Now, I guess I'll mention the one thing about the game that I think wasn't the greatest. The combat. The first game had pretty mediocre combat as well, and this game has the same issue. Now, the fighting itself isn't bad or anything, it's definitely serviceable and just fine. But, it's not really all that fun to do. The combat allows you more options to approaching the ways you'd like to fight, you can upgrade your psi abilities and change them to go with however you'd like to blast some ass. There's also badges which give you extra bonuses to specific attacks and abilities that you can buy and equip when you want to. But, none of that really makes it more entertaining and you can just rush through combat with spamming basic attacks. You won't be bored or upset over it, but, it's very simple and just never becomes fun.
While the little mobs of basic enemies and mini bosses are not very entertaining, the actual boss fights themselves can be pretty fun. However, that's more to do with the mechanics put in place to actually deal with the bosses. Not the combat itself suddenly getting more entertaining for no reason. So, yeah. I can't say the combat is going to make you cum in your pants or anything. But, it's decent enough where you won't be mad or annoyed that you have to fight and it's all just there to help you get to the shining gems of the game, which is the story and dialogue. If you want some dark souls level combat where everything feels super satisfying and well deserved, this ain't it chief.
Overall, I absolutely fucking loved this game. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys platformers or was a fan of the original game. It's a beautiful game, and feels like a good old adventure with lots of fun, wacky and colorful entertainment throughout. Something we don't seem to get in a lot of games these days. It's a very well written narrative, always enjoyable to progress through and has so many moments that will put at least a little smile on your face. It has some awesome art design and is very unique in how it looks, I definitely would say it's some cartoonish eye candy for sure. It's a feel good game, and I think I certainly needed that after the past 2 years of absolute dog shit. So, take that as you will.
Anyways, until next time, slutterbutts.
Later!