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Psychonauts
Score: 9.0 / 10
When I finished Psychonauts I just sat in
my chair more than a little dumbfounded that it was over. Psychonauts is
so packed with art, humor and gameplay that I didn’t want it to end. And
with Tim Schafer’s track record of producing sequels – he hasn’t done
any – the feeling was bittersweet at its conclusion.
Psychonauts puts you in control of the likeable Razputin (otherwise
known as, Raz), a circus runaway who crashes a psychic summer camp in
the hopes of becoming a psychic secret agent (i.e. a Psychonaut) and
quickly finds himself involved with saving the other campers from a
brain-stealing maniac. It’s an intriguing setup and one that presents
comedy at every turn.
The camp itself is named after an element called psitanium. Buried
arrowheads
made of the element emit a slight gas,
which make them easy to spot and collect. But essentially, the camp –
Whispering Rock – is named after farting rocks. And there are hidden
chuckles all over the place – from the decided difference between acorns
and nuts to some of the best dialogue since Day of the Tentacle (or Full
Throttle or Grim Gandango or any other project Tim Schafer has ever
worked on) I found
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myself grinning all the way through.
For all adventure fans that might have felt a little “betrayed” by
Schafer for making a lowly platform game, you’ll be doing yourself a
disservice by not giving Psychonauts a try. Although there is a fair
amount of platforming, which I’ll get to in a bit, Psychonauts manages
to feel a lot like an adventure game. Raz can initiate dialogue with
other (truly whacked-out) characters or provide a description of
whatever is highlighted. (Be sure to read the messages on the bulletin
boards scattered throughout the camp.) Raz also has an inventory to sort
through and a straightforward quest log that ensures you always know
what the next step is. While it’s not a “pure” adventure game the
sensibility is there, which allows you to prod around the world to find
bits of hilarity all over the place. It also doesn’t hurt that
Psychonauts is gorgeous and so rich in detail you’ll want to poke around
in the dark corners.
And writing of poking around in dark corners, that’s exactly what Raz
does for 90% of the game. The bulk of Psychonauts takes place in the
subconscious of other characters in the game – and a giant lungfish at
one point.
You’ll scrum around clearing out mental cobwebs and taking on emotional
baggage, and generally tackle a lot of inner demons. The fact it never
stops being fun is a credit to the minds at Double Fine. Part of the
reason for this is that each “world” Raz goes through is often radically
different than the world before it, requiring a completely new approach
or even unlocking a new psychic power.
Besides the standard platformer moves – jump, punch, climb, rail slide,
swing, etc. – Raz gains access to an increasing number of psychic powers
(mostly by collecting stuff) like psy-blast, telekinesis, levitation and
pyrokinesis. While Raz can only “equip” three powers at a time,
switching powers is a simple trip to the menu and assigning it to one of
the buttons. It never feels overwhelming and even in the thick of battle
it’s not distracting. There is still a lot of jumping involved but the
psychic powers and variety of environments provide lots of platform
action without feeling like a rehash of everything that has come before
it.
Much praise needs to be heaped on the art department for creating such a
whacked-out but pleasing world to run around in. Voodoo Vince, maybe the
genre’s most under-appreciated title, shares the same kind of twisted,
arty reality but Psychonauts has the advantage with more spit polish and
small touches that linear platform games have a tough time including. On
top of that, Psychonauts features a great soundtrack and voice acting
that meets or exceeds the LucasArts adventure games of yore.
Psychonauts marries platforming, adventure games, stellar art, fun
dialogue and a great gaming experience – it’s a polygamous experience
that I definitely recommend to all gamers. And knowing that it’s almost
an ironclad guarantee that we’ll never see a sequel is almost a blessing
in disguise. It means I’ll have to go back and play Psychonauts – and
enjoy every second of it.
