26.5 hours played
Written 14 days ago
My original review was 3,628 characters too long. Oops. Also, apparently you need to own a game to post a review. Yup. So I bought it. (Worth it, especially on 80% sale.)
I understand that I am writing this review twenty years after the game came out, but I truly believe that Psychonauts is a unique game that stands the test of time. Most settings in this game are whimsical, but many of them cover deeper topics in interesting ways. The character design in this game is nearly always asymmetrical and 'ugly,' and while it may be strange at first, I think it adds a lot of personality and charm to each character.
I will also leave a note here that, despite playing for 100% collectible completion and all achievements (besides the silly Christmas Shopping hidden achievement), playing through the game thoroughly only took about twenty hours.
I will cover my thoughts on each mental world here, although these writings must be much shorter than my original draft version, unfortunately (this is more as a post-experience thing, so I would recommend playing through the game before reading further):
Coach Oleander's Basic Braining
As a tutorial... Teaches most basic movement mechanics and acrobatic tricks (make sense for Raz to be capable of, unlike other video game characters who perform similar feats). Despite 3D platformer/video game experience, Basic Braining was not easy enough to feel like an insignificant experience.
Most of this mental world could be summed up as a pretty standard caricature of the word 'war,' although there are smaller details--such as military-helmeted bunnies--that show a little more depth of Oleander's character.
Sasha's Shooting Gallery
Agent Nein would probably claim to have the most orderly mind around... But it is also kind of boring.
This mental world has a futuristic cube shape, and acts as an introduction to Razputin's main psychic ability for use in combat, Marksmanship.
Sasha's mind cube opens up to show more about him and his past as the level goes on. Sasha is a cool character, and I do still like this stage, but if I had to pick a least favorite, this would be it.
Milla's Dance Party
Levitation - with this powerful ability at your disposal, exploration and mobility feel much better. It is the whole movement package!
In appearance, Milla's mental world is a pretty 'groovy' dance party, and it has some pinball elements for your Levitation ball as well. I do like Milla's stage a lot, but it does not feel as unique or interesting as some of the other mental worlds... until you find her secret.
In a small, hidden room, you learn that Milla's upbeat party-energy is a cover-up for suffering she was powerless to prevent. I think that the haunted cries of help heard in her nightmare room are deeply emotional, and help the player to understand the depths of Milla's character.
Brain Tumbler Experiment
The Brain Tumbler Experiment mostly functions as a way to progress the story and foreshadow Raz's visit to Thorney Towers. It is interesting to see how it is--like Meat Circus--a world influenced by both the minds of Razputin and Oleander. It has the right spooky vibes, and I like the literal play on the name of Thorney Towers.
Lungfishopolis
In the mental world of "Lungfish, The Hulking" (or more simply Linda), Raz takes the identity of Goggalor. Raz works with the people of the lungfish resistance to get to Kochamara island, where the lungfish people are being mind controlled by the large radar tower. This stage plays quite differently to other stages: Goggalor feels heavier to control than regular Raz, and he can climb up the sides of buildings and destroy tanks by stepping on them. Once you reach Kochamara Island, you are in for probably the funniest boss-fight in this whole game. Kochamara is a sort of superhero personality of Coach Oleander. He will try to attack Raz with a variety of moves, all while shouting out the names of his attacks, which I find more amusing than I should. "Mighty RAM!" and "Overly Intricate COMBINATION!" are both good, but "Hard-to-avoid AREA ATTACK!" is probably my favorite, haha.
Milkman Conspiracy
I like the whimsical floating neighborhood setting of this world. It is simple, yet still fun and unique. I really love the dialogue in this world and how you collect items to disguise yourself from the very regular hedge trimmers and sewer workers. Also the outlined areas which they watch is so 'game-reasoning,' but I think it just adds to how funny this world is.
Clairvoyance is my favorite of Razputin's Psychic abilities. I just think this power is very entertaining and I love the flat illustration style in which most characters see Raz. In addition, the use of Clairvoyance during this area's boss-fight is creative and fun, although I did struggle a little when using Telekinesis to deal damage.
Gloria's Theater
This stage is not my least favorite, but Gloria is my least favorite 'main-ish character.' I think she is not innately that interesting by her world and vault information, and she really doesn't do much in the real world either.
The gameplay of this level is interesting and "puzzle-y," making you change the stage, script, and mood to make different actions occur. It is a fun level, but it would not likely be conducive to enjoyable re-visits.
Waterloo World
This stage has a unique tabletop game theme with interaction above and within the game board.
I think that Fred's backstory is interesting, and I liked the ideas presented on the topic of living up to a family name. I really do think that he was handled well, and despite not growing to become a fighter, convincing Napoleon to leave was the only thing that truly mattered for Fred.
I think it is so interesting that the room that Napoleon and Fred are playing from is technically in a building found on the board. I also find it interesting that there is a sort of cellar room out behind that building that (after you clear the mental cobweb from the door frame) looks kind of like the Thorney Towers Asylum.
Black Velvetopia
I really like the visuals of this stage (too much to cover, really).
The gameplay of this level is fun, and I like how you travel up the street, swinging on poles or climbing on balconies to avoid the bull below. I think Edgar's story does well to convey how easy it can be for people to hold on to anger and resentment, and how freeing it can be to grow beyond the circumstances of our past. In this mental world you unlock Confusion, which is an interesting psi-power that can be rather funny, too. Unfortunately, Confusion is unlocked later into the game and it has an ammo limit until you hit Rank 95, so I did not feel as free to check what characters might say when hit by a confusion bomb as I feel when using Clairvoyance.
Meat Circus - The Meat Circus is a gruesome and ridiculous blend of Razputin and Oleander's minds. At end of the game, Raz's father does not seem so awful, and while we do not see Oleander's real father at all, we can assume he is not a twenty foot tall monster butcher man in real life. Oleander's father is not seen in any greater clarity, however, and is based only on what young Oly thinks of him, which, in my opinion, is an interesting way to view the concept of childhood trauma. I think my favorite part of this stage was the climbing section with Raz's dad(?) and the rising water, which the player had to try not to drown in.
Note: I received this game through Steam Family Share, but I would say it is definitely worth $9.99 US (as I write this review it is actually on sale for 80% off, so if you really can't swallow the idea of buying a twenty year old game for ten bucks, it DOES go on sale.)
Also, this review may have a nostalgia bias, although I did not remember a lot of the details of the game before playing through it on Steam. It was a lot of fun to rediscover this game, and I definitely had a (psi?) blast playing it.
