Sixteen years ! It's been sixteen years since we left this very dear Razputin Aquato – Raz what – in the lurch. Sixteen years since Psychonauts, the first of its name, was released on our old PCs as well as on consoles whose name I hardly dare pronounce as it seems to come out of the depths of video game history... yes, it's about the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. No, no, not the three-sixty, but the "big", the first console from Microsoft.
In short. It's been sixteen years that all fans of the first opus have been waiting to get their hands on such a well-written platform game, with a real, rich, delirious universe. But now, six years after officially announcing the project, Double Fine is, so to speak, able to distribute it. It should be done on August 25th and, in the meantime, we were able to try out a few levels for a few hours.
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In Psychonauts 2, we regain control of this kid that is Raz, but there is no question of following up on the first opus, that of 2005. Indeed and even if the thing went much more unnoticed than the founding episode, Double Fine has already developed a sort of sequel in the form of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin. Why unnoticed? Simply because the game is virtual reality (VR) and limited to PlayStation 4 / Windows platforms only. Moreover, despite undeniable writing qualities and interesting mechanics, the transition from the game to VR was not always well accepted by players who also criticized the brevity of the adventure… even shorter than Psychonauts first of the name.
All that to say that Psychonauts 2 does not start where we left off this very dear Raz at the end of the first opus. From the top of his ten years, he had been called in reinforcement by the super agents, Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello to help them rescue Truman Zanotto, the leader of the Psychonauts. After this rescue, and even if he has not regained consciousness, Zanotto is out of danger. Our entire fine team can therefore focus on a double problem. First of all, Zanotto's captor – that jerk Dr. Caligosto Loboto – couldn't do it alone. It is therefore a question of getting your hands on your sponsor. Second problem, it seems that there is a mole within the Psychonauts: Loboto had far too much information.
We've actually just told the whole “prelude” of Psychonauts 2. Don't worry, we won't go any further in our business of “disclosure” of the scenario imagined by Double Fine. This "prelude" is also a way for the developers to hang up the wagons with players who have not finished the two previous games. Plus, of course, it acts as a mini-tutorial. "Mini" because in reality and like the first opus, things happen very gradually in Psychonauts 2, the powers are added one after the other so that this tutorial is actually spread over several chapters, several hours of the adventure .
At this level, we must recognize that Double Fine really knows how to do things in a very progressive way. Of course, it is still a question of showing a little will, because even if it is not its only characteristic, Psychonauts 2 remains a platform game with what that implies of slightly twisted passages and techniques "special". In principle, and for what we have been able to see, this sequel takes the gameplay elements of the first opus. Depending on his successes, Raz also recovers stars that he can assign as “experience points” on certain skills in order to make them evolve.
Our character sheet and the page dedicated to Raz's skills… which can be improved © Nerces
Gray matter for dark thoughts
Among the powers that we were able to test on our gaming session, let's mention telekinesis, levitation, PSY shooting, melee combat, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, mental connection and time bubble. For each skill, there are four levels of power. Thus, basic, clairvoyance makes it possible to see through the eyes of various characters or animals. At level 2, discoveries made in this way remain visible longer. At 3rd level, clairvoyance mode grants temporary immunity from damage. Finally, at level 4, there is no longer any question of being handicapped by any cooldown in the use of power.
This management of the different skills and the use that we make of them during the game are frankly well seen and it gives an adventure / action side – we are not going to say RPG anyway – to what is therefore not only a simple platform game. Even more than the first opus, Psychonauts 2 adopts a relatively open structure on many of its levels with more or less large areas to explore, various characters to discover and to exchange with, a system of secondary missions, innumerable bonuses to be collected everywhere. No, really, Psychonauts 2 does not seem to have to skimp on the content so that we stay longer with this friendly Raz.
No need to fear though, even if some areas are more open than others and a little exploration is possible, Double Fine does not seek to compete with Assassin's Creed. We are indeed in a platform game and most of the "sides" are optional, not to say accessories. But let's be a little more specific about what we discovered through these few hours of play. First of all, it was therefore a question of the prelude already mentioned and a tour in the HQ of the Psychonauts before moving on to the Lady Loctopus Casino mission. There, we resumed our habits on powers and with well-known enemies, like these horrible censors.
We then learned a new power – mental connection – which is the occasion for a kind of mini-game cleverly mixing platforms and humor. Thanks to the voice actors who are always so impeccable. Attention, if all the texts, descriptions of our preview were in Spanish, the dubbing was only in English: the dubbers here are the same as on the first opus, but we do not know if this will be the case on the VF. These first levels were really well designed with just enough tricks to start delighting players without losing newcomers. It also made it possible to see that the battles and the management of Raz during these action phases are much more successful.
JVFR
JVFR
Censors and bad ideas are just some of the game's many naughty creatures © Nerces
Mind war or Raz-war game?
The character responds better, the camera problems are fewer – but they have not yet disappeared – and the whole gains in accuracy, in rhythm. Other creatures such as doubts, regrets or bad ideas – these are their names – come to fill a well-thought-out bestiary, even if we should not expect unbridled originality on the gameplay side either. The same goes for the "boss fights", our second game session involved a meeting with a judge with rather hasty methods: it was mainly a question of dodging his attacks by using Raz's various movement techniques and taking advantage of moments of “pause” from the judge to give him the best assaults from our Psychonaut.
JVFR
Nothing that very classic in short, but it works well and Tim Schafer confirmed the tweets concerning the level of difficulty: it is a question of not disgusting the players and it will therefore be perfectly possible to activate a kind of mode of invincibility for Raz. Double Fine believes that players are old enough to adjust things according to their abilities and goals when launching Psychonauts 2. Thanks to them for not thinking we're dumber than we are! The other two levels we were able to access were open to us via pre-saved saves where Raz had far more powers.
Compton's kitchen and Cassie's collection are little jewels of inventiveness. The first is a kind of game show where you have to concoct a dish for a jury… how to say… particular! The second takes place in a slightly messy library that should allow us to explore the subconscious and the tormented personality of the said Cassie... Ah yes, let's remember that Psychonauts 2 plays a good part (all?) of its scenario on the question of mental disorders. The game show or the library are only projections of the tortured minds of the characters that we meet to find out who this famous mole is within the Psychonauts.
JVFR
JVFR
The judge is one of the many "bosses" of the game © Nerces
Given this division of the levels of the preview, Psychonauts 2 inevitably appeared to us a little disjointed. We will have to judge the game in its final version, but we have confidence in Double Fine. Above all, we will remember that the jokes hit the mark and if the scenario is sometimes a little "easy", it is not embarrassing: the delusional aspect of the universe easily catches up... provided you are a customer of this kind of humor ! This is the real "problem" of Psychonauts 2: as with the previous one, you have to adhere to the Double Fine style. A style that also shines through in its realization. Psychonauts 2 is not one to show off. On the other hand, the accuracy of the creatures and the decorations, the coherence of the world work to the full. We want more!
Release scheduled for August 25 on PC (Windows, MacOS, Linux), PS4/5 and Xbox One / Series X|S.
