#Psychonauts remastered full
#Psychonauts remastered series

Brain levels are detailed environments with depictions important to the character whose mind you occupy. The gameplay mechanics of Psychonauts 2 also beautifully tie into both standard video game tropes and also elements of the mind. The development team let us know that “every brain feels like a different ride.” Brain levels, where Raz infiltrates another character’s mind, are still as abstract and surrealist as ever whilst being able to brilliantly convey information pertaining to the psyche of that character, often leading to empathy and moments of narrative realisation. In fact, the whole gameplay experience feels warmly familiar. The eager to please and charismatic Raz, voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz, feels warmly familiar. They told us that Psychonauts 2 “has the same heart of the first game”. They told us how lucky they were to get the same voice talent to return for all recurring characters and how this was a big part of the reason the sequel “felt right”. I don’t think I immediately realised why that was whilst playing, but during our chat with the developers, it clicked into place. Psychonauts 2 feels so authentic to the original.

#Psychonauts remastered full

It’s a hub area full of important characters and contains classes where young psychics are mentored. Walking into the Motherlobe within the preview, aka Psychonauts HQ, you get to see a different side of this game.

#Psychonauts remastered series

Going hands-on with the game and I found it easy to feel excited, not just because I was returning to a beloved game series from years back, but because I got to see Raz pursue that dream that was built up throughout the first game. How do you return to a classic and bring in modern game design philosophies without ruining the nostalgic magic that made the original so iconic? With that said, it’s always a big ask to bring back a franchise that hasn’t had a proper release for over 15 years. The 2005 release was basically the definition of a cult classic, with the title often revered for its interesting world and gameplay mechanics that allowed protagonist Raz to dive into the minds of other characters and use his psychic abilities to traverse an often surrealist but always grounded world.

It’s also a sequel in the truest sense of the word, with Psychonauts 2 kicking off mere moments after the end of Rhombus of Ruin, a VR exclusive Psychonauts game released in 2008 that starts at the exact moment the original Psychonauts ended.ĭespite rarely making sequels, Psychonauts always felt like the title within Double Fine’s repertoire that was in most demand for a follow-up. It’s one of the first true sequels Tim Schafer and studio Double Fine have ever made, with Schafer historically favouring new IP rather than sequels. This is the first game being released by Double Fine since their acquisition by Microsoft back in 2019. The game’s development history is an interesting one. Not only that, but we also jumped into a Q&A with three different members of the Psychonauts 2 development team including Studio Head Tim Schafer, Art Director Lisette Titre-Montgomery, and Senior Systems Designer Lauren Scott. Checkpoint Gaming was recently lucky enough to get access to a significant chunk of Psychonauts 2 for preview purposes, going hands-on with the game and experiencing around five hours of content from four different ‘brain levels’.