The latest game I crossed off from my Steam backlog is a very interesting one. I'm looking forward to talking about it. BACKGROUND:
Psychonauts is not the most popular game out there, but it has quite the cult following; I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise if it weren't for those passionate fans. I had the chance to buy the game on sale for a really affordable price, but I couldn't find the time to sit down and play it. PLOT: The game is set in Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, which appears to be a normal camp at the surface, but is actually a training ground for young psychics. The most exceptional of the children are then recruited into the Psychonauts, an elite team of spies/fighters who use their mental abilities to aid them in their missions. Razputin (Raz for short) sneaks into the camp in hopes of becoming a Psychonaut, but is immediately caught by the instructors. They allow him to stay for a few days until his father comes to pick him up, so Raz resolves to hone his skills in that time. During his training, Raz uncovers a conspiracy that involves a mysterious entity stealing the brains of the other kids in the camp, and it falls to him to get to the bottom of it. Overall, I thought the story was super weird in the best way possible. All the characters have distinct personalities, and the fun thing about the game's setting is that you actually get to explore their inner psyche, so you learn even more about what makes them tick. The whole concept of someone's mind being a place you can explore is cool, and the game gets really creative when depicting the minds of the various characters as a "physical" location. This creativity extends to the game's humor, too, and there are some clever jokes in the dialogue of various characters. The plot itself isn't anything new (how many times have you heard a "it's up to this one guy to stop this massive conspiracy" story?), but I think the whole "going into people's minds" thing breathes fresh air into it. As you go along each of the levels (which are focused on the mind of a particular character), you learn about their past traumas (and how that dictates their actions/behavior in the present), or how they perceive their current situation. It's a novel way to add depth to the characters, and doing so helps contextualize what's going on in the main narrative a little bit. PRESENTATION: This game came out in 2005, and while the age is noticeable in terms of texture and model quality, I still think it looks fine. From what I understand, the version I played is the updated one that was released in 2011, and the resolution looks better than how the game originally looked. However, the pre-rendered cutscenes aren't, and the lack of updates to it is quite noticeable next to the upscaled gameplay. In terms of style, I got a sort of Tim Burton-esque vibe from the unnatural proportions and faces from the characters. Where this game really shines is the level design, as they took all manner of inspiration when it comes to the overall aesthetic of each level. They also did a fantastic job of keeping the level design in theme with the character it's associated with, featuring elements that accurately depict a particular character's quirks or personality. The music is pretty great as well, with many tracks perfectly complementing their respective levels. It feels like a full-blown movie score at some points. The voice acting is also no slouch, with some real heavy hitters in the cast (like the voice of Raz, who is also the voice of Zim from Invader Zim, and other high-caliber names like Steve Blum and Tara Strong). GAMEPLAY: Psychonauts is a 3D platformer, so there's plenty of running and jumping in a 3D environment. Structurally, there is a good amount of room for exploration, but it's not exactly on the level of, say, Super Mario Odyssey, whose levels are full-on sandbox areas. Psychonaut's levels have a sense of linear progression to them, but you get to do a fair bit of backtracking, and there's plenty of opportunity to explore nooks and crannies to find secrets. Raz starts out with a basic jump, a double jump, a short-range punch attack, and a ground pound. As you go along, you unlock more psychic abilities, ranging from combat-focused (like Marksmanship, which gives you a projectile attack), mobility (Levitation, which gives you a higher jump and a float), defensive options (Shield), to abilities more focused on solving puzzles (like Pyrokinesis, which is primarily used to burn down barriers). Some are pretty useful as they are, others are more versatile (Pyrokinesis, for example, can be used to hurt enemies), while others are rather situational. Each ability (with a few exceptions) has a level dedicated to it, and you get ample time to explore what they can do. There are some areas where you get the opportunity to use multiple abilities in succession, but they're not as common. I had a lot of fun messing around with these abilities (you can do some fun stuff with some of them, like mess around with NPCs), though I can't help but feel like there's still a lot of untapped potential when it comes to designing levels around these abilities. Aside from his psychic abilities, Raz also has some acrobatic skills to his name. Throughout the levels, you'll be able to shimmy across ledges, climb marked surfaces, swing from horizontal bars, balance on tightropes, and slide down slopes and rails. Some of these can be a little finicky to deal with, but none of the platforming sections are particularly tough or demanding (except for the last level, which is a lengthy platforming challenge full of these things). Your main hub at the start is the camp itself. It's not that large in the grand scheme, but there are a good number of areas and spots with hidden goodies. Once you start actually entering people's minds, you'll gain access to what's called the Collective Unconscious. This area is a collection of doors, each of which will allow you to revisit individual levels. The levels based on the minds of the characters is where the design truly shines. The tutorial level, for example, is set in the mind of a war veteran, and you go through a literal warzone. It gets super creative later on, with a level set in a dance party, a level where you get to pretend to be a kaiju, a level where you help produce a stage play, a level where "a battle of wits" is interpreted literally as a board game, and the iconic Milkman Conspiracy level, which perfectly captures the paranoia of the character with a '50s suburban setting filled with spies and hidden cameras. I deeply enjoyed each and every level's theme, and I found myself wishing there were even more to explore. There's less variety in terms of enemies, with most of the levels using the same set throughout. Most of them are merely nuisances, but a few can kick your ass if you don't deal with them quickly. The bosses are pretty inspired when it comes to design (as they're the manifestation/culmination of the character's emotional troubles), and they get creative with the solutions to beating them, but I wouldn't call them particularly difficult. Dying is rarely inconvenient, as the checkpoints tend to be generous. You do, however, have a limited number of "lives", and losing them all kicks you out of the level. Even then, that isn't all that troublesome, as the checkpoints still apply for the most part. For the most part, the puzzles are pretty straightforward, with a lot of them simply requiring the correct abilities to be used on the specified interactables. There is a bit of a point-and-click adventure element to some of the puzzles, requiring you to use items in your inventory in conjunction with your powers to progress. Figuring out what to do is rarely ever problematic, but in the event that you get stuck, the game does have a built-in hint system thanks to a special item. Each level has a number of collectibles. First, you have Figments, which are outlines of objects strewn about the area. There are a lot of these things to find, and while most of them are in plain view, some of them are tough to reach. Next, you have Memory Vaults, which, when broken, reveals the memories of the character whose mind you're exploring at the moment. You also have Emotional Baggage, which is literal in the sense that they're actual luggage weeping loudly. To collect these, you have to find their corresponding bag tag, and collecting them all unlocks even more memories pertaining to the character. Lastly, you have Mental Cobwebs, which you have to clear out with a special item to open up paths. There are also miscellaneous upgrades (like expanded ammo for certain psychic abilities), but they're not really required. The campsite also has collectibles of its own. On it, you can find PSI Challenge Markers, which level you up. You can also find PSI Cards, nine of which can be converted into Challenge Markers in a certain area. There's also a scavenger hunt where you have to find 16 special items, and completing it levels you up even more. Mental Cobwebs can be exchanged in a certain area of the camp as well, and they'll be converted into PSI Cards. Since I just mentioned leveling up, now's a perfect time to discuss it. Raz starts out at Rank 1, and you level up by doing certain tasks. Collecting Challenge Markers and Figments levels you up, and at certain points, you unlock new psychic abilities or get upgrades for existing abilities. Since leveling up is tied to collecting finite resources, there isn't so much grinding as there is scavenging, and depending on the kind of player you are, you may find that more fun or more tedious. I personally enjoy this more; I like collect-a-thons and grinding RPG-style bores me pretty quickly. Unfortunately, there is still an element of grinding with respect to Arrowheads, the game's currency. There's a shop in the camp that has a few required items, and one of them (the Mental Cobweb Duster) costs an exorbitant amount of money. You usually collect these by just finding them littered about on the campgrounds or by beating up enemies, but it takes quite a while to get a good amount of them, even with a special item known as the Dowsing Rod (which allows you to collect even more Arrowheads at a time). It's not that bad overall, but I certainly let out an audible sigh when I hit the point when I needed the Cobweb Duster to progress and I had less than half of the money required to buy it. Keeping track of collectibles is pretty easy thanks to the pause menu having a counter for everything, so completionists can relax and focus entirely on just looking for the items. For people who don't really care about that sort of thing, you only need enough collectibles to get to Rank 30, and enough Arrowheads to get the Cobweb Duster to beat the game, so don't worry about the game being overly demanding in that sense. Compared to other 3D platformers, this is on the shorter side, which I think is fine considering the levels aren't all that big anyway. VERDICT: I now see why Psychonauts has the cult following that it does; it's a delightfully bizarre game that takes full advantage of its "exploring people's minds" premise with outstanding level design and solid 3D platforming action. All this is complemented by the fittingly weird art style, the colorful cast of quirky characters, and entertaining writing. I do have a few minor qualms here and there, but overall, I really enjoyed playing this game, and I can't wait for the sequel (which is 15 years in the making at this point). If you want a particularly off-the-wall experience, or are a fan of the 3D platformer genre, this is absolutely worth checking out. I'd go as far to say that this is pretty close to an "essential" game that must be played at least once given its unique legacy as a cult classic. Here's the game on Steam. You can also get the soundtrack on there. Psychonauts on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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