Posted November 08, 2009
Psychonauts is one of the few few games that get everything almost perfect.
The characters you encounter are quite interesting and varried and each has their own style and personality. They add a lot of flavor to the game. One of the most rewarding acitivites is to see how the various characters react to certain events and situations. Upon finishing a level, it is quite fun to talk to every possible character and try every possible ability and item on them. it opens up interesting dialogs and gives a lot of life to the characters and the Psychonauts world as a whole.
The levels are immaginative and very thought out. Each has a different focus and the game feels completely different on some of them. Artistically there are very well done giving each a unique look and feel. Most levels tell a mini story or help you discover something of the past and history of a character.
In terms of difficulty more levels are not frustrating and are quite fun even when you don't succeed the first time. The only exception might be the last two levels which feel a little out of sync with the rest of the game, being either bland or frustratingly difficult (however with a little patience manageable). It is worthwhile to collect all possible items in a level even if that is not required to finish the game. The extra challenge give satisfaction and gives you a reason to revisit some of the older levels with new abilities. Collecting everything also unlocks the original material and videos that are included. These are absolutely brilliant! The include original sketches and drafts done while designing the game and you can see how much effort and though has gone into every little detail and how faithfully some things have been realized in the game itself. These sketches and videos contain a lot of surprises and are quite fun to explore.
The various abilities you add on as the game progresses are add a lot to the game. Some much more useful than others, but all of them offer up new possibilities of playing the game in various ways. It's also interesting to see how an npc or an enemy reacts when you use a new power on them. It gives many new possibilities of experimentation.
The voice acting is superb and adds a lot of atmosphere to the characters and the game. All the characters are well done and the voices add a lot to their personality. The conversations are fun and interesting and like everything else help to add a lot of depth to the game.
The game is not very long but it's not short either. It feels just right. The only frustration is that the ending leaves you begging for "Psychonauts 2" and you know that's not coming. The game is fun to replay after a few months or years and doesn't feel old even when revisiting.
A little advice, spend some time to set up the control scheme for the game when you start. It allows you to play with any combination of gamepad , keyboard and mouse. I found that after taking the time to configure the game to my liking, the control seemed much more natural and fun. You should also not be limited to one control scheme. I found that in some situations it is more appropriate to use just the gamepad while in others I prefer to use the mouse. The game lets you use both at the same time, so it is easy to jump from one to the other as you see fit.
All in all Pychonauts is a very fun and rewarding experience and is the perfect example of how games should be designed and played.
The characters you encounter are quite interesting and varried and each has their own style and personality. They add a lot of flavor to the game. One of the most rewarding acitivites is to see how the various characters react to certain events and situations. Upon finishing a level, it is quite fun to talk to every possible character and try every possible ability and item on them. it opens up interesting dialogs and gives a lot of life to the characters and the Psychonauts world as a whole.
The levels are immaginative and very thought out. Each has a different focus and the game feels completely different on some of them. Artistically there are very well done giving each a unique look and feel. Most levels tell a mini story or help you discover something of the past and history of a character.
In terms of difficulty more levels are not frustrating and are quite fun even when you don't succeed the first time. The only exception might be the last two levels which feel a little out of sync with the rest of the game, being either bland or frustratingly difficult (however with a little patience manageable). It is worthwhile to collect all possible items in a level even if that is not required to finish the game. The extra challenge give satisfaction and gives you a reason to revisit some of the older levels with new abilities. Collecting everything also unlocks the original material and videos that are included. These are absolutely brilliant! The include original sketches and drafts done while designing the game and you can see how much effort and though has gone into every little detail and how faithfully some things have been realized in the game itself. These sketches and videos contain a lot of surprises and are quite fun to explore.
The various abilities you add on as the game progresses are add a lot to the game. Some much more useful than others, but all of them offer up new possibilities of playing the game in various ways. It's also interesting to see how an npc or an enemy reacts when you use a new power on them. It gives many new possibilities of experimentation.
The voice acting is superb and adds a lot of atmosphere to the characters and the game. All the characters are well done and the voices add a lot to their personality. The conversations are fun and interesting and like everything else help to add a lot of depth to the game.
The game is not very long but it's not short either. It feels just right. The only frustration is that the ending leaves you begging for "Psychonauts 2" and you know that's not coming. The game is fun to replay after a few months or years and doesn't feel old even when revisiting.
A little advice, spend some time to set up the control scheme for the game when you start. It allows you to play with any combination of gamepad , keyboard and mouse. I found that after taking the time to configure the game to my liking, the control seemed much more natural and fun. You should also not be limited to one control scheme. I found that in some situations it is more appropriate to use just the gamepad while in others I prefer to use the mouse. The game lets you use both at the same time, so it is easy to jump from one to the other as you see fit.
All in all Pychonauts is a very fun and rewarding experience and is the perfect example of how games should be designed and played.