Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Psychonauts

    Game » consists of 13 releases. Released Apr 19, 2005

    Developed by Double Fine Productions, Psychonauts is a platforming action-adventure game in which players take on the role of Razputin, a young psychic out to thwart an evil plot to subvert the minds of other powerful psychics.

    mormonwarrior's Psychonauts (Xbox) review

    Avatar image for mormonwarrior

    Funny, Charming, and Boring

    Tim Schafer's Psychonauts, like all of his games, is very high concept in setting and style, filled with intriguing characters and great dialogue. Unfortunately, also like all of his games, Psychonauts is at best a derivative and plain gameplay experience. Unless you hold great love for the material or Double Fine's brand of unique humor and emotive faces, there is little to find in the actual gameplay behind this title.
     
    I went into Psychonauts expecting a quality platforming experience, akin to Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, and Ratchet & Clank. I hold great love for the genre. When the game began, it held a lot of promise with its unique premise and great cast. I figured that it would start moderately slow and pick up speed, eventually becoming a serious tour de force or at least a very solid platformer. Unfortunately that was not the case, as Psychonauts stumbles and stalls more than it excels. It suffers from the same problems plaguing N64 and PlayStation games of this ilk - namely, bad camera, stuttery control, blind jumps, and unclear objectives. There were many times when I found myself frustrated trying to do what I thought was a proper jump, when it turned out the environment was just not clearly laid out.
     
    It's a real shame, too. There are a lot of great ideas behind this game. The premise, as I stated, is very novel. Raz, a runaway circus boy, sneaks into a summer camp for psychic children. He eventually unravels a devious plot to exploit these children's brains and take over the world. He uses his powers to enter the psyche of various people, helping them resolve emotional baggage. This contributes to a wide variety of art styles and locations. Most of these turn out to be dark and bland in gameplay, though, making the whole experience more flat.
     
    Some levels certainly stand out. One Godzilla-inspired sequence inside the mind of a mutant fish is particularly amusing, as well as the insane imaginings of various asylum patients. Again, though, the bland core gameplay becomes a serious stumbling block to the overall experience.
     
    Visually, Psychonauts impresses, if not for absolute fidelity, then for emotive faces and great artistic style. The exaggerated character models make them more memorable, and also allow a lot of expression. It seems to be Double Fine's forte. Also high-quality are the voice actors, most especially Raz. Each character is really interesting.
     
    Despite the great premise, though, the story does fall apart on itself sometimes. Raz acts very fond of all of his comrades in the camp to such a degree that you would think he had been there for countless weeks, although the whole game takes place over a couple of days, if that. It was an odd disconnect for me that he so clearly remembers everybody's name and exactly what they're all about when you barely meet any of them. It may seem like a little thing, but it felt like a large chunk of the game was missing.
     
    That's not to say that the game isn't lengthy, because it really is. In fact, it really wears out its welcome a couple hours before it's done, and the most vexing and frustrating levels are right at the end. It took a lot of effort for me to even want to finish this game, which is unusual considering this is my favorite style of game.
     
    But I did push through, I finished it, and I enjoyed the experience overall, though the gameplay is a serious bore most of the time. It's funny, charming, witty, well-written, and a generally mediocre video game, making it all the more disappointing.

    Other reviews for Psychonauts (Xbox)

      One of the most charming games ever! 0

      Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, a place I thought I’d go only once and then leave and never come back. Nothing could be further from the reality. Truth is from the first time I saw the intro sequence I fell in love with Psychonauts. It all starts out on the first day of what would seem to be another normal summer at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, agent Morceau Oleander is briefing the children on the importance of becoming a psychic soldier, AKA a Psychonaut. The meeting is interrupte...

      1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

      At least it's got personality 0

      Psychonauts is a very creative game filled with charisma, there's no denying that. The cast of characters that Raz meets and converses with at Whispering Rock all have vibrant personalities and act as a great catalyst for camprground exploration while providing a force of connection to the story. You'll go out of your way to have Raz interact with the various camp goers and counselors. The story itself is one of the games strongest aspects by far. Raz is a very endearing character, and the flesh...

      2 out of 4 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.