Psychonauts 2

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 956 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 689 out of 956
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 956
  3. Negative: 219 out of 956

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  1. Idanbot
    Nov 9, 2021
    6
    Not a bad game by any means but it's for those who care more for the art and story telling than the ones who seek quality gameplay and solid game mechanics, I don't like neglecting either and this game started feeling like a chore pretty fast...
  2. MatveySchmidt
    Jan 6, 2022
    7
    Some really good ideas, mostly esthetically. Game design feels inspired, but also kind of outdated. Everyone praised the writing, I think it's just ok.
  3. Galen
    Sep 6, 2021
    6
    While mechanically this is an improvement on Psychonauts in almost everyway, instead of getting rid of the things that didn't work well in the original it ports them over as well. There is some good humor and world building sprinkled throughout the game but the good parts are few and far between. The story is good in the sense that it brings the loose ends from the first game and ties themWhile mechanically this is an improvement on Psychonauts in almost everyway, instead of getting rid of the things that didn't work well in the original it ports them over as well. There is some good humor and world building sprinkled throughout the game but the good parts are few and far between. The story is good in the sense that it brings the loose ends from the first game and ties them up but nothing about the story or the characters is as fun or interesting as in the first game. It's been several decades since the release of the first Psychonauts game but I can still remember nearly every world and character and how interesting everything was. It's been a few days since I played Psychonauts 2 last and while I can dredge up memories of the characters and some of the levels I would be hard pressed to say who those characters actually are and what about that particular world was fun and interesting. Tim and Double Fine have shown that they know their way around modern game engines and that they can still make a AAA game. It's just a shame that they can't make it as interesting as they used to.… Expand
  4. Buzzkill17
    Sep 1, 2021
    6
    The level design and platforming are pretty good in this game, what kills it for me is the combat I found it not fun from the get go and it progressively got more and more annoying.
  5. Mandulum
    Sep 19, 2021
    7
    A fun story and some really cool levels make for a good time. The ability switching was a total ball drop though.

    Date Completed: 2021-09-18
    Playtime: 18h
    Enjoyment: 7/10
    Recommendation: If you like the first one, yes. If you never played the first one, maybe. If you didn't like the first one, no.
  6. ChrisUK
    Oct 22, 2021
    7
    My main problem with P2 stems from the underlying sense of cynicism and bleakness which pervades the characters and world. Sure there's the kooky off-hand humour (which sometimes but not always hits the mark), but too many characters are introduced, and I didn't really find any of them particularly likeable. Some of the levels are overly dark too (vomiting hand puppets).

    It feels like    My main problem with P2 stems from the underlying sense of cynicism and bleakness which pervades the characters and world. Sure there's the kooky off-hand humour (which sometimes but not always hits the mark), but too many characters are introduced, and I didn't really find any of them particularly likeable. Some of the levels are overly dark too (vomiting hand puppets).

    It feels like many of the level premises and layouts were just cobbled together during brain-storming sessions where someone eventually said "Yeah, that'll do". Add this sense of listlessness to the "collect-em-up" structure, and the game feels like it lacks structure or drive. Many recent games are guilty of having too many collectibles and objectives to keep you playing longer instead of engaging with the actual gameplay, and this is an action platformer so it's expected, but still, there are LOTS of things to collect in this game and they artificially extend the play time vastly - More chore than fun. Some of the levels feel original, but many are almost re-skinned versions of others.

    For a game where you go into people's minds and literally anything is possible, it seems like there aren't many new ideas here, gameplay-wise. There's a decided lack of mini games (bowling alley with no real bowling, for example) too. It's a shame, really, as I remember enjoying the first, and these single-player platformers can be excellent with a decent story and tight controls, but this seems to be a bit washed out and convoluted. Some invisible walls too and awkward movements, although some of the powers you get are cool. The graphics are fine and the voices and sound are good too.

    Hopefully if there's another, more time will be spent on original concepts for gameplay and levels rather than packing in too many things to collect and needlessly repetitive brains - There's not much point making things look funky and interesting without having varied and fun gameplay to back it up.    … Expand
  7. kruci
    Nov 12, 2021
    6
    Rewelacyjna wizualnie i aranżacyjnie. Niestety zagadki są nieczytelne - zwłaszcza kłębki myśli. Zbyt wiele momentów kiedy nie bardzo wiadomo co robić.
  8. hardwarrior
    Jan 10, 2022
    5
    Tons of hidden anti-Russian propaganda: Gzar Theodore Malik is obviously Nicholas II of Russia. Grulovians look alike pre-soviet Russians. Of course there is war, huge casualties and heroic western-alike opposition)
  9. Serif1337
    Aug 26, 2021
    5
    The game is quite disappointing, the other interns are extremely annoying and antagonistic to the player for no reason. These kids feel one dimensional, extremely forgettable (except for maybe Sam Boole). Compared to the first game in which the kids were interesting had good character development (Maloof getting bullied, later on making friends with the Russian kid and fighting back, ClemThe game is quite disappointing, the other interns are extremely annoying and antagonistic to the player for no reason. These kids feel one dimensional, extremely forgettable (except for maybe Sam Boole). Compared to the first game in which the kids were interesting had good character development (Maloof getting bullied, later on making friends with the Russian kid and fighting back, Clem and Crystal seeming extremely cheerful but trying to drink poison to kill themselves if you stumble on them while exploring).

    The music in the game is forgettable and generic (Grulovia track is good). Psychonauts 1 whispering rock music, lodge music, night music is incredibly atmospheric and makes you feel immersed in the world. In Psychonauts 2 the music in the Quarry area is painful to listen to while looking for collectibles and makes you want to turn audio off.

    There are also several annoying bugs like Raz hanging animation on swings and not being able to collect certain emotional baggage in the Compton level. Overall the game does not have the feeling Schafer managed to create in the first game, the feeling that there is something more to the world and the characters, a certain level of mystery and depth that just isn't present in Psychonauts 2. I rate the game 5/10 as the graphics are nice and the gameplay is good, but the difficulty is a joke, the in-game economy is easily broken, the story is lackluster and feels like a generic Marvel movie. If you enjoyed Psychonauts 1 and want something simmilar I wouldn't bother with this.    … Expand
  10. lNeo15l
    Sep 11, 2021
    5
    Jogo multi plataforma padrão game pass, tem alguns momentos divertidos.
    Se não tiver nada para jogar.

    Não tem com dar uma nota maior que 6, neste caso fanboy detectado.
    Também não tem como ser menor de 4
  11. mugaro4201
    Aug 30, 2021
    5
    игра такая себе и за отсуцтвие русского интерфейса но игру спасает графика если было русский суптитры а про озвучку можно и забить и покупали бы игру но я поставлю нетральную оценку и за графики и уважаю чужие работу
  12. nabstablokk
    Aug 28, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Attention! This review will contain spoilers and discussion of plot clippings. Also, I will not discuss the absence of the Russian language and graphics, because even the first part of the Russian language was officially absent, only from the publisher in the CIS space "Buka". Changing and improving graphics is a natural process.

    And now, let's start with the main advantages - the style, compared to Psychonauts 1, although it has become better, is still recognizable. The gameplay is interesting at first, Double fine fixed its mistakes from the previous game. Combat from simple blows and shield, or psi - blaster and invisibility has become more varied. Now there is a wide variety of enemies that, in order to effectively deal damage, you need to constantly change abilities, for the judge - telekinesis and psi - a blaster, for a panic attack - a time bubble and mental connection, and so on.

    The most memorable minds are the TV show "Ram It Up!" and that colorful world of sensations.

    But now - cons

    Plot: nothing more than an attempt to copy the story of the first part, just with unnecessary complication. It turned out badly, because after passing the game there are many questions, and the most important ones are what kind of kingdom of Grulovia is and how can the Middle Ages and high technologies be located at the same time? What was the relationship between Lucy and Ford for? To justify Ford hiding Lucy's bad memories and introducing Raz's dad-to-be? Is this such a lead to the fact that Raz is actually Ford's grandson?
    Why do we need Nick? Indeed, in fact, at the end of the game, he simply disappears. It doesn't just fall somewhere, it just disappears. Moreover, he is nothing more than a complicated version of Dr. Loboto, only he was obsessed with teeth, and this one - on expensive eggs (to be more precise, on caviar) and desires to restore Grulovia with the help of Margulias. Most likely, the developers were too lazy to create a villain for the next game, and therefore they made it so that at the end Nick just disappeared. Or, they didn't have enough time (6 years were not enough for them! What a disgusting thing! It is time for them to reorganize the development team if this happens) to finish this character.
    Anyway, there is a feeling that the characters, their relationships and the last levels after the restoration of Ford were done as quickly as possible, but about the levels later.
    Interns are just blanks that at the beginning did not recognize us, and at the end - abruptly, without dialogue, our best friends. The relationship between the main 6 psychonauts is more or less. Except for Bob Zanotto and Helmut Fullbier's relationship. They serve nothing more than a useless agenda, and the reason why they got married was because Bob liked his singing.

    Levels: All the levels that come after the restoration of Ford are boring and not memorable, contains no collisions in some places and look faded. That's all.

    Abilities: Removed shield, invisibility, and confusion grenades. Nerfed levitation, changed pyrokinesis. Of the new abilities, only the time bubble is interesting, it is used in platforming and in combat. Mental connection as puzzles is used only once - in the second consciousness. The rest of the times are for collecting items, fighting and moving. Mental projection is a thing for puzzles and lulz, at least it's cute.

    collectibles: Safes with memories have become unnecessary, because the characters themselves tell the information from them. In the first game, we were told, using safes, the backstory of those whose brains we visited, and also (if we collected all the emotional baggage) - the creation of these characters as sketches. By the way, about the emotional baggage - in the second part he gives only - just a rank for the complete collection. half - a - drain replacement of brain cans.

    Bosses are scripts that repeat three times. Wait for the enemy to stop attacking you and let the script execute. Regular battles are only for mini bosses, when, as in the first part, half of the bosses had to be beaten yourself.

    Bottom line: the first half was interesting to play, but then everything starts to go wrong. the night I finished the game, I was lying on the couch, my head was splitting and I was angry. thank goodness i got this game at game pass and i didn't pay 60 dollars.

    only for the first half I bet 5/10    … Expand
  13. bound4earth
    Jun 8, 2022
    5
    Talk about a flounder. Sure the game is mediocre enough, but innovates on nothing and a plat-former this bad in 2021... Not a great look for Double Fine. A badge system that was embarrassed by Paper Mario in 2000 because they do not understand that choice should matter beyond just limiting choice to 3 slots. You have to make the badges interesting or innovate in ANY WAY since 2000. ItTalk about a flounder. Sure the game is mediocre enough, but innovates on nothing and a plat-former this bad in 2021... Not a great look for Double Fine. A badge system that was embarrassed by Paper Mario in 2000 because they do not understand that choice should matter beyond just limiting choice to 3 slots. You have to make the badges interesting or innovate in ANY WAY since 2000. It only proves the GamePass is a value, because just throw this game in the trash otherwise.

    It is worse than Psychonauts in every metric. Story is mediocre to charming and platforming is a fail and bad across the board, water kills you because story? why even have water, oh right the trash story mechanic... They just re released the same game with no real innovations and a still bunch of mechanics that should have just been reduced to fit onto a controller or keyboard by default. Oh unless you think **** canoe mechanics that only exist to shore up the story element, that only exists, because why innovate when you can lean into old **** design from 2005.

    Why am I constantly swapping out abilities that do not really matter because the developer could not be bother to design a better system. It is the Balan Wonderland problem. It is only a real problem for bad developers that are not smart enough to limit game design. It isn't even like they have too many abilities for a controller or keyboard, but it is like they limited a good control scheme because they live in the past. Almost like every design choice was artificially restricted because art... Psychonauts 2 is a cashgrab and a shame because the first game was a industry game changer, this one meh as meh can be.

    GamePass won this round and hopefully DoubleFine won't deliver another Costume Conquest/Broken Age (multi chapter promise shoved down into just a second mirrored chapter game because bad leadership)/SpaceBase (Because again **** you didn't pay us enough) and proves Tim is dead. It seems like his credit goes down at least one score with every release. As long as it is on GamePass, why not. Just steer clear of the Full Throttle and Grim Fandango remasters trash. I want to feel like I am paying for something. At least Nintendo makes it outstanding, not just like even side to side, can you even tell for 5 times the price. To be fair, Nintendo charges 20 times the price. But if this is the metric, barely an upscale with no difference. Nintendo every-time, because at least Nintendo pay a team of people to **** me. Double Fine just ****s me without paying anyone regardless.    … Expand
  14. LordTiger
    Oct 3, 2021
    7
    Psychonauts 2 is a great platformer with a very unique and innovative level design however combat mechanisms are basic and repetitive.
  15. Bodipo86
    Sep 18, 2021
    6
    En la propuesta y en lo narrativo es un juego fuera de serie, innovador atrevido y divertido, de esos juegos que no abundan en la industria. No le pongo más nota porque en lo jugable aunque es preciso creo que es muy sencillo y simple, teniendo la sensación en lo jugable de muy aburrido a las 5 horas de juego.
  16. Skullivan
    Sep 4, 2021
    7
    As much as this game has its art style and the gorgeous landscapes, on a PS4 slim, I saw some parts chug and struggle to keep up, lighting wasn't always the strongest, but the writing was superb and every little NPC had something to say about you, even nameless characters had a funny quip or two to sling! Raz is a dream to control, though some powers were scrapped, some powers wereAs much as this game has its art style and the gorgeous landscapes, on a PS4 slim, I saw some parts chug and struggle to keep up, lighting wasn't always the strongest, but the writing was superb and every little NPC had something to say about you, even nameless characters had a funny quip or two to sling! Raz is a dream to control, though some powers were scrapped, some powers were ovehauled, some were gimped, but it's the same smile the first put on me all those years back.… Expand
  17. Psychocadet
    Sep 21, 2021
    6
    With pretty positive yet demanding mindset I finished this game for 100% activities and have my verdict. There's a point mentioning I think of original ”Psychonauts” as one of the most enjoyable games I played, and though I tried it long ago, it was around 5 years ago when I cleared it.

    So, back to ”Psychonauts 2”. I should start with advantages I found, and first one is probably    With pretty positive yet demanding mindset I finished this game for 100% activities and have my verdict. There's a point mentioning I think of original ”Psychonauts” as one of the most enjoyable games I played, and though I tried it long ago, it was around 5 years ago when I cleared it.

    So, back to ”Psychonauts 2”. I should start with advantages I found, and first one is probably graphics. Though it never is my priority, I think they did a good job here. Also I like plot. It has moments that were pretty interesting to watch and think about what I just learned. Also there's a lot of voicing work done, main character have a lot of things to say, funny comments, — though length of game really allows it.

    So, what made me rate it with 6? First of all, half of game levels were really boring. It is funny to see actual attempt into weed trip, just to realise all the colors and cosmic vibes are so uninteresting. I don't see heart put into much of the game. I only really like one world, mainly because it's so reach at beautiful landscapes. Plus real world is pretty good itself. I don't like newer characters, maybe three of them are done good, but many others lack anything I could connect with. Compared to what previous game managed it's massive downgrade. Also the battling is not challenging at all. I know it's platformer, and because of clever decisions with it I would probably give it 6.5 if I could, but it's a shame upgrading abilities actually makes it less of a fun to do fighting.

    Overall, I'm disappointed. Of course those who never played original will find some pretty creative things done here, but those who did will realize how they wrecked many of possibilities they had. And the situation when you don't understand most of little plot details without knowing previous game plot only adds to controversy. I would give it 7 for the bravery those people had starting crowdfunding and taking 5 years to make what they wanted to make. But we rate the result, not just effort, do we    … Expand
  18. Zeneko90
    Jun 2, 2022
    7
    Nettes. Spiel es hat echt viel Spaß gemacht. Mehr davon! Nicht zu lang, nicht zu kurz. Genau richtig.
  19. Sole13
    May 9, 2023
    6
    I had a chance to try this game. It was kind of good but not really worth my time. The story and gameplay is good but i had feeling all the time its 10 years old game.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PC Game of 2021
12
#12 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. GRYOnline.pl
    Apr 15, 2022
    90
    If gameplay that's unremarkable at best doesn't distract you from a very original artistic & design direction that's painfully necessary in the video games business. And that makes Psychonauts 2 praiseworthy!
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 17, 2022
    100
    Psychonauts 2 is a bizarre. It's a graphic bizarre, under the tripoid shell of which there is a surprisingly dark core, which forms a great counterweight to humor and lightening of gameplay.
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 22, 2021
    82
    Every detail in the game shows that, despite the 17-years gap between the original game and its sequel, Raz still holds a very special place in the hearts of Tim Schafer and his team. [Issue#255, p.48]
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