Psychonauts

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 115
  3. Negative: 6 out of 115
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  1. JimCorbett
    Dec 3, 2011
    10
    The greatest game ever created. If you don't enjoy this game then you are truly lost in life. Everything about it is spot on and amazing. You can't ask for more.
  2. NickG
    Aug 23, 2009
    10
    You can play and finish this game once, however once you finish it you will have this great warm feeling that you have just played and finished one of the best platform game ever. Levels do get a little repetitive particularly if you try to get all the bonuses, but ever single level has a completely different theme and feel. This is not a generic platform game, this is what platform gamesYou can play and finish this game once, however once you finish it you will have this great warm feeling that you have just played and finished one of the best platform game ever. Levels do get a little repetitive particularly if you try to get all the bonuses, but ever single level has a completely different theme and feel. This is not a generic platform game, this is what platform games were meant to be like. A gold standard.… Expand
  3. MooseReviews
    Jan 12, 2013
    9
    I recently got Psychonauts on PSN, and it was worth all 10 dollars. The atmosphere is wonderful, the characters are great, even if the main character looks like Tim Burton directed a Puffs tissue commercial. Heck, they even give the extras distinct personality's. My only problem lies with the beginning of the last level and the annoyance of "Little Oly". Overall, it is a great value andI recently got Psychonauts on PSN, and it was worth all 10 dollars. The atmosphere is wonderful, the characters are great, even if the main character looks like Tim Burton directed a Puffs tissue commercial. Heck, they even give the extras distinct personality's. My only problem lies with the beginning of the last level and the annoyance of "Little Oly". Overall, it is a great value and is on my top ten favorite PS2 games… Expand
  4. BlatherscyteBlunderbuss
    Nov 1, 2005
    6
    The atmosphere, characters, story and dialogue are top notch. 90-some percent of the fun of the title comes from finding the characters and listening to what they're up to. But, therein lies the problem -- the actual gameplay is not particularly fun.
  5. PeterL.
    Jul 13, 2005
    1
    Overhyped game. The only thing this title has going for it is a bunch of whacky looking characters. besides that, the dialogue is flat. The voice acting is ok but not great. If you want great, play 'destroy all humans' or watch an episode of Invader Zim (it;s the same voice artist). The levels are poorly designed. The game is also very buggy with multiple glitches and freezing Overhyped game. The only thing this title has going for it is a bunch of whacky looking characters. besides that, the dialogue is flat. The voice acting is ok but not great. If you want great, play 'destroy all humans' or watch an episode of Invader Zim (it;s the same voice artist). The levels are poorly designed. The game is also very buggy with multiple glitches and freezing (sometimes the sound just disappears completely). The quests are pointless: by the time the game switches to 'nighttime' and you go fight that huge fish, you'll wonder why you even bothered collecting items for the scavenger hunt. the loading is atrociously long and in the grand old tradiition of games made 20 years ago, this one features the 'huge boss who attacks you 8 different ways but you have to beat him 3 times in a row' cliché. talk about a complete lack of imagination. Not worth a rental, not even worth pirating: this is how bad this game is designed and how long and tediously boring it is. Psychonauts is the 'Daikatana' of platform games.… Expand
  6. MattC.
    Jan 1, 2006
    5
    Very regular game, Rayman-3 like PlayStation 2 have LOT of better games, Ratchet & Clank series, Jak series, Maximo series, Sly series.
  7. Helmore
    Apr 5, 2012
    8
    Certainly doesn't have amazing graphics but it does have a good art style. The gameplay is... a bit bland and clunky. I can't give this more than a 8, it's just not that well. Fun.
  8. curzon_dax
    Dec 21, 2019
    9
    This game deserves a 9, not a 10, not an 8, and I'll tell you why. First of all it's extremely underrated since it's almost unknown compared to its quality, being one of the best platformer games in the history of gaming, with extremely good variety and even originality and a well all-rounded game that even balances difficulty and length of the game very well. However, it is definitelyThis game deserves a 9, not a 10, not an 8, and I'll tell you why. First of all it's extremely underrated since it's almost unknown compared to its quality, being one of the best platformer games in the history of gaming, with extremely good variety and even originality and a well all-rounded game that even balances difficulty and length of the game very well. However, it is definitely imperfect because at least the sociological aspect of the game, namely the relations between the characters in the story and the characters themselves while they are are relatively good they are not perfect and at times they try too hard to seem cool but they aren't that cool but it's not that bad at that though.… Expand
  9. HenryG.
    Jul 20, 2005
    10
    Great Game!
  10. KavveenK.
    Jul 28, 2005
    10
    This game is SO immature..What's the use of just running around as some whacky character jumping into other's minds..come on they do need some privacy!!!!!!This is why I love the game so much!!!
  11. Roquentin
    Sep 9, 2005
    8
    Best voice acting I've heard in a long time, and compared to most other games the script actually doesn't make you grimace, even when treading the delicate terrain of humor. Thoroughly unique and varied level design, though it isn't always made clear why it's worth the effort to accomplish some of side challenges along the way, and a few of the boss fights require Best voice acting I've heard in a long time, and compared to most other games the script actually doesn't make you grimace, even when treading the delicate terrain of humor. Thoroughly unique and varied level design, though it isn't always made clear why it's worth the effort to accomplish some of side challenges along the way, and a few of the boss fights require sheer timewasting guesswork unless you repeatedly call up the old guy for a hint. Not much replay value, but very enjoyable the first time through. A buried treasure if you're fond of action/adventure games.… Expand
  12. SolidSnake
    Jun 5, 2006
    10
    A burried treasure!!!! thisis just like beyond good and evil, a very underrated game that is a real jewl!!!
  13. MikeM.
    Mar 17, 2008
    10
    Yes, this game warrants a 10...but only if you play it on anything but the PS2 Imagine porting Half-Life 2 to PSX and you get the idea. I can't imagine ANYONE who appreciates fun and originality (in it's ingenious concept/story) not enjoying this game. Just another platformer, mechanically-speaking, yes. But the potential for enjoyment here makes all that tedious jumpingYes, this game warrants a 10...but only if you play it on anything but the PS2 Imagine porting Half-Life 2 to PSX and you get the idea. I can't imagine ANYONE who appreciates fun and originality (in it's ingenious concept/story) not enjoying this game. Just another platformer, mechanically-speaking, yes. But the potential for enjoyment here makes all that tedious jumping around worth it. Far more so than any Ratchet & Clank detritus.… Expand
  14. Andrew
    Apr 11, 2006
    8
    Even there was some little part of each level that frustrated me to the point where I was wondering what the developers were thinking, when I finished the game I still felt like I'd had a great experience. Schafer is brilliant, and though this may not be he and his crew's best game (Grim Fandango may never be topped), its still pretty darn good. Give it a shot.
  15. RobKelly
    Jun 14, 2009
    10
    This is the best game I have ever played. I hate performers, but this game pulls it off in a manor that isn't designed to just pander to small children. It swears it makes a few dirty jokes and it even has government agents disguised as housewives by holding a rolling pin (wrap your mind around that).
  16. NickyS.
    Jun 23, 2005
    9
    Very solid action-packed platformer.... Hilarious moments and Willy Wonka-type humor that makes you laugh your pants off....literally!!!!
  17. PatrickM.
    Jul 15, 2005
    10
    This is one of the best games you can own. It is very fun and challinging. there are part that will make you laugh out loud. And a lot of the levels are twisted. Very twisted.
  18. MichaelB.
    Jul 23, 2007
    10
    Amazing platformer-meets-old-school-adventure-game. Fantastically fun and funny to play. I've played platformers for years, but this one has got to be the best. Clever ideas, unique world, great voice acting... it's all there. If you don't own it, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.
  19. Goobenheimen
    Nov 2, 2011
    10
    This is a brilliant game, the characters are all hilarious, the voice acting is fantastic, the story is ridiculously crazy and great, the gameplay is varied. This is one of the best games I've ever played, I play through it regularly just to experience it again, and it's just as fun every time.
  20. MarkyB
    Dec 28, 2012
    10
    Platformer with a twist. Really varied gameplay, great humour and challenges that make you think. Great. It is really bad this game is so unknown, make sure you get it now it is available for download on all consoles!
  21. Vrabac
    Jun 20, 2013
    10
    Best game ever,it's puzzles,bosses,worlds,i mean minds they all feel fresh after the third time you play the game.Only bad side of this game is that it ends.
    All in all,good job Tim Schafer,you made one of the best games ever.
    And if you are someone whom score matters,this game gets 10/10 for it's fresh spirits.
  22. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 4, 2021
    9
    Psychonauts
    getting stuck in your mind
    Psychonauts is an 8 and a half hour long 3D platformer where you play as raz.. youre a psychis and youre at this camp to hone your psychic abilitites and become a psychonaut… and I absolutely loved this game from start to finish.. it feels like youre in an interactive cartoon from the late 90s or early 2000s, the humour, the voice actin, the    Psychonauts
    getting stuck in your mind
    Psychonauts is an 8 and a half hour long 3D platformer where you play as raz.. youre a psychis and youre at this camp to hone your psychic abilitites and become a psychonaut… and I absolutely loved this game from start to finish.. it feels like youre in an interactive cartoon from the late 90s or early 2000s, the humour, the voice actin, the perasonality of every character in the worlds.. I absolutely loved it… eventually brains strat getting snatched up so youll be going on a journey to get them back.. and along the way youll need certain items to progress and to get those items you have to teleport into the minds of different charatcers and deal with their demons, their insecurities, really anything that’s holding them back emotionally.. and every mind feels unique.. this is ultimately a 3d platformer with light combat aspects.. youll unlock new psychic abilities as the game goes on,giving you new ways to interact with the world… but no 2 levels feel the same, and I love that especially for a 3d platformer… every level here is memorable, youll be faced with different obstacles and problems to solve, and I love it.. one moment youll be floating through the air and rolling on a ball, and the next youre inside of a board game…
    the only issues psychonauts has is that it is in ways. But only in a couple of ways stuck in time.. I did have to check a walkthrough a couple of ytimes to figure out where to go or what im supposed to be doing to do damage to a boss.. as in a good and bad way.. bosses are all different and cant be damaged in the same way.. this is great when it comes to boss variety, but I feel I would’ve appreciated some cinsistancy in this aspect of the game.. especially since dying will cause you to restart the battle completely, and there are multiple stages and the way to damage the boss isn’t even consistent within its own battle…
    overall though psychonauts is pure nostalgic magic, this over 15 year old game is worth going back for before the sequel comes out.
    I give Psychonauts
    an 8.5/10    … Expand
  23. tjriz91
    Dec 7, 2018
    10
    I know there's no point in reviewing this game now that it's been out for well over a decade, but I'm beyond excited for Psychonauts 2. This is pure and simple one of the MOST memorable games I have ever played. There have been many good games over the years, but many of them honestly blur together, and ultimately get buried under the relentless number of great new games. PSYCHONAUTS setI know there's no point in reviewing this game now that it's been out for well over a decade, but I'm beyond excited for Psychonauts 2. This is pure and simple one of the MOST memorable games I have ever played. There have been many good games over the years, but many of them honestly blur together, and ultimately get buried under the relentless number of great new games. PSYCHONAUTS set itself apart. The atmosphere and story were 100% original and extremely quirky. Moments and characters in that game stuck with me for a while. The game was just as fun well into my twenties when I replayed the game again. It didn't make any innovations in gameplay, but was just perfect for what it was. SUPER EXCITED FOR PSYCHONAUTS 2. FINALLY!… Expand
  24. Sloppyseconds69
    Nov 8, 2019
    10
    After 15 years this is still in my top 5 favorite games. It's a must play! Possibly the most unique concept I've encountered, there's nothing like pulling a miniaturized door from my pocket slapping it to someone's head and diving into their mind to wrestle their demons, cleaning up figments of imagination, cleaning mental cobwebs and freeing suppressed memories from vaults.
  25. SebbyPlaysMusic
    Dec 17, 2020
    10
    How have I not put a review of this on here yet?

    This is basically the game you play when you want to think about the meaning of your own life. If you've ever known anyone (especially yourself) who has been, in some sense, a slave to the functions of their own mind, whether it be a mental illness or something that's just very hard to deal with... This is the game you play to access    How have I not put a review of this on here yet?

    This is basically the game you play when you want to think about the meaning of your own life.
    If you've ever known anyone (especially yourself) who has been, in some sense, a slave to the functions of their own mind, whether it be a mental illness or something that's just very hard to deal with...
    This is the game you play to access that different level of thought that may change the way you make your decisions. If you could visualize exactly what it is that gets in the way of a healthy mentality and conquer it like one of these levels, you just might stop doing that thing you don't really want to be doing. This'll make you think about your life in a very realistic fashion, despite the particularly cartoonish aesthetic that's necessary to portray these somewhat abstract mental processes; It's ******* brilliant. I'm literally only writing this review because remembering this game right now is actually seriously making me think about my life. And you will remember this game because there's just about nothing exactly like this.

    Before I go off really explaining why this is one of the few 10s I'll ever give out, let me just knock the negatives off the list:
    - There're a couple points where background voice lines get a little repetitive, specifically Coach Oleander's training level.
    - The progression of the game could use more levels after you've unlocked all your abilities, since it takes like 2/3 of the game to actually learn all of them. This just makes me anticipate the sequel even more, though.

    Psychonauts is an action/adventure/platformer set at a summer camp for kids with psychic abilities. In some sense, you could compare this to games like Banjo Kazooie or Jak and Daxter, though neither of those games really does what this game excels at (as fantastic as those games are).

    While there is a somewhat innocent nature to the overall premise, a good number of characters have secrets that one might keep while purposely emphasizing a carefree demeanor. Trying to avoid spoilers, but somebody who's all sunshine is definitely trying their best to not feel haunted; The fact that this realization is optional makes it all the more impactful, like "I wasn't supposed to be here, was I?"
    That's just one tiny example of the dynamic employed that carries the whole experience: It really is about your subjective experience. This isn't "let's throw engaging objectives in here because that's what makes a good game," this is "We have to express these things; What's the most engaging way to interact?" This is sort of an epitome of a game aiming to be personally artistically fulfilling as opposed to a product meant to market and sell.

    I really want to talk about just how many things occur through the story that just feel so wildly new when you experience them for the first time, but I really don't want to take away from the feeling of being caught up in a story of unexpected turns, so all I'm going to say at this point is... Getting chased by a monster and fighting it, only to realize you're going to have to go into this monster's mind to progress, is nothing short of EPIC. Every time you're about to enter a new level, there's a thorough sense of "I have no clue what's about to happen, but I know it's going to be crazy." Every level is my favorite level, despite them all being drastically different from each other, and on occasion I've gone past being wowed to actually getting a little emotional (the bi-polar performer was pretty sad, and the purposely monotone-yet-expressive delivery actually made it a lot sadder).

    Despite this game having some substantial things to express... much like how the innocent theme of a summer camp juxtaposes the adult supervisors dealing with serious issues, there's a thorough sense of humor to juxtapose these bordering-on-psychedelic journeys, creating a pretty endearing dynamic. When I heard the seductive voice of the underground transportation system, I really couldn't help but smile; They're clearly doing things to influence your mind, much like the main character does in the levels.

    What else is there to talk about? The gameplay itself has a nice diversity of abilities.
    The levitation ball is literally my favorite movement dynamic in any video game. It's kind of wild to me nobody else has tried to pull that off. You can roll around on a thought bubble, bounce with it into a high jump, and then float down using it like a balloon... It all flows very smoothly.

    The soundtrack isn't impressive as a standalone, but it definitely serves its purpose exceptionally well.

    Considering how cheap this game is, it's one of the best purchases an open-minded gamer could make.

    Now that that's out of the way... Does anyone else think that ending was incredibly suspicious? I'm not sure I trust who I'm supposed to. Someone could've been framed...
    I really can't wait til the sequel comes out next year.    … Expand
  26. hasz
    Apr 22, 2021
    9
    The only flaw it has is that the ending feels a bit rushed but only just a bit. The whole rest of the game is perfect, symbolism, references, humour, level design, ideas, characters, story, EVERYTHING. Milkman Conspiracy is probably one of the best levels I have ever seen in gaming if not the best and the bosses are excellent. I highly recommend this.
  27. clippers334
    Jan 7, 2022
    10
    One of the best games I’ve ever played! Still holds up today! Can’t wait to try the sequel
  28. Mister04
    Nov 17, 2021
    10
    Great game
  29. HuevoAlce
    Jun 27, 2022
    9
    There is so much creativity and charm in this game that one can't help but fall in love with it.
  30. Yojimbo2015
    Jun 8, 2023
    7
    Pretty fun Banjo Kazooie-style 3D platformer with an Earthworm Jim style sense of the surreal, interesting ideas, nice music and ass-ugly graphics.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PS2 Game of 2005
41
#41 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005
91
#91 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Yahoo!
    90
    Weird, funny, immensely playable, and has that nigh-unclassifiable thing we can only call charm.
    Read full review
  2. G4 TV
    80
    The levels are fun, the gameplay is solid, and the puzzles and bosses require more than a bit of brain matter to figure out, resulting in a nice sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new milestone in Raz's adventure.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpot
    87
    Holds up to the challenge of being a platformer on the PS2 by delivering an experience that ranks right up there with the best the system has to offer.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »