Psychonauts

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 51
  3. Negative: 10 out of 51
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  1. hausnes
    Mar 13, 2017
    9
    I never got to play the original when it came out, but I'm really glad I spent time on this great game when it released for the PS4. I kept thinking of the classical Lucas Arts point-and-click adventure games throughout, since the problem solving and humour is right up there. The only difference is the platforming, and that can be a hit or a miss for different people. I liked it, evenI never got to play the original when it came out, but I'm really glad I spent time on this great game when it released for the PS4. I kept thinking of the classical Lucas Arts point-and-click adventure games throughout, since the problem solving and humour is right up there. The only difference is the platforming, and that can be a hit or a miss for different people. I liked it, even though the camera and general difficulty can be annoying in certain areas. All i all a great game! Looking forward to playing the VR-game and Psychonauts 2.… Expand
  2. setuis
    Aug 14, 2016
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. By playing this game I was delighted to play something like this, the controls feel fine despite being a game that's been polished up for the ps4. I feel like the graphics have either aged well or have been redone. One of the few games that I have actually managed to play for 5-6 hours straight and a game which stimulates the mind. A rare example of video game excellence destroyed by the difficult to spell title which most likely why the game is overlooked by many. Still playing so will review soon. (A segment near the end of the game the tunnel of love takes this entire game down a point which is such a shame A perfect 10 to a 9.… Expand
  3. anmeridev
    Mar 3, 2018
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For the ps4 port:

    Do not buy this if you are easily pissed off.

    I remember spending my weekends playing this as a kid and let me tell you the controls were not this janky. Porting it screwed something up and i've found plenty of bugs and glitches including black splotches and black shadows on the characters during cutscenes, black frames and clipping through objects during cutscenes, character mouths cutting through their jaws while talking (which did not happen in the original ps2 version mind you), and complete missing chunks of dialog which really messes up a scene and just ruins the mood.

    The main and most annoying glitch I have found is if you are holding forward and walking/running towards an edge and press the jump button Raz won't jump, he'll just fall all the way to the ground making you have to dust yourself off, push the anger into the back of your skull, and reclimb that stupid rock formation for the 6th time to get that last damn card BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO 100% IT DAMNIT.

    The dad level in the meat circus took me over 3 hours to beat because raz refused to double jump which is another glitch that nearly ruined it all for me. It was not like this in the ps2 version as i beat the dad level in under 30 minutes back then and played the rest of the game start to finish several times with no issues.

    The only reason i'm giving this a 10 is because it's a very cherished memory and although it has a HELL OF A LOT OF BUMPS it was still the most fun i've had in years and was like reliving my childhood again.    … Expand
  4. 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
  5. HaloFever
    Nov 26, 2016
    7
    Full disclosure, I bought Psychonauts for $5 on PSN. Seems fair for a 2005 game. My only complaint with this game is the Meat Circus. Near the end there is a series of frustrating levels that sucks the fun out of the entire experience. I made it through, but success seemed to be the result of glitches rather than gameplay. I've seen much praise heaped onto Psychonauts over the last 10Full disclosure, I bought Psychonauts for $5 on PSN. Seems fair for a 2005 game. My only complaint with this game is the Meat Circus. Near the end there is a series of frustrating levels that sucks the fun out of the entire experience. I made it through, but success seemed to be the result of glitches rather than gameplay. I've seen much praise heaped onto Psychonauts over the last 10 years, and yet no mention of the awful, poorly designed end game. I spent hours working though levels that should have taken 30 minutes. The boss battles at the end, three variation of the same boss, seem like a cake walk compared to the platforming segments. In fact, I finished each boss battle on the first go around whereas I lost count of each time I had to re-do the platforming segments. I kinda' sorta' hate to recommend this, but save yourself the frustration and watch the ending on Youtube.

    Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, let's talk about everything good about Psychonaughts. The game is funny. There are genuinely good jokes and the characters themselves are well done. The platforming is good old Super Mario 3D level goodness. The graphics, although old, are well done for defining the game world. My kids, raised in a 1080p world, had no qualms about the graphics in the game. The game worlds are unique not only to other games but also the game itself.

    Reading the backstory of Psychonauts, I can clearly see the problems with its original distribution. The worst issue is the release of the game in 2005-2006. This was a time when the Xbox and PS2 generations were winding down. The game was also released at a time when platformers were disappearing amongst the dominance of first person shooters. From a cursory glance, it would have looked dated on release. Lastly, the type of gameplay is difficult to quantify. The game is a mix of platformer, open world exploration, RPG, adventure, and beat'm'up. Put simply, Psychonauts is in a class by itself.    … Expand
  6. kraenk
    Aug 3, 2017
    10
    I'm just stunned this port is going so under the radar. This is one of my favourite games ever..arguably one of the funniest and most creative games ever created, with a certain sarcastic deepness it may not be for everyone but it certainly ticks all my boxes. The character and level design is outstanding even today, the gameplay is rich in variation and never gets boring. The sound, musicI'm just stunned this port is going so under the radar. This is one of my favourite games ever..arguably one of the funniest and most creative games ever created, with a certain sarcastic deepness it may not be for everyone but it certainly ticks all my boxes. The character and level design is outstanding even today, the gameplay is rich in variation and never gets boring. The sound, music and artwork are unique and incredible as well imho.

    This PS4 port isn't the best though...Unfortunately some strange lighting issues plague the game in certain real time cutscenes...which weren't not present in the PC version Imho..also the framerate dips noticeably below the 30 fps which is kind of strange given its age and the power of PS4. It's certainly still great to play the game in widescreen as even the video sequences have been adapted to the new format.

    If you haven't played this yet...please play it. Certainly one of the greatest and most unique games/platformers ever. If you have you'll probably buy it anyway!    … Expand
  7. ourtimehascome
    Feb 12, 2017
    7
    Narrative wise, Psychonauts is a perfect game. It handles characters very well and remains believable although steeped in a sci-fi story about a group of government agents who can read minds and have set-up a psychic summer camp. The main character, Raz, is an interesting protagonist because he clearly has problems but works though them. I'd say the story is the game's strong suit, becauseNarrative wise, Psychonauts is a perfect game. It handles characters very well and remains believable although steeped in a sci-fi story about a group of government agents who can read minds and have set-up a psychic summer camp. The main character, Raz, is an interesting protagonist because he clearly has problems but works though them. I'd say the story is the game's strong suit, because the rest of the game is just okay. By the standards of when the game originally released, the platforming and visual design was probably great. Now, it's incredibly dated in some areas, and holds up well in others. The very last level is a chore and unnecessary. Overall, a worthwhile game if you enjoy platformers and excellent stories.… Expand
  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. DarkOwl
    Apr 16, 2017
    4
    8 hours in, and the game hasn't lived up to its praise. The controls aren't tight enough to make the gameplay fun, and it's other merits fall flat. The art direction is something you can judge for yourself, but I felt the bright color palette made the... quirky designs seem out of place. The music gets repetitive, the level design is uninspired (although the atmosphere and environments are8 hours in, and the game hasn't lived up to its praise. The controls aren't tight enough to make the gameplay fun, and it's other merits fall flat. The art direction is something you can judge for yourself, but I felt the bright color palette made the... quirky designs seem out of place. The music gets repetitive, the level design is uninspired (although the atmosphere and environments are interesting enough), and while the humor is occasionally chuckle-worthy, most jokes are juvenile and overdone (i.e., and some spoilers: Bad Guy: "I've got the brain of a little girl back in my lab ready to power (spoilery stuff)." Raz: "Haha, you said you've got the brains of a little girl!"). The most praised thing in the other reviews seems to be the characters, but 8 hours in, everyone seems generic and bland. The mechanic of jumping into other people's brains to see their problems seems interesting, but thus far I've only found 1 instance (the orphanage in Milla's party) where it was used correctly. I'm probably just an old geezer who can't understand childish humor and expected a more creative execution of the interesting premise, but in my opinion, this game isn't worth your time.… Expand
  10. Trovertherover
    Feb 2, 2020
    0
    This game sucks ass. It actually made me want to shoot myself. it's tanking controls suck and the story is sleep boring.
  11. memus
    Mar 29, 2020
    9
    I've just finished this game, 15 years later after the original play-through. And it's genius. (And yes, very frustrating sometimes.)

    Story: 11/10. It's so much better than I remembered it. It's super funny: I was actually laughing during the play-through. But also it's deep and dark. Almost all characters have tragic memories of loss, shame and abuse. In a sense, this game is a good    I've just finished this game, 15 years later after the original play-through. And it's genius. (And yes, very frustrating sometimes.)

    Story: 11/10.
    It's so much better than I remembered it. It's super funny: I was actually laughing during the play-through. But also it's deep and dark. Almost all characters have tragic memories of loss, shame and abuse. In a sense, this game is a good primer for psychotherapy concepts. Like Oleander had PSTD, Cruller -- multiple personality disorder and Boyd definitely has paranoia. And then the locations are well-designed to fit the overall theme (like psychedelic party in Milla's head). The world and characters are so deep that I believed that games can be art again.

    Art-direction: 10/10.
    Visually this game aged really well. And all thanks to a beautiful art direction. Good art compensates for old tech here. Asymmetrical faces, reflective eyes, crazy levels, beautiful comics with memories. My oh my. This game is still beautiful.

    Gameplay: depends.
    That's why I gave the whole game 9/10. The core gameplay is a good one. Mix of a platformer and a puzzle adventure. But where in other areas of the game creativity and diversity gave it a cult following, gameplay itself can be very frustrating. The game was glitchy at release, the PS4 port made things only worse (it crashes, the shadows break down, Raz skips double jumps). The difficulty spikes are not kind. Like other reviewers I felt that Meat circus is a chore (I almost threw my gamepad towards the wall twice). Achievements are also unfair. Good luck to get all the figments. It's gonna be your second work outside of main work. The developers were definitely cutting corners. And it became ugly in some places. It affects the story too. Cause the ending felt abrupt. And I don't think that it was intentional. More like a time pressure.

    But I forgive everything for news segments for Gogalor and for fish screaming 'Freedom!'.    … Expand
  12. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 4, 2021
    0
    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
  13. KayVen17
    Jan 4, 2021
    5
    Ich mag die Grundidee sehr. Leider ist der technische Stand auf der Ps4 Pro nicht in Ordnung. Hier hätte wohl ein richtiges Remaster mehr Sinn gemacht.

    Spielzeit - ca. 15 Stunden
    Abtürze = 2x

    Story = 1//2
    Gameplay = 1//2
    Soundtrack = 1//2
    Optik = 2//2
    Technik = 0//2

    FAZIT = 5//10
  14. frederik1478
    Aug 30, 2021
    4
    Amazing game, bad port . it's just the PS2 version with no improvements and the FPS is s*** it goes between 25 and 30 All The time so it never feels good. dis port just me sad because it's one of the best platformers ever made , the PS4 has the worst version of it
  15. Ruzaky
    Aug 26, 2020
    9
    First time played it around 2013-2014 got it from Steam sale. And replay it in 2020 on ps4. This game kinda timeless because of it setting and mood. Gameplay is not bad platformer for 2005. If i played it like a kid back in days it would blow my mind :)
  16. ToshLichev
    Jun 21, 2020
    8
    A game I truly can't believe came out over 15 years ago. The artstyle, the characters, the story, the different minds you go into - all made with so much care and attention to detail. Absurd difficutly spike towards the end aside, this is an absolute must play.
  17. SirSoil
    Jul 23, 2020
    5
    Psychonauts is a huge disappointment not because it’s bad it’s not even close to that, the game is actually amazing it’s just that the game itself doesn’t want you to complete it. Let me explain, the biggest reason the game is disappointing is that you have to grind for your rank to grow and with that you gain new abilities, you would assume these abilities are here just to make youPsychonauts is a huge disappointment not because it’s bad it’s not even close to that, the game is actually amazing it’s just that the game itself doesn’t want you to complete it. Let me explain, the biggest reason the game is disappointing is that you have to grind for your rank to grow and with that you gain new abilities, you would assume these abilities are here just to make you stronger and ease the game for a bit. No you must level up and gain these abilities otherwise you won’t complete the game, and it’s absolutely disappointing because leveling up in this game is boring as hell. And what’s even sadder is that the levels you play are amazing and it sucks when you realize you can’t pass unless you grind for hours. Plus the game is pretty annoying due to the audio and the repeated lines from the characters and objects. Psychonauts had a chance to be one of the best story game platformers but failed due to the tedious grind, I just hope the sequel could fix these issues. (2/5 Medicore) Play It If Your Okay With The Grind… Expand
  18. TheVindicated
    May 12, 2021
    10
    Possibly the most underrated game of all time. Psychonauts has great humor and action told in a weird Tim Burton meets Gravity Falls style.
  19. 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.

Critic Reviews

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  1. Cubed3
    Jun 29, 2018
    90
    There are not really enough good things to say about Psychonauts and most of them have already been said at this point. It's still an amazing platformer that married gameplay and storytelling better than any other title like it. It's a fantastic adventure that everyone should at some point play. With Psychonauts 2 on the distant horizon, though, there's never been a better time to get reacquainted with Tim Schafer's old masterpiece.
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