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Psychonauts 2


HandsomeDead
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Crazy kid. You were moaning that the levels were too long the other day, and now you're going back in to find bags and figments!

 

I'd trade all my figments to have a single clue about what this whole thing is about. I know someone's brain is missing, but that's about it.

 

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On 04/09/2021 at 00:46, bellow said:

This is the weirdest game ever. I don't know if I love it or hate it. I'm treading a fine line where, on the one hand, I'm aghast at the visual wonder the game is constantly offering, while on the other hand I'm slightly annoyed that I now have to 'play' these beautifully drawn levels - because playing this game is this game's Achilles heal. And that's a rather odd position to hold when discussing a videogame.

 

It just feels ever so slightly 'off.' Everything is a bit hit and miss, the platforming, the collecting, the bizarrely unattractive combat, the actual way Raz makes his way thru the world, even the two steps it makes you take to collect currency, when one would have been fine. It's like they played mario galaxy and then said: 'hey, let's make something as beautiful as that, but a bit shit...'

 

Yeah, that's harsh. They just needed to tighten up the gameplay. Raz doesn't control that well, and we live in a gaming landscape that now has Ori in it. 

 

And yet the game is compelling. I'm still playing it. I don't want to stop playing it. I just don't know why.

 

I'm exactly the same, I last played it at the weekend. On Friday night I was absolutely loving it as the world opened up and there were loads of new areas to explore, I was just going about trying to find collectibles, looking where some bits and pieces were for some side quests I'd picked up along the way and all that jazz but Saturday night when I went back to it I just could not be arsed. I went into the Music Festival world, saw the 280+ figments and just thought 'fucks sake', needless to say I didn't have a great time at all and was looking at the clock again willing myself to play a little bit more so I could clock off and go to the bed for the night.

 

But this weekend I'll go back to it...I've no idea which way it's going to go though. I've still got the majority of the Musical Festival world to get through. 

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I've had to go the Maf route, which is short bursts of play, rather than trying long sessions - maybe just a level or 2 then put on something else (I'm doing fallout 4 and Kiwami 2 at the mo, so it's fine for me).

 

It is a great game. I think 😕. It's just a bit exhausting.

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It is done!

 

That was quite an experience. Even though it was very old school in terms of gameplay, it had a scale and fidelity that seemed cutting edge at times, like that amazing post sorting room with the giant agent Cruller. It must have taken ages to bring that place together - smooth as silk, too, on the XSX.

 

There were other standout rooms for me, like the cooking level and the dentist level that opened the whole show, and them some less fun moments like that music level which just went on far too long, (although the band did look a bit 'prog' when I finally got them together, so that might explain it).

 

I don't know. It's still a love hate game for me, perhaps a 12 hour game with a masterful 8 hour game inside trying to get out. But I'll remember the best parts in the same way that you remember classic mario levels. The highs were high in this, and the lows were never really that low. Good effort all round.

 

 

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I think I stopped worrying about mental baggage and such things about 4 hours ago, though. I did like jumping thru figments, but I didn't go out of my way to get them all. I've heard you can double your time on this if really must get everything. That's certainly not my style tho.

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The other night I spent about an hour and a half wandering around 2 levels trying to find 2 things and couldn't get them. Last night I turned the game on and found both in 5 minutes. The first one was Half a Brain in the Library level. I walked in to a room right at the start and saw a letterbox door I guess I walked past 1000 times before. Then in the Gardening level I was looking for 1 more figment. Right near the start accidentally walked over it and picked it up. I didn't even see it just got the big pop up that said 'You found all the shit' 

 

Sometimes it be that way.

 

That's every level that I've unlocked at 100% so far. The only area not 100% yet is the Motherlobe that the game won't let me return too right now. Hopefully the game lets me keep playing once the story is over. 

 

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Played a bit more since my last post and am now in another mind after exploring Green Needle Gulch for awhile.

 

I finished off the Music Festival world and actually ended up quite enjoying it, all the collectibles were quite spread out between the various different areas so it wasn't overwhelming once you got into the thick of it. Really psychedelic and quite trippy, full of colour and creativity. 

 

The

Spoiler

Game Show

world can get fucked though, just so annoying, playing it reasonably drunk on a Saturday night after a bottle of Wine probably didn't help either but it was just so frustrating getting the recipe wrong or dying and having to go all the way back to the start and do it all over again. 

 

The

Spoiler

Mail Room

world was a return to form though, just so much going on with everything spread out in front of you as soon as you drop into the level, never felt overwhelming though as there was always a linear path through the mail chaos, riding letters up to different platforms, finding collectibles and the correct path through a certain section was fun too. Another really vibrant inventive world that felt like it was out of Toy Story 2 on PS1 (in a good way), feeling so small in the world with so much stuff standing tall over you. 

 

I really liked the

Spoiler

Bowling

world too. It felt like such a huge departure to pretty much any world I'd experienced so far, the colour, creativity and vibrancy of everything in there was up to the same standards as other worlds but the whole 'gimmick' of the level balancing the ball through various different paths and ramps was super cool, it was quite a short world and never outstayed its welcome. 

 

I messed about after this, going around trying to find some collectibles in the QA that I couldn't get previously as I hadn't yet picked up the time slow power and then made my way into the new area of Green Needle Gulch, which was another small but fun exploration area much like the Motherlobe, QA, Quarry etc. so I just did my usual thing of stumbling about trying to pick up any shiny bits and pieces I could see in the area before stumbling into someone's brain.

 

Even with all the genuinely brilliant, colourful, creative and visually arresting worlds there are to explore though the platforming and the feel of it never really rises above a serviceable level for me which'll stop this from achieving a high score or be amongst the GOTY conversation for me personally. I was listening to a podcast a few days ago where someone on it (Ben from EZA for those wondering) described it as hilarious and said he was laughing throughout. I can honestly say I haven't laughed once, it can be charming, cheeky and whimsical at times but rarely is it funny. 

 

So it's still very much a mixed bag for me, I struggle to motivate myself to play it but more times than not I'll end up enjoying it after getting immersed back into the weird and wonderful world. I love that a game like this can be made and loved by so many in 2021 but at its core its still a PS2/OG Xbox game. It's very much a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type game for me, sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it and find it annoying and frustrating as hell.

 

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Jumped back into this after a pause due to NMH3. 
Just done some fantastic levels, really loved the bowling and cooking ones. I’m not too keen on the more open hub like areas though. Just found the couple I’ve been in boring and missing the visual flare of the actual levels, for obvious reasons. I’m basically charging through those sections as fast as possible, got zero interest in the side stuff too. 
 

Really enjoying most of what I’m playing though. Find when I put it on I struggle to put it down too. Surely a good sign.

 

Plus it has some really nice balls.

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Completed last night, really enjoyed it. 
 

The platforming, combat etc. Is basically just serviceable and decent but the visuals and imagination shown in the levels elevate it way beyond the mediocrity it would be sat in otherwise. It just looks fantastic with some real wow moments and I was always really excited to see what the next screen and situation brought and it never really disappointed.

 

It’s got a good sense of humour throughout too. While I barely ever, if ever, actually laughed I did find it amusing and it had me grinning a lot with the odd snigger. Really liked a lot of the character by the end too. The Nan in particular became a fave out of nowhere. 
 

Definitely recommend, even if the gameplay isn’t amazing. It’s worth playing through just for the audio & visual experience. 

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Finished this myself on Monday too, took me about 20 hours at a guess.

 

Currently going around now trying to mop up all the collectibles for the 100% completion (my OCD wouldn't let it go) and currently only have 3 levels left to do.

 

To the end it was a real mixed experience for me, much like others here. The combat and platforming never rose above serviceable, the game is just too easy, not tight enough or challenging enough for me and my own tastes, coupled with this I feel like the game has the Crash 4 problem of just having one too many collectible types to pick up. The 'humour' in the game never even roused a smile from me either, it's just not a funny game in the slightest for me or my personal tastes.

 

The visuals, creativity, innovative level design and pure imagination put into each of the weird and wacky levels does elevate it above mediocrity and should be applauded but crucially for me never elevated it to a level beyond 'good' due to my issues with the combat and platforming. I also found the game a bit too long and felt like it could've ended 1 or 2 levels sooner and been more satisfying as a result.

 

I struggled throughout motivating myself to play it but once I got into it towards the end I was enjoying my time with it a lot more and the hours were going by quickly rather than the clock watching I was doing some of my sessions with it during the first half of the game. During my Friday night session with it I played non-stop for 4.5 hours and didn't want to put it down which is a good sign.

 

I do recommend it as it is a unique, innovative game teeming with creativity and joie de vivre but with the caveat that if you're primarily a gameplay first kind of person I don't this is for you. With Game Pass it's easy to dive in and give it a go though, it won't be for everyone but it's definitely worth a look at the very least.

 

Pics:

 

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