Psychonauts

"Lose Your Mind"

Tim Schafer has always been a great game mastermind with favorites like Grim Fandango and Escape from Monkey Island. His latest creation, Psychonauts, follows the twisted and strange pattern that his games have kept. Although its gameplay is different then Schafer's previous works, it doesn't lack any bit of his famous humor, which makes it an amazing experience.

Graphics 8/10

This platformer doesn't follow the beaten and colorful path of Jak and Ratchet. Psychonauts gives not only a darker look, but a more elaborate tone, making it look like a much more trippy game. The main character, Raz, looks adventurous and funny all at once. His fellow campers and his counselors have their own crazy looks as well. The environments are unbelievable to say the least. This is what levels should look like. Levels take place inside other characters' minds, so the environments will be based on their thoughts, fears, and emotions. With such a diverse set of characters, the levels are equally diverse. You'll never know what to expect in the next level, as each one will catch you by surprise with its incredible design. But despite the great design, frame rate stuttered more than it should have, sometimes dragging the game to a slow pace. But with such incredible design, it's hard to say that's a major problem.

Audio 10/10

This is some of the best voice-acting heard in a long time. Each character has a personality which is expressed amazingly well. The dialogue is funny. Raz in particular is voiced well, sounding naive in the way of the Psychonaut, while still sounding determined. The amount of voice content is staggering. You'll hear announcements over the intercom and overhear conversations between other campers. You can walk up to a character and have a conversation with them. Sound effects and music are also done well.

Gameplay 9/10

As stated before, level design is amazing. Although linear at points, gameplay is near-perfect. Each level's path is filled with unique and interesting challenges. Raz must also collect Figments to increase his Psychonaut rank, which will earn him new techniques. Psyblasts, Levitation, Telekinesis, among others are available after completing certain missions and earning a high rank. These techniques can be assigned to buttons for easy access. At its core, Psychonauts is not as much a platformer, but a set of puzzles strung together by platforming gameplay. Sure, you can jump and swing on bars, but each level has a distinct set of puzzles which must be accomplished. Boss fights are incredibly inventive. Finding a boss's weakness is more difficult than it sounds, but still remains fluid. Loading screens did plague the title a little bit, but the action is worth the wait. Psychonauts strays far from the beaten path of platformers, while still remaining accessible and fun to play.

Replay Value 8/10

Psychonauts is a short game, but it's hard not to play it again. Collecting the many figments and items is not easy, and the story and presentation alone constitutes another play-through.

Final Verdict 9/10

Psychonauts is a game that, sadly, we don't see much of these days. The surreal worlds and funny characters are fresh, while still keeping the “Tim Schafer tradition”. Gameplay is solid and overall, Psychonauts just seems new. It is on the short side, but you'll want to get lost in the characters' minds again for sure.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/05