Mind browsing

Recently Double Fine finished and published Psychonauts 2. Considering the first one was 20 years ago and finished with a cliffhanger situation and plenty of unexplained details, that's a lot of time to pass.

The original game was amazing. Original, colourful, deep and full of innovative mechanics. Basically the game allowed you to navigate people's minds and each mind is different, of course. Each mind represented a number of traumas and obsessions and problems, and lot of them introduced unique gameplay for their sections. 

The game was not successful commercially and caused issues for Double Fine, that took a long time to recover and stabilise. I didn't play it originally, only much later. I usually love all their games, so I'm glad they managed to recover and continue with this plot, even if it took that long. 

The second part continues just a few days after the previous game, and answers all the mysteries the first game left. The mechanics are the same, this is a platformer game with special "psychic" powers like levitation or telekinesis, and sometimes you enter minds and have to deal with special mechanics of that particular mind. 

The graphics of the game are cartoonish, better than the original with more details but still with the same look, that could seem more childish and cartoonish, also because the main character is a small kid. They've improved and polished them though, with vibrant colours and effects, making them more alive and cinematic. 

The controls remain a bit strange. 3D worlds are hard to navigate if you need to jump and move fast, that's a problem that has always plagued 3d platformers, and this is no exception. Sometimes it's hard to figure out where are you and if you'll fall in a ledge or not. However this feels just charming, and part of the game.

The combat is functional, but a bit chaotic too, with lots of powers to balance depending on the situation, while you only have 4 mapped to buttons. The common enemies also feel sometimes like "extras", not integral parts of the normal game, added because you need to fight enemies sometimes in a game but not because it makes sense thematically, while the proper bosses of each area are great.

All these traits don't look impressive. However, the plot is where this game shines, like most of Double Fine games. The plot is amazing and deep. Quite moving at times, quite inclusive, and surprising and mysterious, even if I called some of their twists. The characters are also great, developed and funny and interesting. And the mind levels are a treat, visually stunning, imaginative, complex, etc. 

Special mention is needed for the sensory overload level, which needs to be experienced, Jack Black song included. This game is pure art, plain and simple.

The game may not attract people initially, like the first one,  because the synopsis of the plot, the character description, the style of game, etc...all conspires against it somehow. By the game description you would not expect to have complex puzzles like a graphic adventure. By the game characters, you wouldn't expect too much depth. By the graphics, you would not expect serious topics discussed. But the game has all that, and it's infuriating that a studio as good as Double Fine seems to have to be begging for scraps while horrible bland games are made by the hundreds. 

So yeah, I'm recommending it strongly: Even if it seems like it's not your kind of game, give it at try. And try to buy the first one too, they're a pack and they're incredible, even if there has been 20 years between each other.