Psychonauts

Hasn’t everybody wanted to be a superhero at least once in there lives? Raz has big dreams of becoming a Psychonaut, even going so far as to sneak into the Whispering Heights Camp for young Psychonauts in training. He was only a few days at the camp before his parents come for him, leaving him precious time to master his powers and uncover a dark mystery threatening the campers and instructors and maybe even the world. Will Raz rise to the occasion?

If any game deserved a modern day facelift or remake, it’s this precious gem. I absolutely love the insane mix of shockingly deep psychological storytelling and dark humor in a pretty complex and creative platformer. This game is a giant acid trip and I love it. Raz is a interesting kid amongst other weird, funny, tragic, or damn creepy characters- seriously the Milkman creeped me out more than most modern horror monsters. The worldbuilding is fantastic and I was really invested in the lore. It was so cool being able to jump into other characters brains, exploring entirely new universes, including bosses.

Unfortunately this game has some deep drawbacks. While extremely creative, that partially leads to how obtuse a lot of the goals and pathfinding are. Way to often I found myself relying on walkthroughs, scratching my head when seeing where I was supposed to go or what the hell I needed. Another big issue I had was items cost too damn much. In the Milkman section, if you don’t have a certain tool, get ready for the game to come to a stop and you have to grind to afford it. The powers are a mixed bag but when they are a blast, they are awesome.

In the end, I highly recommend it but I urge you to stay patient. Originally this game came from PS2/ original X Box era so a lot of the modern gaming comforts aren’t there, and like all platformers, there’s going to be some frustration. Stick around and you will be rewarded with a cool world of memorable characters and one of the most unique games I might’ve ever played. May the gaming gods bring you glory.