Why the original Psychonauts on Xbox is still awesome in 2022

Psychonauts Source: Windows Central

On April 19, 2005, Double Fine Productions released its showtime videogame — Psychonauts, a 3D platformer for the original Xbox. It was a cult archetype loved by critics and fans alike for its quirky humor, imaginative level design, and memorable characters. Over the years, the fanbase grew and they hoped one day their favorite game would receive a sequel. Luckily for them, in 2022, Double Fine Productions announced a crowdfunding campaign for Psychonauts 2 with a target goal of three 1000000 dollars — which the fans thoroughly smashed.

Six years afterward, Psychonauts 2 is set up to be released former in 2022. Personally, I never played the original Psychonauts back in the twenty-four hour period when information technology first came out. Merely now information technology's been added to Xbox Game Pass every bit a astern-uniform title; I figured now is the perfect time to meet what I missed out on.

The adventures of Razputin Aquato

Our story follows the adventures Razputin Aquato, a young acrobat that happily performed in his family unit'due south circus for many years until ane day he developed psychic powers. His father disapproves of psychics in general, and their relationship became strained as a outcome. Feeling rejected by his father, Raz decides to run away from the circus and sneak into the Whispering Rock summer camp. This wasn't just any summer camp, it was a secret government training facility designed to help kids develop their psychic powers and potentially become recruits for the Psychonauts — psychic hush-hush agents who safeguard the world from criminals and terrorists.

Raz is looking to join the Psychonauts in promise of being with psychics similar himself to assuage his loneliness. Raz gets caught past the teachers, merely they so were impressed by his psychic powers that they decided to permit Raz take office in the classes until his parents come by to choice him up. As Raz gets to know his classmates and learn more about his powers, he discovers some villains who plan to steal the brains of the campers as function of a plot to have over the world. Raz must now rails downward the villains' hideout and use his psychic powers to literally delve into the minds of crazy and eccentric characters to rescue his classmates.

What first caught my attending most Psychonauts was how fleshed out the plot and characters were for a platformer of its fourth dimension. For instance, I causeless the kid's interactions with Raz were going to be simplistic, taking the role every bit mere quest givers with limited exposition, simply they weren't. They were merely going about their daily lives playing music, talking with each other, and getting into trivial schoolyard squabbles like real kids. Every time I finished a level or got a new upgrade, the campers would always have something new to say.

Similar the schoolyard bully Bobby Zilch who likes to act all tough and exist a wiggle to everyone, but he secretly has a soft side that his girlfriend, Chloe Barge, is trying to help him bring out more. Or Phoebe Love debating with her best friend Quentin Hedgemouse on what their stone band'southward name should exist, while learning to go on her pyrokinesis powers under control during a drum solo. Once the villains showed up and started kidnapping them, I plant myself more motivated to save them. I became endeared to the lilliputian tykes through their daily antics, and more connected to the game's world equally a result.

Raz himself is a likable protagonist. He'southward smart, adorably awkward, and he cares for his fellow classmates and teachers. His curiosity often gets him into problem because he'southward still a kid, just he's willing to quickly ready whatever trouble he has caused.

However, nearly of the adults are not as open up to talking to you lot equally kids. You will need to use your psychic powers to peer into their minds to acquire their stories and progress in the game.

A uniquely satisfying action platformer

Psychonauts Source: Windows Central

The gameplay of Psychonauts is split up between the hub-earth area of Whispering Rocks and jumping into the minds of its inhabitants. In the hub world, you will exist exploring the campgrounds for collectibles that can be used to upgrade your abilities, while talking with the NPCs to accelerate the story.

The level pattern is extremely well-done and perfectly captures the warped mental states of whoever's noggin you're poking around in.

The meat of Psychonauts' gameplay comes from projecting yourself into the dissimilar character's minds, which act as the game's levels. Each level is a twisted and distorted world formed from the character's traumatic past and filled with personifications of their personal demons. You will need to platform your way through each level's various deathtraps, fight off personal demons and censors (which are the mind's natural defenses against intruders), and sometimes fight a boss at the end. For example, one of the first bosses yous will face is a behemothic, mutated censor, created by a listen comprised of multiple Censors fused together. While other bosses subsequently on, without going into too much detail, are manifestations of a character's greatest fears — some of which may relate to your ain personal fears.

The level design is extremely well-washed and perfectly captures the warped mental states of whoever's noggin you're poking effectually in. On i level, you may delve into the mind of a paranoid conspiracy theorist filled with security cameras and secret service agents, and on another level, you will be dodging bullets and explosions on a WW1-themed battlefield inside the listen of a veteran soldier. The fine art direction is and then on point that it still looks good today, proving that your game doesn't necessarily need to pump out every bit many polygons as possible to look skilful. Each level has its own gimmicks like racing, stealth, or puzzle segments but they stay within the realms of platformer mechanics to maintain'south the game'southward focus.

Psychonauts Source: Windows Central

These levels also contain tons of collectibles that reward you with currency, behind-the-scenes artwork, and slideshows that contain snippets of a graphic symbol'south backstory. Though some of these collectibles may not be reachable at get-go until you acquire a new ability, incentivizing y'all to replay levels.

To complete these levels and salvage your friends, you lot volition need to utilise your psychic powers to explore these mindscapes. Thankfully, you have all sorts of abilities to use like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, marksmanship (a.k.a. listen bullets), clairvoyance, levitation, and many more. Your telekinetic powers can help yous bound across huge chasms and motility big objects to solve puzzles. And powers like pyrokinesis and marksmanship are used to blast censors and the manifestations of past traumas into oblivion.

Psychonauts Source: Windows Key

In short — I beloved the gameplay of Psychonauts. Every level is then unique, and the powers you employ to traverse them are so much fun to play with. Not to mention, the controls are elementary to use and very responsive fifty-fifty afterward 16 years. Although, at that place are a couple of minor nitpicks I have, which are steeped mostly dated mechanics modern games take long abandoned.

Firstly, this game has an actress life system. If you lose all your lives while exploring a listen, you will be kicked out and be forced to start the whole level all once more. Fortunately, this game isn't that hard, so you won't have to worry about losing your progress too much.

My biggest complaint comes from the final level, which features an escort mission. It's pretty frustrating considering your escort dies pretty apace and has no survival instincts whatsoever. I had bullrush my way through the level and abdicate all the collectibles to keep him live. Thankfully, this escort mission is pretty short and is only at the beginning. Likewise, whenever the escort dies, you don't lose any extra lives, and then you don't have to worry about being forced to restart the whole area all over again.

One of the best backward compatible Xbox games

Psychonauts Source: Windows Fundamental

In determination, I'm now kick myself that I didn't play this game back when it first came out on the original Xbox. Information technology is fun, imaginative, well-thought-out, and information technology however holds up today. Psychonauts is now one of my favorite 3D platformers aslope Spyro the Dragon, and I can't look to play the sequel. If you like platformers, I would definitely requite Psychonauts a try. Especially if you have Xbox Game Laissez passer because I feel this is one of the best backwards compatible Xbox games currently available for the service.

Mind over thing

Psychonauts Box Art

Psychonauts

Take a trip into the minds of misfits and madmen.

Follow the adventures of Razputin, a immature psychic who is on a quest to join the earth's finest psychic secret agents — the Psychonauts. Learn to hone your psychic powers to defy the laws of physics, uncover hidden memories, and battle monstrous personifications of personal traumas.

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