Psychonauts 2

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This is the long awaited sequel to an old game I played this summer. The original was a funny, charming game with less than stellar gameplay, mostly due to platforming rarely aging well. They really got that fixed in this one. The platforming is tight and the combat much improved. It's a ton of fun to play through all these creative, zany levels.

This is part 2 of the 3 platformers I was playing at the same time, and what this one has heads and shoulders over the others is the story. The first one was entertaining and silly, much like an episode of Sponge Bob. This one has hilarious moments, but isn't as consistently funny as it gets more serious, especially towards the end. But this was the right direction. Sticking with Nick toons, this feels more like an Avatar arc, with a true emotional impact and a powerful message. It perhaps didn't stick the ending quite like ATLA, but that's a very high standard to reach for.

Otherwise, this game is just impossible not to like. Jack Black voices a character, if that's any indication of what this one was like. It's fun, pretty, has amazing music, lots of collectibles and a terrific polish. This game is just fun to run around in, talking to every NPC to see what ridiculous stuff they have to say. The first is a little rough, but the series is very much worth your while, especially with Gamepass. It's maybe not the endlessly free and creative platformer that Odyssey was, but the terrific story bumps it up just over that one by just a hair.