Psychonauts: Review
The triumphant return of Tim Schaefer, man and locomotive, this time took the grotesquely ornate form of a psychedelic arcade game in every sense. The monstrous (in the best sense of the word) genius of this man has never left players with good taste on their feet – and now Psychonauts is on the shelves, and we are knocked off our feet again, trying to get up, choking, drowning in the endless charisma of the game.
Here it is, an ingenious design – the most banal components of any computer game (characters, plot, sound, music, levels) are here bundled into a strong bundle, which is in fact something more than just the sum of details.
Yes, technically the game is a third-person arcade game – the kind where you jump on platforms and collect all sorts of shiny things while fighting off animals. That’s right, we will jump, and collect, and fight back – and do SO MANY more things that you have never done in any arcade. Did you doubt that an arcade game from Schaefer could be different??
Razputin is not Gregory to you
The hero of the game is called Razputin (already funny), he wears a homemade pilot’s helmet with glasses and ran away from his native big top to become a psychonaut. Who are psychonauts? These are government special agents who use their psionic abilities to solve various problems, including in the field of the human psyche – by immersing themselves in the patient’s consciousness. So, Rez dreams of becoming a psychonaut and has all the data for this: he is inquisitive, inventive and – most importantly – endowed with strong psi potential from birth.
The camp where young psychonauts are raised is located in picturesque mountains surrounded by forests. Directly below the camp, at depth, there are deposits of a substance called “psitanium.”. This mineral, which fell on the planet with a meteorite in ancient times, helps to develop or strengthen the psi abilities of students. This is such a nice place.
No to the situation!
When you start the game for the first time, you are a little afraid: what if Schaefer has become a opportunist?? Suddenly sold to the unwashed masses for a long dollar? Haha, of course not. The first look at the characters, the very first dialogue kills doubts in the bud.
Here Raz and I are wandering around the camp – the first training that took place in the brain of Coach Oleander is over, and we are enjoying a well-deserved rest. Other students are chattering around, playing, jumping, running and sunbathing, but we have no time for them. I can’t get out of my head that mental cobweb that blocked access to the safe with the coach’s memories. What’s hiding there? What is the coach trying so hard to forget?? It’s very interesting, but without a vacuum cleaner that removes cobwebs, there’s nothing to do there – you’ll have to be patient and save up for the unit.
The game consists of two layers: camp https://carouselcasino.co.uk/ and levels-within-consciousness. The first is the real world, where you need to jump through trees, look for unique items, pink arrowheads and psi cards. The second layer opens as soon as we get into someone’s brain. And here the designers’ imagination goes into overdrive, refusing to stop until the very end of the game. Oh, what’s missing here?! In order not to reveal all the cards, I will give just a few examples: the fish city of Lungfisheapolis, where Rez works as King Kong; a theater where an opera needs to be staged; the battlefield in Oleander’s mind; disco of the seventies – and almost a dozen more no less original.
Where the raisins grow
And here it is, the main reason for the charm of the game: all levels are different, both in execution (everyone has their own, unique consciousness!), and by style of passing. From a straightforward arcade game, the game instantly turns almost into a quest, then into some kind of race, then into a shoot-em-up, then we find ourselves in the shoes of a unit from a strategy game, and after that a lot more happens. From this kaleidoscope of levels-characters-tasks-objects, a banal story about saving the world from yet another villain gradually emerges – but if this story is told like that, then I’m all for it.
Despite the bright gingerbread appearance of the game, there are some very, very dark moments. Take this level of training in the mind of agent Mila Vodello (that same disco) – if you pay attention to one modest room, then there you can find a chest with Mila’s memories and nightmares. It turns out that she experienced a very strong tragedy and cannot forget it. This sharp transition – from the dancing, bright, sparkling atmosphere of a nightclub to fiery sorrow, an unhealed wound on the heart – is really quite shocking. The game immediately loses all its childishness, throws off its rose-colored glasses and hints: in life anything can happen and things are not always what they seem. Few games are capable of making such claims that have to be taken seriously.
Who are they?
By the way, the graphics do not shake the imagination at all with the wild number of polygons in the frame and trendy effects. Everything depends solely on the work of animators, modelers and designers. And although the general style of the game strongly reminds some of “Alice” by American McGee, I can tell you for sure that “Alice” was not even close. The character design is already a solid six – because it’s good. The characters (from the always whining nerd to the local authority) are one hundred percent recognizable, but not without kicking (be sure to watch Dogen “communicating” with squirrels). The same with the adult characters: the half-crazy Agent Kruller, Agent Sasha Nine (the spitting image of Agent Smith with a branded jacket) and others are immediately remembered, each is strictly individual and has his own way of walking, talking, and joking.
What can Rez do?? Well, of course, where without the fundamental “jump”?. From "jump" a double jump logically follows. Rez also knows how to hit – hard and painful. He can also learn a lot of things (eight abilities, including telekinesis, levitation and invisibility). How to study? Very simple – getting levels. Here, however, they are called “ranks”, but their essence does not change at all. How to get rank? Simple: collect a certain number of fruits of the imagination (in consciousness); collect a psi marker from ten psi cards and one psi core; find several unique items; deliver the number plates to all the crying pieces of luggage (there is also such a very funny sight). Insanity? Oh yeah!
Matrix mechanisms and BB
The enemies here are the Censors, the guard mechanisms of the human psyche that protect it from other people’s interference – from us, that is. Yeah, they’re just agents from the Matrix – and they’re dressed almost the same.
And at the end of almost every level, a classic arcade boss awaits Raz. It’s incredibly pleasing that a fight with a boss is always a holiday, it’s a performance, it’s an epic confrontation. Just beating someone with your fists won’t work (yeah, just beating a huge two-legged, toothy mutant fish with your fists) – you’ll have to be inventive and use the environment. And if you understand how to beat this damned fish or the crazy Aunt throwing shurikens, then it won’t be difficult to defeat.
After completing a level, you can always return to it – collect the remaining “fruits of the imagination”, find all the cobwebs, open previously inaccessible locations, collect money, etc.d. All this can be described in one wonderful word: “explore”.
Extends life
Pure Schaefer humor adds the finishing touches to the almost finished look of the game. Carefully, I beg you, listen to the characters’ remarks – otherwise you risk being left without a torn stomach and tears of happiness on your cheeks. Oh, what pearls the government agents masquerading as housewives soak in! In the most serious voice, devoid of emotion, they convince you: “Everyone is jealous of my ability to bake cakes.”. No, you need to hear and see it. The same in animated inserts and dialogues. Thanks Tim. I haven’t received such a dose of positivity for a long time.
Musical and sound accompaniment, which, as always, is excellent, complements the overall picture with a couple of nice details. The camp is constantly buzzing (with flies), gurgling (with water), creaking (with wooden flooring) and howling (with the wind) – even the hundredth walk from the sleeping house to the store does not get boring. The music was written by the same person who was responsible for it in Grim Fandango, which means everything is fine with it.
(Joyfully)
Sooner or later, the camp plunges into darkness, pyrokinetic cougars and levitating bears appear on the paths. It will no longer be possible to run skipping around the camp, and the desire has disappeared – all the children, except Rez, have disappeared, they were kidnapped (for the sake of their brains) by that vile doctor from the dream. As luck would have it, Sasha and Milla have disappeared somewhere, which means it’s time to rush to the rescue, it’s time to save friends. What are you waiting for?