| Psychonauts review |
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Psycho-what?
Psychonaut (Psy·cho·naught): an explorer of the psyche, one who delves deep to encounter inward spiritual experiences so that they may apply them in a positive way with the intent of bettering themselves.
With that brief lesson in vocabulary expansion out of the way, if the dictionary were to feature a definition of Psychonauts The Game it would most likely read:
Psychonauts (Psy·cho·naught): the long-awaited creation of Tim Schafer, the madcap designer who brought to life the highly revered adventure games (amongst others) Monkey Island, Day of The Tentacle, and Grim Fandango.
While the traditional definition of a Psychonaut is more typically associated with drug use, the game stays clear of that potential minefield, swapping drug-fuelled psychedelia for psychic powers and the tangled mysteries of the fragile mind. But that isn’t to say that the game doesn’t feel as if its been touched by the experiences of Jack Kerouac or Timothy Leary.
The game opens at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp where the latest batch of students are gathering to undertake tuition in the psychic arts. Crashing the party is young Rasputin, Raz for short, who has infiltrated his way into the camp in a bid to escape the ridicule of his day-to-day life and become a Psychonaut, an international agent armed with the immense power of the mind.
To give anything more away in terms of the plot would be criminal. As with Schafer’s other games, Psychonauts is a brilliantly scripted tale of mystery, intrigue and adventure, all played out with the inimitable humour that has made his other games so memorable. Humour is often a subjective thing, but Psychonauts is guaranteed to raise a smile, if not actually cause you to laugh out loud. From simple gags (such as the training tutorial being called Basic Braining), through to a rich undercurrent of black humour (exploding squirrels), the game is filled with a natural feeling of irreverence and wit that is sorely lacking from other games labelled with the `humorous` tag.
Part of this comes from the visual treats in store for the player as they progress through Raz’s adventure. Psychonauts is heavily stylised, with characters that wouldn’t look out of place in a Tim Burton stop-motion feature film. These range from characters that have oversized heads and stick-like arms, through to those with squat bodies or elongated necks, all mixed in with a healthy dose of the more traditional-looking `normals`. Despite the initial odd appearance, the charm of the art direction quickly becomes endearing, making the gags that follow all the more effective in stimulating the funny bone.
Using the concept of exploring the mind, the game is split into two very different sections – the `real` world, which includes the grounds of Whispering Rock Camp, and the world inside the minds of the retreat's inhabitants. It is in these areas that the game really ratchets up the creative design, with some awe-inspiring sights and level designs just waiting to be uncovered. Glowing Tron-esque scenery, seemingly inescapable static bubbles, and the twisted misty caverns of tortured minds are all waiting to be explored.
The attention to detail in both plot and gameworld is something to be admired. Insects, wildlife and characters' facial expressions are masterfully done, adding a delicious frosting to the visual cake, while the aforementioned plot makes a point of addressing some of the finer details that are often skimped on.
Anyone who’s played any of Schafer's earlier games will certainly be able to reel off their own list of memorable characters. In this respect Psychonauts is no different. The player will encounter a wide variety of notable individuals in both the real and psychic world, such as the psychotic squirrel-hating Dogan, a large amount of (quite literally) emotional baggage, right through to the pained artisan who is unable to reach his beloved in the sky above with his flimsy playing card structures. Always quirky and captivating, bizarre both on paper and onscreen, it is this charming and original design that makes Psychonauts tower head and shoulders above the rest.
Through his journey Raz will collect psychic cards in the real world and figments of people's imagination in the mental world. Both of these can be used to increase his Psychonaut ranking and eventually unlock new abilities like Pyrokinesis, Levitation and Telekinesis. Psyonic abilities are nothing new in this generation's games, but Psychonauts differs in that it doesn’t unnecessarily limit the player's ability to let rip with their newfound abilities. While some skills require a charge in order to be used, for the most part there are no power bar constraints, meaning the player has a liberating chance to experiment and explore.
Raz will also pick up Arrow Heads that are the camp's form of currency. These can be used to purchase useful items such as a dowsing rod (handy for detecting arrow heads buried deep underground) and even a vacuum cleaner that can be used to untangle mental cobwebs scattered around the levels. Once special items have been unlocked players are easily able to travel back to previous mental and physical locations to uncover more rewards. There are also optional sidequests to search for items like Memory Vaults and Scavenger Hunt prizes, promoting a real sense of exploration and that "summer camp adventure" feeling.
The downside to this is that it does lead to the game feeling like a bit of a collectathon at times, with a hefty dash of backtracking thrown in to boot. The game does its best to limit this as far as possible by providing shortcuts in the form of Teleportation or transportation points, but the feeling still remains. Thankfully it is never severe enough to spoil the rest of the experience and often adds to the delight of unlocking a new area.
It would be easy for all this to have been let down by sloppy sound work but, taking a tip from its Lucasarts heritage, the game is able to stand amongst the best. The voice of Raz is provided by Richard Horvitz of Invader Zim fame, turning in his greatest performance since Nickelodeon's green-skinned Irken invader. The voices of the supporting cast are also fitting to their onscreen personas ranging from children with overbites and braces through to a Camp teacher who sounds like the missing member of The Cheeky Girls. Musically the game doesn’t have any really memorable tunes, but those that are there are solid enough for the task at hand and pleasing to the ear while they last.
Psychonauts may have had a long and troubled development since its inception, but like the tangled minds that Raz unravels during the course of the game, it has had a healthy dose of therapy, spit and polish and come out all the better for it. Its amazing to think that this game, along with Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, was dropped by Microsoft, but have actually turned into two of the system's crowning glories. Psychonauts is simply beguiling, a must-experience game, which will firmly cement itself in the mind of the player long after the system has been switched off. |
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System: Microsoft Xbox
Genre: Action
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Majesco
Players: 1
Version: United States
Reviewed: Jun 2005
Writer: Jamie Davies
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Pros:
- Striking and unique visual flare
- Beautiful presentation throughout
- One of the few games that actually succeeds at being funny
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Cons:
- Heavy emphasis on collection and some backtracking may put some off
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