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 The Game Released in 2005, Psychonauts is a 3D platformer with secondary collection elements for the Xbox, PC and (in a less playable but still existent port) PS2. While the game has picked up a fair amount of prestige over the years, back in ye olde days of the internet you had likely heard of this game through one of two avenues: either you saw it on the PS2/Xbox rack at a video rental store and thought it looked neat, or you were clued into its existence due to it being the subject of one of the earliest episodes of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's Zero Punctuation review series. (It's also one of the extremely rare unambiguously positive ZP reviews in existence) I rented the PS2 version from a Family Video in 2008, if you were curious. Psychonauts puts us in the role of Razputin, or Raz, a bright eyed young Psychic hoping to become a camper at the Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp as his first step towards becoming a psychic operative, a Psychonaut. Naturally, the game features a number of psychic abilities that pair well with Raz's natural acrobatic abilities to create a fun and unique adventure platformer. Where the game really shines is its highly offbeat levels, featuring us delving into the minds of camp counselors, giant fish and a cadre of loons that have intricate and elaborate mindscapes highly molded by their perception of the world around them. Psychonauts also features an impressive level of detail, with both its hub and individual levels changing in small ways as you'd advance through the game. For those who love unimportant secondary details you can only find by exploring every nook and cranny every time something changes in a game, Psychonauts is for you. In addition to the standard fare of returning to old levels or further exploring the hub with newly obtained powers, the campers of Whispering Rock Summer Camp have their own little plot threads and beats that progress along with you as you journey through the game. It can be very fun to just run around the camp after finishing a level just to see what everyone is up to. Or just attempt to light everyone on fire when you get pyrokinesis just to see how they react to it. Likewise, there's a host of environmental details to observe if you like learning about the history of the world you're playing in. Due to a combination of all these things, Psychonauts firmly cemented itself as a cult classic when it was new and was highly praised by nearly all who played it when it was first released. With the advent of digital store fronts and a solid Steam version of the game, good word of mouth has allowed the game to reach a much wider audience and now it's built up a reputation as one of the greats for the platformer genre as a whole. If you haven't seen the game before, then I'm hoping to share it with you and show why I think it's pretty great. If you have, then I hope you'll like to go back through your own Memory Vault of this game along with me! The Let's Play This will be a 100% playthrough of the game, collecting all Psi Cards, Challenge Markers, Emotional Baggage, Memory Vaults, Mental Cobwebs, the infamous Figments and anything else required to get the coveted Rank 101. Additionally we'll be taking a look at some of the ongoing storylines and dramas of the residents of Whispering Rock as we progress through the game. For first clears of levels, I'll be going through them in what I feel is the most optimal way to keep the playthrough from dragging too much. Figments are by far the most disliked aspect of 100%'ing this game, and they can really slow down level progression if you try to collect them all as you make your way through the levels. As such, we'll just be grabbing the ones that are in the direct path the first go around, as well as ones I feel are notably difficult to get. It won't be until we get a specific power at the mid point of the game that I'll be returning to scoop up the ones I missed, and once I do commit to grabbing them all I'll be using sped up footage at the end of the videos for my collection drives. Without wasting anymore time, The Videos Part 1, Summer Camp Daze Part 2, Braining Day Part 3, The Search For Sasha Part 4, Tax Dollars At Work Part 5, Victory For Good Taste Part 6, Dead of Brain Part 7, Can We Get Much Higher? Part 8, Brain Buster Part 9, Hydrophobia Part 10, Think Big Part 11, The Milkman Conspiracy Part 12, Rising Star Part 13, The Phantom Pain Part 14, War Games Part 15, House of Cards Part 16, Load of Bull Part 17, Turtle Tower Part 18 (Finale), Daddy Issues Full LP Playlist Enjoy platformers? Then you may also like my LP's of Donkey Kong Country or SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom. CullenDaGaDee fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Mar 13, 2024 |
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Feb 18, 2024 20:57
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 18:32 |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s12K4-uC50 As you'd expect from a decently story driven game, Part 1 mostly has us watching cutscenes for the purpose of establishing the game world. Our first playable area, the Cabins, does a bang up job of establishing the game though. The layout allows us to explore the basics of Psychonauts' platforming and the abilities Raz at his disposal, as well as having collectables all over the place to reward exploration. Psychonauts isn't really a collect-a-thon in the traditional sense, you only need about 30% of the collectables available to actually finish it, but what's an LP without getting that sweet 100% completion? Beyond that, we also see the abundance of easily missed little details that are all over the place in this game. You don't need to talk to any of the campers and can head straight for Basic Braining, but there's so much dialogue that can be missed if you do that. I doubt I'll see every little conversation this game has, but I'll make an effort to show off as many interactions with the other campers as I can.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:11
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Psychonauts, drat. There's a game that had some strong writing, great art style but was just a few turns of the wrench short of well-tuned gameplay. Especially the PC port suffered, if I remember right one of the end-game jumping puzzles was almost completely impossible to complete as a result of the janky port.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:12
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I was actually not able to finish the game as a teenager because of the infamous final level, but fortunately it's of little issue to me these days. I haven't had too many issues with the PC version aside from the occasional audio hiccup, but I've never had a chance to play the Xbox version of this game so I lack context for how it's supposed to run.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:18
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Most of it plays fine, if a bit wonkily at times, it was just that one bit at the end that was krangled to hell. Though I think subsequent patches might have fixed it.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:20
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I have read there was a patch way back when that made the final level easier, although what exactly that entailed I do not know. I should track down a console copy of the game just for comparison.
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Feb 18, 2024 21:37
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Yeah I played Psychonauts the first time something like 5-10 years ago, so a decent bit after it came out, loved it and had no big issue with the final level. It was more demanding than the ones before, but not complete bullshit or anything. I also know they patched it at some point but don't remember what the exact things they changed were. Would be cool investigating, should be quick enough with a PS2 emulator + a save file for download? Also, ground floor, this game rules and so do 100% informative LPs.
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Feb 18, 2024 22:03
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I should look into that if I can work up the motivation, pretty sure I already have a PS2 emulator set up on one of my external drives. It's been so long since I've played the PS2 version that failing at the final level is close to a buried memory at this point. I hope I can do the game justice! I'm not exactly the cleanest presenter in the world, but I like to think I keep things in motion well enough.
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Feb 18, 2024 22:14
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Simply Simon posted:100% informative LPs. Someone should do a 90% informative LP. Everything said should be clear and correct, but sometimes they should just completely ignore certain pieces of information to drive the viewers insane.
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Feb 18, 2024 23:00
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Good news for all involved, that's essentially how I operate. Let's say I'm encouraging people to check out games for themselves if they're interested.
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Feb 18, 2024 23:08
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PurpleXVI posted:Psychonauts, drat. There's a game that had some strong writing, great art style but was just a few turns of the wrench short of well-tuned gameplay. Especially the PC port suffered, if I remember right one of the end-game jumping puzzles was almost completely impossible to complete as a result of the janky port. The Mac port was incredibly unstable. I didn't really like the game at all so I gave up trying to make it work, though I have since watched a bit of it.
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Feb 19, 2024 06:53
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As I see it the platforming in psychonauts was basically just a tacked on concession to the fact that it had to have some sort of core gameplay. All the levels are basically gimmick levels - not that it's a bad thing, in this case.
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Feb 19, 2024 10:31
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I suppose you could say it’s like a less sadistic version of BattleToads in that sense. The core gameplay falls into standard genre conventions, but you’re never doing the same thing with it in any level you go to.
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Feb 19, 2024 14:00
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcTSCATy9Eg Part 2 is out! Basic Braining is an extremely blunt and straightforward level, designed as a formal introduction to the various aspects of Psychonauts platforming for those who didn't mess around in the Cabin area when they first got control. It also introduces us to the mental world collectibles, Figments, Baggage, Mental Cobwebs and Memory Vaults. The latter 3 are generally pretty easy to get if you just fully explore the level with some scattered exceptions, but Figments are infamous for being a pain to collect and are the biggest turn off for most people when it comes to 100% completing the game. Now 80-90% of them will be on the beaten path when progressing through a given level, and it's generally enough to give you enough Figment Points for rank ups to get through the game at the intended progression. The remaining figments on the other hand either tend to be moving Figments that are tricky to grab, small figments that blend into the background and are hard to even see, or hidden Figments that are tucked in the most random spots of levels that almost require a guide to find. For right now, we'll just be getting the ones on the beaten path and the scattered few that don't take me too far out of my way. Once we gain the ability to revisit levels, we'll also have a power that makes getting Figments much faster and much easier. It's also worth noting that you can't full clear most levels on your first go around until the mid game anyway, so some backtracking will end up being necessary. That aside, there's not too much to say about this level except for the fact that I'd wager most people playing this didn't realize you could continue to play the whack-a-mole game to get an additional rank up. I know I certainly missed that first time I played the game.
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Feb 19, 2024 18:23
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CullenDaGaDee posted:I have read there was a patch way back when that made the final level easier, although what exactly that entailed I do not know. I should track down a console copy of the game just for comparison. The main thing was you don't lose lives from falling or failed escorting, but also there are more checkpoints, timers got massively increased, and some attacks do less damage.
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Feb 19, 2024 21:35
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I had noticed I had seemingly infinite layers during the final level, and I had just assumed that was a side benefit of hitting Rank 95. Not that the lives system really means much of anything in this game. Thanks for sharing, I was curious to know that!
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Feb 19, 2024 22:00
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This first level takes no prisoners and I think it's a huge part of why the game was such a cult hit. There's levels that are more beloved (milkman) but they only work once you've built up more context and a bigger toolset. There's levels that have cooler settings, but they don't hit quite like "your fellow child soldiers get blown up by mines while someone laughs and insults you" - at least at first glance. And there's levels that while tutorializing equally, are simply much more boring (Sascha's, lamp jokes notwithstanding). More games should have tutorials that go as hard as this one.
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Feb 20, 2024 01:17
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Basic Braining is a fantastic hook for the game since you just get thrown into it and have to quickly adapt to the bizarre premise while progressing through it. It certainly sticks in your mind a lot, which thankfully is true for most of the levels in the game.
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Feb 20, 2024 01:27
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kuxhtguRlM Part 3 is out! A pretty long entry this time as we explore the bulk of Whispering Rock and spend some quality time with the other campers. This video is a good testament to just how much little detail there is in Psychonauts, as you can easily reach Sasha's lab in about 5 minutes, and instead I end up spending 50 talking to people and interacting with the environment. And there's even more we could be doing at this point! I'm electing to spread some of this out though, since it'll be more efficient to do it later, particularly item collection. It's also worth noting that the other campers have a tendency to move around and kick off new interactions and sub-stories whenever you complete a major level, so I'll be doing my best throughout the LP to make the rounds of the camp and see what antics everyone is getting up to. And light them on fire when we have the option to. Since I won't really get a chance to mention this elsewhere, Psychonauts was one of the earlier games to experiment with the idea of integrating social media into the game's background to expand on the characters. Specifically, DoubleFine has a still archived fictional platform called Campster that contains profiles for all the campers save for Raz, as well as extensive comment chains on said profiles from the campers. Apparently this site is a parody of an old platform called Friendster, which I have never heard of. In addition to developing the characters beyond the scope of the game, there's some relatively amusing interactions if you dig through the testimonials. CullenDaGaDee fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Feb 22, 2024 |
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Feb 22, 2024 13:17
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Did you mean https://assets.doublefine.com/archive/website/campster/index.htm?
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Feb 22, 2024 18:06
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That’s what happens when you write an update after rolling out of bed, I copied the url and completely forgot to paste it in. Fixed the post, sorry about that!
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Feb 22, 2024 18:16
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I once started this game but didn't get very far..gonna follow along, this looks fun
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Feb 22, 2024 19:27
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I remember Nidoking’s LP of this game from a few years back so I’m curious how this one will go. Do you plan on Let’s Playing Psychonauts 2 as well?
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Feb 22, 2024 23:23
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Maybe some day, but not in the immediate future. I have yet to complete a personal playthrough of that game, mostly just because it's in my evergrowing backlog. I have liked what I have played of it, but I don't really hold myself to playing sequels. Nothing makes an LP feel more like a chore if you're just playing a game because it's a sequel and you feel obligated.
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Feb 22, 2024 23:58
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVc-5LVB3E Part 4 is out! With Sasha located, he quickly sends Raz into uncertain and dangerous mindscape territory, only to realize in short order this might be a little too much for an untrained 10 year old to handle. Fortunately, given Raz's prodigy status, a quick bit of training from an established Psychonaut is sure to resolve this problem... so long as Sasha can secure a code CYA from Psychomaster Ford Cruller. Beyond that, Raz gets to explore his pyromania, Lili firmly establishes herself as the resident Tsundere, we discover that animal cruelty is endorsed by the game, and Raz gets to begin his career as a treasure hunter. It's worth noting that you can visit Ford before this point and pre-complete a whole load of exposition, but I felt it fit better in the narrative if we did it now rather than at the first opportunity.
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Feb 24, 2024 05:15
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Ah, the wildlife. Truly, there is no other game where burning things with your mind is so fun.
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Feb 24, 2024 10:03
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There are so many little things that I missed playing this game. I never knew about burning the animals, or that scene in the parking lot.
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Feb 24, 2024 15:53
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Yeah the scene with Maloof in the parking lot is super easy to miss since the game pretty heavily guides you through the Brain Tumbler sequence and you can only see it for a bit after you free Maloof from the GPC.
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Feb 24, 2024 16:11
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFshFHvcGpg Part 5 is out! We begin Sasha's training on a high note with probably the most memorable scene in the game with the Psi Blast demonstration. There's a reason Sasha is most people's favorite character. Naturally once things start going to hell due to Raz's impatience, we are thrust into a real level. It's worth noting that several of the figments in Sasha's Shooting Gallery are out of reach currently. It is possible to have the Cob Web Duster before entering this level, but since we have to return eventually anyway I figured I'd just take care of that after. Past that, we have completed half the scavenger hunt and got a cool +4 ranks for our efforts! Now there is one more scavenger item I know offhand we can get with a power from Ford if we rank up to 30, but otherwise the remaining scavenger items require story related powers to obtain. One in particular is outright not inside the Summer Camp, so you'll be wasting a ton of time if you try to find it. I'll be doing my best to collect the remaining items as we gain the ability to do so, but do note it'll be awhile before we get the second 4 rank jump. The campers are still in their previous locations, but completing the next portion of the Brain Tumbler Experiment will change that, so be mindful of that if you want to get the Steam Achievement for seeing the scene with Maloof in the parking lot.
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Feb 24, 2024 22:35
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I'll admit that I didn't remember that many of the collectibles being accessible this early in the game.
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Feb 25, 2024 12:30
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Does anything special happen if you do shoot 1,000 censors?
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Feb 25, 2024 16:52
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Nah, Raz will just complain endlessly until you inevitably flip the switch to max.
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Feb 25, 2024 17:14
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DtqDK7YJPs Part 6 is out! With Raz now being something resembling properly trained, we can return to the Brain Tumbler Experiment where it's more of an actual level now. We're able to scoop up the Emotional Baggage and most of the figments before getting booted from the level again, but we will need to return here one more time in the story before we're able to properly finish it off. I'll show off the Primal Memories for this level once we return to it for the last time and fully complete it. After getting kicked from the experiment again, most of the campers have moved to new locations and have different dialogue, so we do a quick run through the camp before we get to the location of our next level. Next up we have Milla Vodello's Levitation training, which is when the game really opens up and we're able to make actual headway on 100% completion. It's also where the movement and platforming in Psychonauts actually becomes something unique and interesting, so I'm excited to have finally made it to this point of the game.
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Feb 26, 2024 00:28
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The dance party is a really great level. Hate collecting figments in the race bit, though.
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Feb 26, 2024 06:43
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Yeah, this is the level that usually kills people going for 100% runs. It isn’t that hard to get the figments in the race, but it is horribly tedious. It does not help the bright aesthetics of the level make figments really difficult to see in any part of the level.
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Feb 26, 2024 12:04
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiqKJhfCeiI Part 7 is out! Milla's Dance Party is the final level we need to clear before getting the power that lets us do the bulk of collecting in the game easily, Levitation! This power is what makes platforming and exploration of Psychonauts fun in my opinion, and we'll dedicate sections of the next video to rounding up everything we can now that we have this power. As for the Dance Party itself, the level is easy to complete in a standard run through while 100%'ing it is another thing entirely. This level features everything that can possibly make Figments annoying to collect, and the infamous race section requires you to run the course a minimum of 3 times to get all the figments and more than likely you'll end up going through it 6 or 7 times. While we can do this on the first visit of the level, it would bog the video done a ton so we'll just treat this like one that needs to be revisited for simplicities sake. At least I was able to get every other collectible in it with no issue.
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Feb 27, 2024 04:22
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Milla's Dance Party might actually be my favorite level to play. There's later levels that have better concepts of course, but this one is all about the Levitation bubble and it's the loving best.
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Feb 27, 2024 05:07
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So fun fact: Milla’s Nightmares were originally planned to escape her mind and cause havoc but this was dropped after the developers concluded that Milla would not allow her Nightmares to affect those around her.
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Feb 28, 2024 18:59
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They must have been enamored with the idea they had for fighting Nightmares given their out of nowhere appearances later in the game, though let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
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Feb 28, 2024 19:06
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I'm here just to say, gently caress Milla's Dance Party figments
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Feb 29, 2024 03:49
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