Though it’s been nearly a decade and a half since the original Psychonauts, not much has changed in the world of Raz and the other psychically gifted campers. That’s because Psychonauts 2 picks up just a few days after the events of the first one (though the highly enjoyable PSVR interstitial Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin managed to crowbar directly between the two mainline titles). Truman has been rescued from Dr. Robato, and it begs the question: was there a mole operating within the Psychonauts, and if so, who hired him?
If you fondly remember the 2005 cult classic from the original Xbox (and later other platforms), as I do, you’ll feel right at home in the sequel. The art style retains the same cartoonish, almost claymation charm, though of course texture detail, resolution, and just about every other technical part of the visuals is substantially improved now that we’re two generations removed from Raz’s debut. The voice cast has all returned as well, and so when creative director Tim Schafer began playing, watching Psychonauts 2 felt like putting on a comfortable, broken-in pair of slippers.