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Psychonauts

EMAIL PRINT pc

9.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 29 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 115 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Majesco Sales Inc.

Developer: Double Fine Productions

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Platform

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: RP (Rating Pending)

Release Date: April 19, 2005

Summary

Psychonauts is a wildly surreal action adventure game where personal paranormal powers are unlocked in order to plunge into the minds of bizarre characters. Journey deep into these crazy worlds of infinite possibility to thwart the secret plan of an evil madman and realize the ultimate dream of joining an elite force of psychic superheroes, the Psychonauts. Delve into people's minds as Raz, a powerful young cadet at psychic summer camp. While working on his levitation merit badge, Raz discovers that someone is kidnapping psychic children and stealing their brains. In order to foil this evil plot and earn the title of Psychonaut, Raz must project himself into the minds of one bizarre character after another to battle their nightmares and mental demons. He does all this while continuing to earn his psychic merit badges in Telekinesis, Clairvoyance, Pyrokinesis and more.

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Guide

Also On The Web: GameSpot Impressions Official Game Site

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

GameBiz

It’s one of the most original, creative and inspired titles out there and even better—-it’s one of those rare videogames that can actually make you laugh out loud.

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Xequted

If you’re a fan of sharp humor, great stories, stellar gameplay, or Invader Zim, you simply can’t go wrong with this gem.

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Play Magazine

Arguably the best epic platformer since the Rare/Miyamoto days of N64. [May 2005, p.65]

Inside Gamer Online

No title is likely to exhibit this much magnetic appeal for some time to come, and as an outspoken resident of Lungfishopolis once remarked, if you don't buy Psychonauts, you "are against children—and against love.”

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eToychest

Psychonauts may not be particularly innovative in any of its undertakings, but it breathes new life into a stale genre by virtue of its humor and creativity alone.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

The fact that Psychonauts isn’t on the radar as one of this year’s big releases is a major shame, as it is, quite simply, superb.

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Game Chronicles

The production values are top notch in every department. If you're the kind of gamer who craves the weird and unusual, look no further; this is your game.

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PC Format

Utterly mental, but quite, quite brilliant. One of the best experiences of the year. [July 2005, p.92]

ActionTrip

What truly makes this game so enjoyable is the fact that it is incredibly clever and witty, with a gallery of fantastic (as well as bizarre) characters and some intelligently conceived details.

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Yahoo! Games

Weird, funny, immensely playable, and has that nigh-unclassifiable thing we can only call charm.

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PC Gamer

It's so goofilfy hilarious, you may just find yourself a wisecrack away from peeing in your Jockeys. [June 2005, p.76]

1UP

It's a brilliant debut for Double Fine, and here's hoping it's just the start of what we can expect to see from them.

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Computer Gaming World

A triumph of art direction, a prime example of exquisite aesthetics and of how well an imaginary world can be beautifully conceived.

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GameSpy

In a world where one of the most common gamer laments is there's no originality in gaming anymore, Psychonauts is an incredibly enjoyable breath of fresh air.

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GamerFeed

A breath of fresh air that has restored faith in platforming adventure titles. Within the first three minutes of gameplay, one realizes just how funnily bizarre this title is.

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Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

Inspired, delightful and at times bordering on the insane. Psychonauts is mind-blowing, however it's tricky at times and definitely not for kids. [PC Gamer UK]

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Pelit (Finland)

A wildly imaginative platform adventure. Framerate and visibility issues are a bit of a letdown, though. [Mar 2006]

IGN

The first half of this game is easily one of the most enjoyable I've had in the past year. But as is the case with many humorous games, the laughs begin to fade in the home stretch and in the end Psychonauts started to wear on me.

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GameSpot

Psychonauts doesn't reinvent the platformer, but it still delivers an experience that feels wholly original in every aspect of its execution.

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Just Adventure

Creative mayhem, and is at times crazy fun to play.

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Game Over Online

I’d rather spend my nights playing Psychonauts than a "Myst" or "Resident Evil" title, barring perhaps "Resident Evil 4." It’s livelier, funnier, and more original, in an age when sequels are the only safe bets for publishers.

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Edge Magazine

It isn’t any kind of reinvention, but a revitalisation, with a style so rich that it becomes an integral part of the game’s substance; Psychonauts breathes imagination and individuality as effortlessly as most games steal from one another. [July 2005, p.84]

The New York Times

Insanity is what makes Psychonauts entertaining and unusual, so it is a shame you have to spend several hours in the mildly eccentric minds of instructors before getting to the cool part of the game.

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G4 TV

The levels are fun, the gameplay is solid, and the puzzles and bosses require more than a bit of brain matter to figure out, resulting in a nice sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new milestone in Raz's adventure.

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Computer Games Magazine

As it gets progressively weirder, it also gets significantly better, making it one head-trip definitely worth taking. [July 2005, p.56]

Eurogamer

What's unavoidable is the fact that almost all of the problems that weigh Psychonauts down are borne out of the legacy that the platform genre itself has, and Double Fine - like so many other developers - has largely been unable to avoid falling into the same pitfalls of inconsistent level design and unwise difficulty spikes. Dammit.

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AceGamez

The uniquely quirky presentation, brilliantly conceived storyline, excellent cut scenes and tremendously varied gameplay all combine for a totally refreshing and fun game experience.

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2404.org

Psychonauts may be an excellent concept and creatively realized, but it is translated into an average game.

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games(TM)

It’s not revolutionary by any means, nor is it particularly long, but thanks to some clever creative control the game delivers a funny, engrossing and downright weird experience unlike most other platform adventures. [July 2005, p.104]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 115 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark G gave it a9:
The worst aspect of this game is that fact that when it was first released back in 2005 it got overlooked by the gaming public which lead the studio who created it getting closed down. For some reason people prefer to stick to what they know and play the countless Halo, Call of Duty and Tomb Raider squeals instead whereas Psychonauts is wholly originally and a great deal of fun. The in game graphics, box art and concept do paint this game as some what 'quirky' which I guess is one of the reasons why people where initially put off this game but if you can put your first impressions aside and at least play the free demo you will find just how fun this game is. What makes this game stand out for (as has been pointed out by other reviews) is the level design, the scripting and the humour. Now whilst the gameplay isn't ground breaking it works well although I would highly recommend you use a control pad to play this game. Now I don't want to give to much away but in all my years of gaming I've never played a game like this, the ideas behind some of the levels are just fantastic with one level basically being a parody of Godzilla. Although the game is from 2005 the graphics still hold up in my opinion after all this is a platform game in the vein of Mario but unlike most games of that period it does support wide screen monitors and resolutions up to 1920x1200 within the in game options! I've even come across games this year that don't fully support wide screens yet, so, so much for the argument Psychonauts isn't a technical. The only negative aspects of this game are only minor, the camera positioning doesn't always end up where you want it and even with a control pad the controls takes a bit of getting used to. My only other gripe is the the wasn't long enough, I played it for a week but I had so much fun playing it I wanted more. If I had played this game from new I would have given this an 8/10 (due to it's length) but since it can be bought for next nothing now it gets a well deserved 9/10.

Charlotte F. gave it a9:
Not the longest or most technologically advanced game there is, but Psychonauts makes such a creative take on the Action/Adventure layout that you'll barely notice, with hours of witty dialogue to discover along the way. Concentrates on what games are supposed to be about - fun. Which you WILL have.

Jason M. gave it a10:
Very original and fun game. I know some complained about the controls, but I used a standard keyboard+mouse setup and it played great, so I'm not really sure what the issue was. The design came off with a nice balance between weird and realism, and has a maturity to it that most games I've played, especially more recent ones, simply lack. This game has now got me interested in the other things the designer (Tim Schafer) has made as well, and I'm impressed.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Extremely unique and entertaining, this game will make you laugh over and over. It's only short comings are bellow average 3D graphics (for this day and age) and a relatively short story. However, it's hard to make a long game when your ideas are this original.

P G gave it a3:
Many feel this game is revolutionary and shatters rigid industry boundaries and proves that games are art. I am not one of those people. I find it to be a below average platformer with wonky controls and excessive amount of item collection to keep the player playing. The mental powers add an interesting dynamic, but the controls make them usually too difficult to use properly. Since it was realized the game would not be revolutionary in regards to actually playing it, the publisher decided to make a wacky story with odd characters and making each level inside people's minds which somewhat changes the gameplay from level to level, but it still comes down to hopping on platforms, collecting this, that, and the other thing, and mashing buttons to beat up bad guys. The story can be a tad hard to follow and is not spectacular either, though the voice acting and some of the wacky humour can be mildly entertaining. The too long, didn't read version: Overhyped by bandwagoners. Just go play a Mario game or something...there may not be story but at least you'll have fun.

Ben C. gave it a10:
The most original platform game I have ever come across. The art direction is superb and the writing is simply amazing. This is the first game in a long time that has made me both laugh out loud in places and almost cry in others. It displays an emotional maturity rarely seen in games. I have only one word of advice... if you don't have a gamepad to play this with: buy one. You won't be sorry.

Tim C. gave it a10:
I recently brought this game, Ive played a couple of levels and have very much enjoyed the experience so far, however i cant say ive played it enough to have a rounded opinion but anything designed by Tim Schafer is going to end up deserving a 10 anyway.

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