This is one of my favorite games of all time! It has such a unique atmosphere and I absolutely love the style, but in terms of visuals but also in the writing. Unlike so many other games I've played I will never forget any of the levels in this game, they're just so memorable
Great vid!! I also discovered Psychonauts later than most and it quickly became one of my favorites. The early 2000s Nickelodeon cartoon aesthetic + creepy funny ambience really made it for me. Make sure to give Rhombus of Ruin a go, or if you dont have VR, give it a watch-through! It bridges between 1 and 2 super well.
Thanks very much! I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had that latecomer attachment to Psychonauts. Shows how well the game has aged! And don't worry, let's just say Rhombus of Ruin is on my video radar! 🙂
Another great video! I grew up always hearing about it but never had enough interest to play it, but now I'm interested for the sequel. Strange how that works haha.
Psychonauts is one of those games that I have a deep interest in everything about it, I love the art style the concept the lore, but I've never actually played it 😂
Great video. What’s cool is I still pick up new things playing the game for like the tenth time. For instance my last playthrough a couple of weeks ago was my first to 100% it, and my first time finding all the brains and then going back to the camp to chat everyone up afterwords. Turns out the squirrels at the beginning of the game were trying to warn Dogen of the “small man planning on killing everyone” AKA Oleander, but poor Dogen thought they were talking about him. He apologizes for exploding them. Love this game.
I remember being super psyched for the game before it came out, bought it at launch, got super into it for a bit and then just...yeah, like never finished it. I don't even think I got that far. And it definitely wasn't for lack of interest. I dunno, it just kinda fell to the side. I'll probably pick it back up when the sequel comes out. Awesome review, dude! I'm really glad you ended up liking it. I know Boyd's whole section was probably my favorite. Just remember to pay for your Rainbow Treats.
Thankfully, having played A LOT of Psychonauts 2 today via GamePass, I can confirm that it fixes ALL the control clunk that was in the original game. It's nice and snappy and just perfect. And also it's like, really damn good too oh my god it really feels like a psychonauts 2
Im glad you enjoyed the game, its one of my favorites, just finished a replay recently and i atoll love it. Im also one of the people that played the xbox version first and honestly, i didnt have a hard time in the last level, which is why i was always confused by everyone having issues. I do want to point out that you could use invisibility to prevent the projwctiles being thrown at you until it wears off which is enough to get you across some of the harder parts
Just going to pin this comment as I've had a few people mention it... but yes! I have now played Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin! I'd played and finished it in-between finishing this video and it going live on RUclips so while I didn't know anything about it at the time of writing. In aware of the events of RoR now. I may make a video when I can!
Always wrote this game off originally because of the characters and art style which I’m sure was the case for many people. Shame because watching this review makes me realize why I was dead wrong for doing so. Now I have to hunt this on the original Xbox down, great review Petronious!
Great video before you go ahead to Psychonauts 2 however me thinks you might wanna play or watch the VR game Psychonauts The Rhombus of Ruin yes it is canon it's a sort of bridge between the main games lookin forward to future videos
Slick presentation with the logos & edits dude! Nailed the style & feeling of Psychonauts to a tee! Played this game twice a few years ago & I enjoy everything about it. There are a few things that I noticed after just watching the video that made me appreciate this game a lot more: for example, how you can see some clouds at night (5:09) that resemble the ghosts that Raz faces when he approaches the circus wagon for the first time early in the game. Your point that the game plays similarly to a point & click adventure game was both eye-opening & made so much sense especially when you consider certain side quests & plots that happen with the various campers, that you can take part of as you talk to them, after each level. They go from very simple like a small romance story between two campers to very hilarious, yet endearing like the Russian camper, Mikhail, who befriends another camper that is being bullied by broccoli man, Bobby Zilch, & acts like a bodyguard for the rest of the game as a clever underlying anti-bullying message that doesn’t feel like it is placed haphazardly as a PSA of sorts, but rather a completely normal side-story that makes these background characters have more depth & character to them if you go out of your way to see them. I totally agree with you with your point about Raz donning different color palettes when visiting each mind in The Collective Unconscious. The Black Velvetopia level is certainly the most interesting mind to explore because of that & judging by the “Brain in a Jar” trailer for Psychonauts 2 we’ll be seeing more of that soon enough. Lastly, I’m sure it’s gonna get pointed out by others sooner or later, but there is a tie-in VR sequel to this game that bridges Psychonauts & Psychonauts 2 called Psychonauts: Rhombus of Ruin, which I’d highly recommend picking it up if you want to follow along with the sequel. It’s a bit short, but it’s very unique in premise & gameplay alone. Keep up the great work dude! Can’t wait to see what’s the next game to play!
I remember seeing this on the demos section of the original xbox and I always found it fascinating, took me a few years to play it but good damn, this is a classic, can't wait for the sequel, I should replay this
Hoorah! I'm so glad _Psychonauts_ gets so much love, even now. 😁 Nice goggles, btw. This is hands down one of my *Top 5 games* (in spite of the Meat Circus). I bought it more or less when it came out, so I'm pretty attached to it. Been meaning to replay it for a while now. I just adore the whole look and feel of the game. You really hit the nail on the head with _hybrid gameplay,_ but I have to say I appreciate the stiffer jumping. It has a sort ease that I feel ties into Raz being this amazing acrobat. Makes it less finicky and a touch floaty, but in a good way, if that makes sense. Among other things, I actually really love looking for the deep arrowheads because *A.* I'm the kind of person who enjoys that sort of thing and *B.* It gives me an excuse to roam around, drink in the atmosphere and explore the campgrounds. As much as I love the mental worlds, *Whispering Rock* is just the best place to explore. "Kids finding weird stuff in the woods" is a subgenre that's stuck with me, I guess. I pretty much categorise it the same as _Gravity Falls_ and _ParaNorman._ Also, I just want to say I like this more sedate review style. Feels more focused on the game than strictly gags you can milk from it. It's good. 😁
Hey, thanks! Yeah I quite like making my videos this way now. I've done them this way since 2021 and I'm enjoying video making a little more becuase of it. Glad to hear from yourself and others that it's still enjoyable! Also, HAD to wear the googles! I actually bought them shortly after buying the game 3 years ago 😅
There is also a VR title (Rhombus of Ruin) that takes place between the first game and the upcoming sequel!! It highlights the main cast nicely, and gives some insight into a particular character I think you would like to see more of! Highly recommend either playing it or checking out a playthrough on YT!!
I need to make a pinned comment about this as you're not the first to mention it 😅 But yes I have played Rhombus of Ruin all the way through, and while I want to make a video about it, I've had a few things going on preventing me from doing so just yet. Thanks for watching far enough into the video to mention it though 😀
@@cryingintomycoffee Oh no its no bother. Its nice to have seen people watch enough of the video to hear those points I made about Loboto! I've just had a lot of comments telling me the same 😅
I think Psychonauts would make a great animated series. I could see it on something like Nickelodeon . It'd be a great way to show different types of mental illnesses or disabilities.
"kind of hoping that thing [with Loboto] gets explained elsewhere" the VR game, psychonauts in the rhombus of ruin does actually do this! it goes further into his motivations and actions, and sets him up less as a big bad and more of an assistant to two different big bads. if you're interested in seeing some of that payoff, I'd recommend checking out the game (or watching a playthrough on youtube lol, vr is expensive) i also think rhombus of ruin is interesting for how it's basically a vr point and click game. i think it's pretty innovative and an interesting use of the medium
Yeah between finishing this video and publishing it, I've played through Rhombus of Ruin. I just don't have time to make a video at the moment, but thanks for watching all the way through to have seen that part 🙂
It’s well-worth it but don’t go crazy finding every last collectible. I did and all you get (as far as I can tell) is a tiny little video. Not even a good one
There is a VR game that adds to the story behind the guy who was kicked out, but you dont need to play it for the sequel, though I would recommend it cause it’s really surprising
I had this game in my Steam library for, like, almost 10 years? I was expecting something cool but I didn't get to it because I rarely even play at all, but now I can change plans - so thanks for reviewing it!
Thanks! I enjoy doing this sort of graphic design work, so I make a custom logo for most of videos these days. (My Crash 4 one was fun to make too) I find a font that looked similar to the original, and then stretch, skew, and alter the letters one by one to make them have a similar overall shape. It helped that the letters in my username just happen to be of a similar shape as the word "Psychonauts" too! Sometimes more is needed, like extra animation work or background elements but with this one, a nice spiral effect make it look right.
@@Petronious I’m using Gimp to try and do this sort of thing. Only just installed it though, so as of now it looks really complicated to me haha, just hope I will get better at it :)
Enough time has passed since uploading the video for me to have played it for myself. I'd like to talk about it when I can though as it was interesting!
Super helpful pro tip: once you unlock the levitation ball just play the entire game with that hot keyed and used most of the time, if you’re fairly experience with it by Meat Circus it really trivializes the level.
Great game. But boy is it heard to recommend which version to get. Ps2 era ports is the most stable, but expensive and hard to find Steam one is okay. Controller inputs are bugged The ps4 port is bad. It has weird lighting bugs and there's slowdown
I would definitely recommend the PC port. The PS2 version has long load times and some frame rate issues. I've never had any issues with the PC version myself, and they updated it a few times to fix some technical issues. Only annoying part is that the cutscenes get stretched in widescreen.
@@megazenn22 It wouldn't be the 50fps video file causing that. I opt for 50 (which is common in a lot of cameras) as most games I cover are often PAL region which can run at 25 most of the time, so 50 being a direct 1:2 ratio of that, avoids the issue and means everything is at the same rate as my camera. In general that's not something that causes video stutter though, as the original recordings aren't at a lower rate than the outputted video file. Strange you're seeing that though. There's genuinely no stutter in the video file or watching back on RUclips on my end. Might be a browser cache issue? I also know from experience the RUclips mobile app can be stuttery at 50fps and 60fps videos sometimes... least it does for me! Hope this helps.
That's not how screens work. If it's 60hz, it means it's capable of displaying UP TO that much, and shouldn't affect anything. In the 7+ years I've been doing videos, you're the first person to say this and it genuinely sounds like your monitor is broken to me. Maybe change its settings or something. I can't be rebuying all of my old games becuase of an issue your monitor is having 🤔
Just for the milkman scene its totally worth it
This is one of my favorite games of all time! It has such a unique atmosphere and I absolutely love the style, but in terms of visuals but also in the writing. Unlike so many other games I've played I will never forget any of the levels in this game, they're just so memorable
Great vid!! I also discovered Psychonauts later than most and it quickly became one of my favorites. The early 2000s Nickelodeon cartoon aesthetic + creepy funny ambience really made it for me.
Make sure to give Rhombus of Ruin a go, or if you dont have VR, give it a watch-through! It bridges between 1 and 2 super well.
Thanks very much!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had that latecomer attachment to Psychonauts. Shows how well the game has aged!
And don't worry, let's just say Rhombus of Ruin is on my video radar! 🙂
@@Petronious I never even HEARD of it until I saw nitro rads video about it. Then I played it and fell in love with it
Criminally underrated channel. Great video man!!!
When you were showing off the stylized trees, I never noticed that there's faces in the clouds.
psychonauts is probably one of my favourites platformers
Been wanting this video ever since i found your channel years ago
This game looks "Mind Blowing"
Dem goggles suit you BTW.
This is one of the few underrated ps2 era platformers that got a sequel
The game is so goddamn timeless
Another great video!
I grew up always hearing about it but never had enough interest to play it, but now I'm interested for the sequel. Strange how that works haha.
YESSSS LETS GO
gunna watch this after work. Exciteeeed
Just found this channel and I can already tell I’m going to enjoy this.
Enjoy the channel. He’s one of my favorites.
Hello fellow road crew worker, welcome to the road crew!
Psychonauts is one of those games that I have a deep interest in everything about it, I love the art style the concept the lore, but I've never actually played it 😂
I was in that exact situation until a few weeks ago. I just HAD to give it a try!
Great video. What’s cool is I still pick up new things playing the game for like the tenth time. For instance my last playthrough a couple of weeks ago was my first to 100% it, and my first time finding all the brains and then going back to the camp to chat everyone up afterwords.
Turns out the squirrels at the beginning of the game were trying to warn Dogen of the “small man planning on killing everyone” AKA Oleander, but poor Dogen thought they were talking about him. He apologizes for exploding them. Love this game.
I remember being super psyched for the game before it came out, bought it at launch, got super into it for a bit and then just...yeah, like never finished it. I don't even think I got that far. And it definitely wasn't for lack of interest. I dunno, it just kinda fell to the side. I'll probably pick it back up when the sequel comes out. Awesome review, dude! I'm really glad you ended up liking it. I know Boyd's whole section was probably my favorite. Just remember to pay for your Rainbow Treats.
You are the first person I’ve seen that has made a review on Psychonauts
that's quite surprising!
Thankfully, having played A LOT of Psychonauts 2 today via GamePass, I can confirm that it fixes ALL the control clunk that was in the original game. It's nice and snappy and just perfect.
And also it's like, really damn good too oh my god it really feels like a psychonauts 2
Im glad you enjoyed the game, its one of my favorites, just finished a replay recently and i atoll love it. Im also one of the people that played the xbox version first and honestly, i didnt have a hard time in the last level, which is why i was always confused by everyone having issues. I do want to point out that you could use invisibility to prevent the projwctiles being thrown at you until it wears off which is enough to get you across some of the harder parts
Just going to pin this comment as I've had a few people mention it... but yes! I have now played Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin!
I'd played and finished it in-between finishing this video and it going live on RUclips so while I didn't know anything about it at the time of writing. In aware of the events of RoR now. I may make a video when I can!
One of my favorite games ever. My dog is named Razputin as a result.
Awh thats actually pretty neat!
@@Petronious Thanks! He’s adorable and very much like his namesake. Owned him for nearly 7 years now.
I gotta work, bud! Gonna watch this later, but play it in the background for now!
Always wrote this game off originally because of the characters and art style which I’m sure was the case for many people. Shame because watching this review makes me realize why I was dead wrong for doing so. Now I have to hunt this on the original Xbox down, great review Petronious!
Ah I remember this. Once to see it's still going keep up the good work
Great video before you go ahead to Psychonauts 2 however me thinks you might wanna play or watch the VR game Psychonauts The Rhombus of Ruin yes it is canon it's a sort of bridge between the main games lookin forward to future videos
Slick presentation with the logos & edits dude! Nailed the style & feeling of Psychonauts to a tee! Played this game twice a few years ago & I enjoy everything about it.
There are a few things that I noticed after just watching the video that made me appreciate this game a lot more: for example, how you can see some clouds at night (5:09) that resemble the ghosts that Raz faces when he approaches the circus wagon for the first time early in the game.
Your point that the game plays similarly to a point & click adventure game was both eye-opening & made so much sense especially when you consider certain side quests & plots that happen with the various campers, that you can take part of as you talk to them, after each level.
They go from very simple like a small romance story between two campers to very hilarious, yet endearing like the Russian camper, Mikhail, who befriends another camper that is being bullied by broccoli man, Bobby Zilch, & acts like a bodyguard for the rest of the game as a clever underlying anti-bullying message that doesn’t feel like it is placed haphazardly as a PSA of sorts, but rather a completely normal side-story that makes these background characters have more depth & character to them if you go out of your way to see them.
I totally agree with you with your point about Raz donning different color palettes when visiting each mind in The Collective Unconscious. The Black Velvetopia level is certainly the most interesting mind to explore because of that & judging by the “Brain in a Jar” trailer for Psychonauts 2 we’ll be seeing more of that soon enough.
Lastly, I’m sure it’s gonna get pointed out by others sooner or later, but there is a tie-in VR sequel to this game that bridges Psychonauts & Psychonauts 2 called Psychonauts: Rhombus of Ruin, which I’d highly recommend picking it up if you want to follow along with the sequel. It’s a bit short, but it’s very unique in premise & gameplay alone.
Keep up the great work dude! Can’t wait to see what’s the next game to play!
Ooooh I maaaay have already jumped into the Rhombus :)
@@Petronious ohhhhhh boy you’re in for a treat then! Lemme know how it goes dude!
I remember seeing this on the demos section of the original xbox and I always found it fascinating, took me a few years to play it but good damn, this is a classic, can't wait for the sequel, I should replay this
Hoorah! I'm so glad _Psychonauts_ gets so much love, even now. 😁 Nice goggles, btw.
This is hands down one of my *Top 5 games* (in spite of the Meat Circus). I bought it more or less when it came out, so I'm pretty attached to it. Been meaning to replay it for a while now.
I just adore the whole look and feel of the game. You really hit the nail on the head with _hybrid gameplay,_ but I have to say I appreciate the stiffer jumping. It has a sort ease that I feel ties into Raz being this amazing acrobat. Makes it less finicky and a touch floaty, but in a good way, if that makes sense. Among other things, I actually really love looking for the deep arrowheads because *A.* I'm the kind of person who enjoys that sort of thing and *B.* It gives me an excuse to roam around, drink in the atmosphere and explore the campgrounds.
As much as I love the mental worlds, *Whispering Rock* is just the best place to explore. "Kids finding weird stuff in the woods" is a subgenre that's stuck with me, I guess. I pretty much categorise it the same as _Gravity Falls_ and _ParaNorman._
Also, I just want to say I like this more sedate review style. Feels more focused on the game than strictly gags you can milk from it. It's good. 😁
Hey, thanks! Yeah I quite like making my videos this way now. I've done them this way since 2021 and I'm enjoying video making a little more becuase of it.
Glad to hear from yourself and others that it's still enjoyable!
Also, HAD to wear the googles! I actually bought them shortly after buying the game 3 years ago 😅
Glad you finally got it off to the shelf to actually play
So am I!
Dang now I've got to go back and play this again! Great review as always; love the cliffhanger tease; looking forward to your next Vid!
There is also a VR title (Rhombus of Ruin) that takes place between the first game and the upcoming sequel!! It highlights the main cast nicely, and gives some insight into a particular character I think you would like to see more of!
Highly recommend either playing it or checking out a playthrough on YT!!
I need to make a pinned comment about this as you're not the first to mention it 😅
But yes I have played Rhombus of Ruin all the way through, and while I want to make a video about it, I've had a few things going on preventing me from doing so just yet.
Thanks for watching far enough into the video to mention it though 😀
@@Petronious Oh! Sorry to bug you with it then!! And ofc, this was a really good review!! Loved seeing Waterloo World get some love!!!
@@cryingintomycoffee Oh no its no bother. Its nice to have seen people watch enough of the video to hear those points I made about Loboto!
I've just had a lot of comments telling me the same 😅
I think Psychonauts would make a great animated series. I could see it on something like Nickelodeon . It'd be a great way to show different types of mental illnesses or disabilities.
hell yeah dude
"kind of hoping that thing [with Loboto] gets explained elsewhere"
the VR game, psychonauts in the rhombus of ruin does actually do this! it goes further into his motivations and actions, and sets him up less as a big bad and more of an assistant to two different big bads. if you're interested in seeing some of that payoff, I'd recommend checking out the game (or watching a playthrough on youtube lol, vr is expensive)
i also think rhombus of ruin is interesting for how it's basically a vr point and click game. i think it's pretty innovative and an interesting use of the medium
Yeah between finishing this video and publishing it, I've played through Rhombus of Ruin.
I just don't have time to make a video at the moment, but thanks for watching all the way through to have seen that part 🙂
@@Petronious ah, sorry! didn't realise
i'm glad you've had a chance to play it though, and this video was great! :D
I got this game on ps2 a few years , still have yet to play it .
It’s well-worth it but don’t go crazy finding every last collectible. I did and all you get (as far as I can tell) is a tiny little video. Not even a good one
There is a VR game that adds to the story behind the guy who was kicked out, but you dont need to play it for the sequel, though I would recommend it cause it’s really surprising
My reaction to that last level is always “YOOOOO WHAT?????”
So... Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin review next? :P
The VR game.
Maaaaybe!
Nice review as always, I need to pick this up sometime, seems like an amazing game
I had this game in my Steam library for, like, almost 10 years? I was expecting something cool but I didn't get to it because I rarely even play at all, but now I can change plans - so thanks for reviewing it!
The pc version da best
Just finished the game yesterday, it’s pretty good
This game has been on my list for years
I am the Milkman, my milk is delicious.
Special delivery today.
I remember I almost completed this game 100%. It's just those figments are kind of annoying to find all of.
I actually got them all and it took hours. All I can say is not worth it. You earn a 30 second video of the fish monster and someone else. Ugh.
There were plenty of times you could have used your powers in the last level to make it easier for you.
I'm getting serious Nitrorad vibes watching this guy's videos...
this guy
0:02 How did you make your channel name look exactly like the font of the game? It’s soo good and I need to know!
Thanks! I enjoy doing this sort of graphic design work, so I make a custom logo for most of videos these days. (My Crash 4 one was fun to make too)
I find a font that looked similar to the original, and then stretch, skew, and alter the letters one by one to make them have a similar overall shape.
It helped that the letters in my username just happen to be of a similar shape as the word "Psychonauts" too!
Sometimes more is needed, like extra animation work or background elements but with this one, a nice spiral effect make it look right.
@@Petronious So you use Photoshop to do these awesome custom logos or is it something that is more advanced then that even? :)
Yeah you could do what I do in Photoshop.
I don't subscribe to Adobe products so I use ClipStudio, but it essentially does what Photoshop can do.
@@Petronious I’m using Gimp to try and do this sort of thing. Only just installed it though, so as of now it looks really complicated to me haha, just hope I will get better at it :)
"Hmmm Bacon"
Of and dr Loboto is still alive he was in rhombus of ruin and will be in sequel
I've since played Rhombus of Ruin and am aware of that :)
Goofed on the summary timestamp with a space.
Ah, you're right! I'll fix it now.
Thanks for pointing that out 👍
@@Petronious no problem. Thank YOU for the content 😇
The very definition of video game cult classic! And yeah, I saw someone stream this game, and that last level is a load of bull.
Oh they don't cast Loboto aside trust me they know exactly what they are doing with him I highly recommend the Rhombus of Ruin Vr Game
Enough time has passed since uploading the video for me to have played it for myself.
I'd like to talk about it when I can though as it was interesting!
@@Petronious especially expanded the lore of the World the Psychonauts live in and the Art Style got an interesting tone shift
Speaking of hidden gem platformers......you gotta check out mushroom men the spore wars
I do actually have that here! Had it for years but still havnt played it yet.
@@Petronious it's like if Tim burton made a b movie themed platformer. I've beat it 6 time and loved every second. Ps the soundtrack is AWESOME!
meat circus x.x
"HEY SON, CATCH!"
@@Petronious x.x but you have to agree the level has the best music!
Isn't the Xbox version the one with the rather difficult final level?
It's basically any of the original versions (not the steam one), so yeah!
Super helpful pro tip: once you unlock the levitation ball just play the entire game with that hot keyed and used most of the time, if you’re fairly experience with it by Meat Circus it really trivializes the level.
Great game. But boy is it heard to recommend which version to get.
Ps2 era ports is the most stable, but expensive and hard to find
Steam one is okay. Controller inputs are bugged
The ps4 port is bad. It has weird lighting bugs and there's slowdown
I would definitely recommend the PC port. The PS2 version has long load times and some frame rate issues. I've never had any issues with the PC version myself, and they updated it a few times to fix some technical issues. Only annoying part is that the cutscenes get stretched in widescreen.
the framerate 🤢🤢🤢
The frame rate seemed fine to me
@@Petronious its 50fps, should be 30 or 60 to avoid stutter
@@megazenn22 It wouldn't be the 50fps video file causing that. I opt for 50 (which is common in a lot of cameras) as most games I cover are often PAL region which can run at 25 most of the time, so 50 being a direct 1:2 ratio of that, avoids the issue and means everything is at the same rate as my camera.
In general that's not something that causes video stutter though, as the original recordings aren't at a lower rate than the outputted video file.
Strange you're seeing that though. There's genuinely no stutter in the video file or watching back on RUclips on my end.
Might be a browser cache issue?
I also know from experience the RUclips mobile app can be stuttery at 50fps and 60fps videos sometimes... least it does for me!
Hope this helps.
@@Petronious 50fps stutters to 30fps on a 60hz screen, which most people are using. can you not just use the american versions or pc versions?
That's not how screens work. If it's 60hz, it means it's capable of displaying UP TO that much, and shouldn't affect anything. In the 7+ years I've been doing videos, you're the first person to say this and it genuinely sounds like your monitor is broken to me. Maybe change its settings or something.
I can't be rebuying all of my old games becuase of an issue your monitor is having 🤔
The character design looks like Tim Burton having a flu. So unappealing. At least for me.