Delightfully big and wacky, creative and diverse. There is just so much to do and explore and collect in this sequel.

But this game is not as good as it should be, which, I acknowledge, is a weird thing to say.

The first game was an immensely charming—and immensely frustrating (more on that later) 3D platformer. And it was very popular. This sequel is religious at being a sequel, catering to fans who loved the first game and have been begging for more. And so, other than the upgraded graphics tech, it is crafted as if it were released soon after the first, rather than almost 16 years later. The concept is the same, the systems are the same, the design language is the same, and even the drab color scheme is the same. It almost feels like a loyal remake for a game that could have been released, say, 15 years ago.

And this is a problem because the first Psychonauts was annoying. Its 3D platforming, a mechanic that's extremely hard to get right, was atrocious. There was an opportunity here to take what was great and fix some of the flaws, but that would have risked disappointing the hardcore fans who haven't changed their minds since 2005. Yes, things are a bit smoother this time around. The camera is not as bad. There are not as many precision-based platforming sequences. The stakes of making mistakes are minimized, as you're not thrown too far back. But I still often found traversal to be aggravating, triggering rage that I have not felt since the original Psychonauts.

The bottom line is that this is a great game. But it's disappointing in that it doesn't stray enough from a flawed formula.

Delightfully big and wacky, creative and diverse. There is just so much to do and explore and collect in this sequel. But this game is not as good as it [I]should[/I] be, which, I acknowledge, is a weird thing to say. The first game was an immensely charming—and immensely frustrating (more on that later) 3D platformer. And it was very popular. This sequel is religious at being a sequel, catering to fans who loved the first game and have been begging for more. And so, other than the upgraded graphics tech, it is crafted as if it were released soon after the first, rather than almost 16 years later. The concept is the same, the systems are the same, the design language is the same, and even the drab color scheme is the same. It almost feels like a loyal remake for a game that could have been released, say, 15 years ago. And this is a problem because the first [I]Psychonauts[/I] was annoying. Its 3D platforming, a mechanic that's extremely hard to get right, was atrocious. There was an opportunity here to take what was great and fix some of the flaws, but that would have risked disappointing the hardcore fans who haven't changed their minds since 2005. Yes, things are a bit smoother this time around. The camera is not as bad. There are not as many precision-based platforming sequences. The stakes of making mistakes are minimized, as you're not thrown too far back. But I still often found traversal to be aggravating, triggering rage that I have not felt since the original [I]Psychonauts[/I]. The bottom line is that this is a great game. But it's disappointing in that it doesn't stray enough from a flawed formula.