While it’s easy to throw the word “influential” about anything nowadays, it’s quite the opposite to actually pin them down for real. For me, in terms of games, making a case for how Psychonauts is one of my gaming formative titles is a matter of going down a list. First, it’s my favorite game of its generation. Second, the game served as a basis for what eventually evolved into my thesis in college. And third, Psychonauts is something I very often see myself going back to, whether it’s to play the actual thing on the hardware it was originally released, or through better forms elsewhere, and including going bonkers for its sequel.
Without a doubt, Psychonauts is my thing. And it’s now turning 20.
If that bit of news didn’t hit you hard, I truly don’t know what to tell ya. We are all indeed getting old, closer and closer to the grave, but as I do at least, it is knowing that I got to experience what Psychonauts was all about as it was brand-spanking new in 2005. As a huge fan of Tim Shafer’s work, I naturally drifted to it after having a fantastic time with Full Throttle and others; the former, in fact, is another birthday I plan on talking about shortly, by the way.
What makes this one so special, though? Maybe it’s its themes, which deal with so many layers of the human psyche, like growing up feeling weird and inadequate, the development of one’s personality and the degradation of it with the years that pass by, or how silly and positively serious it can get at the throw of a stone, nailing both so masterfully? So what if the Meat Circus is such a nightmare to get through when Fishopolis and other extremely memorable levels are there to make up for it, am I right?!
It all starts with Raz, a kid who breaks away from his family’s traditions in order to live his dream of becoming a Psychonaut, a group of uber-powerful psychic secret agents, by signing up to their summer camp for gifted youngsters. Upon arriving there, the kid meets the colorful cast and starts finding out just how crazy things can get in the new world he’s dipping his toe in, eventually getting engulfed into a conspiracy that threatens their entire existence.
Glancing in from the outside, Psychonauts looks like your usual run-of-the-mill early 2000s platformer. In it, you get to jump, punch and collect a lot of doo-dads as you make your way through very saturated levels, once in a while fighting some sort of boss and engaging with puzzles. But the similarities stop there. None of the saccharin present in 99% of other games in the same genre is there, in its place are wacky, funny, smartly written, and incredibly deep interpretations of the themes I mentioned above.
And yeah, some of the gameplay might not be exactly up there in terms of quality, everything else about it more than makes up for that shortcoming. His powers are unique and fun to use as you unlock them via merit badges, and finding hidden items proves meaningful as they unlock backstory for side characters and untold bits of lore for the game’s world.
The best part about everything is seeing Raz’s evolution as a character. At first a confident but still bumbling little boy, he befriends and develops relationships with the other campers, and after a number of insane encounters, turns into a capable Psychonaut of his own, enough to be recruited into the actual thing by the end of the game. That’s an ending we got to stare at for over a decade, with no news but still hope of seeing a sequel to witness the promise pay off, that is until it materialized in 2021, an equally amazing effort by the folks of Double Fine, released under their new parent company, Microsoft, who helped finance part of its development.
While there’s no sight of a Psychonauts 3, we can definitely appreciate what the first one did in 2005. It was an underdog for sure, coming out through a – at best – second rate publisher, but even so, it managed to make a mark and collect a legion of fans then and in the following two decades since it was first released. Psychonauts is an achievement in storytelling that resonates through a slice of the audience, and even though it might not be universally loved, those who do, do so with unparalleled love and dedication.
Here’s to you, Raz and crew! And to 20 more to come!
