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by Rafiki 08/25/2021, 1:05am PDT |
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This is one of those labor of love games. Production is top-notch. Everything retains that Tim Schafer / Tim Burton-esque weird cartoon design aesthetic from the first one. Animation is great and characters animate with actual personality instead of being generic, indistinguishable mo-cap. All of the acting so far is excellent, except for Sasha Nein who sounds really wooden for some reason. I checked and it's the same actor, so I don't know what the deal is. Based on the first level, it looks like the level design and the little details are going to be just as inspired as the first game.
The introduction / first level cuts right to the chase which is GOOD. There's an intro movie on launch and then a brief level introduction when you start the game, but then you get to play through a level right away and get into the weirdness of a mind invasion. The way the level transitions between parts of the level and in-game cutscenes to hide the fact they're teleporting you around is really well done and doesn't feel like it's obnoxiously pulling you out of the action.
So far, it's pretty much the same style of action-platforming as Psychonauts 1. You also get about 6 powers right at the start as well, so you get several abilities to play with as opposed to a slow trickle of doling out one thing at a time over 6 hours until you FINALLY have enough abilities for things to start to get interesting. There's still unlockable powers, as well as the ability to level up powers.
Some of the enemies actually have weaknesses to certain abilities, so the combat looks like it's a bit more than "you have different abilities but they all do interchangeable damage." I can't remember the depth of combat in the first game, so I don't remember if that's standard.
All of the collectibles are back (figments, baggage tags, etc). I'm not sure how I feel about the figments. I guess if they do a good job of scattering them around and making it fun to navigate around and collect them it'll be fine, otherwise it'll just be a chore.
The writing so far is good, but it's Erik, so yeah. It retains the subtler, drier humor of the first game, in contrast to something more over-the-top like Portal. Characters all feel like they have unique personalities and aren't just one-note joke machines you find in other shittier games trying to be funny.
Overall, my first impression is: POSITIVE. I'm assuming I won't hate it by the end. It's checking off all of the boxes of things I liked about Psychonauts 1. The game really cares about you and wants you to like it, even going so far as providing a link to mental health resources if you're upset that it contains humor or if dentistry terrifies you beyond all capacity for rational thought. |
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Anyone try it yet? NT by Mischief Maker 08/24/2021, 6:04pm PDT
So far so good after an hour and a half by Rafiki 08/25/2021, 1:05am PDT
Thx for the comments, I will check this out. Thanks again NT by Mysterio 08/26/2021, 1:22pm PDT
This is approaching Binary Domain level of cutscenes by Rafiki 08/26/2021, 10:18pm PDT
VERDICT: Buy on sale by Rafiki 08/31/2021, 12:36pm PDT
Thank you! NT by MM 08/31/2021, 2:45pm PDT
Actually started replaying #1 by Rafiki 09/01/2021, 11:16pm PDT
Re: Actually started replaying #1 by CattleHumper 09/02/2021, 9:05am PDT
I mean, I think 1 is a good game, but it's not strictly necessary by Rafiki 09/02/2021, 4:42pm PDT
Thank you for all your posts on this game. NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 09/03/2021, 1:14pm PDT
I've been trying to put together all my posts into a long review for like a mont by Rafiki 10/09/2021, 12:26am PDT
Re: I've been trying to put together all my posts into a long review for like by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/09/2021, 3:21pm PDT
Re: I've been trying to put together all my posts into a long review for like by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/10/2021, 10:54am PDT
Re: VERDICT: Buy on sale by Rafiki 09/17/2021, 11:25pm PDT
Article posted - thanks, Rafiki! by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/11/2021, 7:55am PDT
I felt like the writing didn't quite have as many gags-a-minute as it used to NT by Solid review otherwise 10/13/2021, 2:11pm PDT
That's on me assembling a review out of Rafiki's posts! More fun stuff SOON by Ice Cream Jonsey 10/13/2021, 3:29pm PDT
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