They Deserved Better, Part Four - Psychonauts

In the fourth, and final part of our They Deserved Better series, Adam Montgomery takes a look back at one of the most unique, visionary and just plain fun games ever created - Tim Schafer's Psychonauts.

Psychonauts is the last, and best, of the games that Deserved Better. The game's creator, Tim Schafer, proved himself a master of mind-melding; he allowed us into his mind to play in a detached world of psychics and sinners, with characters as disjointed and witty as his mind could muster. The Psychonauts are some of the first to touch down on the 360 as part of the new Xbox Originals download service coming with the December 4th firmware update, so it’s an ideal time to revisit this sorely-missed classic of the last generation.

Razputin, the lead character, spends as much time bouncing off the cast in sharply-timed and written dialogue as he does bouncing off the earth on his mentally-projected ball. “Levels” are contained within the minds of characters. Their fears, wants, and well-being are all portrayed in the mental landscape you traverse and contend with. Pleasingly, the comedy continues, and perhaps climaxes, with the internal monologue and private commentary transpiring due to your mind-tampering.

The psychic abilities Raz learns and hones during his time at the Psychonauts’ camp are a joy. From basic attacks, to more interesting abilities, they are key to completing the game’s many memorable challenges and puzzles. Clairvoyance, for instance, allows you to view yourself through the eyes of another – allowing you to judge the effectiveness of your disguise. These abilities raise the game above its rather generic roots, and without them, Psychonauts would feel like any platformer with a theme.

It’s fortunate then that the psychic theme is so well executed; woven expertly into the characters, the world, and the gameplay. It’s simply a joy to play; a well-executed spin on a genre which has suffered greatly in recent times.

What makes Psychonauts truly special, keeping it from becoming just another platform-puzzle game, is that it’s a sparkling example of wit and a quirky, joyous romp through a world like no other.

Search for it and you can find a Schafer quote: “genre isn’t important, quality is.” His game builds on a firm foundation of stable convention, with a gentle shuffle around “generic”, and becomes an enjoyable, polished oddity which is as fun as it is catatonic.

And that’s it. That’s all I have to say about Psychonauts and all I have to say about the games that Deserved Better. There are a lot of great games out there that have been shunned, and wrongly so. If you take a look back and enjoy Beyond Good and Evil, Oddworld:Stranger’s Wrath, Okami, or Psychonauts, then take a chance in the future. Otherwise, I offer only the sad guarantee that a number of future classics will be cast aside as the masses scramble for yet another licensed sequel.

Pick that game up off the floor. Choose quality.

Adam Montgomery