For many, the phrase one time at band camp brings a lot of thoughts to mind. Most commonly, many will picture Alyson Hannigan from American Pie, Buffy, and How I Met Your Mother delivering the famous line. When you look back at childhood, there is probably at least one memory that comes to mind above any else, whether it is that one time at summer camp or spending time with your friends. If you ask Raz, he’d probably say that one time at Psychonauts camp. Although Razputin may still be a child, a lot has changed in between Psychonauts 1 and Psychonauts 2.
It has been over a decade since the release of Psychonauts (2005). For many, the dream of a sequel felt out of this world and like a pipe dream. Despite previously being backed back by a crowdfunded Kickstarter, Double Fine’s financial constraints almost caused boss fights to be eliminated from Psychonauts 2; then in June 2019, Microsoft announced that they had purchased Double Fine as part of Xbox Game Studios. Then after the announcement, a short trailer was shown.
At E3 2019 and PAX East 2020, I had the opportunity to meet with the Double Fine team and preview Psychonauts 2. Between those two meetings, the visuals for the seemed to slightly change. Ironically, today’s Psychonauts 2 trailer fell along the lines of an out of this world experience and a pipe dream. The new trailer features Jack Black singing a psychedelic song as an orb of light. The trailer gave off very late 60’s early 70’s vibes with a blending of a colorful environment, groovy music, and an unusual environment. The game’s trailer showcases a new ability called Time Bubble that allows Raz to slow down moving objects to make platforms or freeze fast-moving enemies.
Psychonauts 2 Delayed Again!
Sadly, 2020 is not a gamers’ year. Psychonauts 2 is delayed until 2021. This delay most likely means that Psychonauts 2 will be available on the Xbox Series X and potentially the PS5. At the moment, the game will release on Xbox Game Pass, Windows PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4. Hopefully, the sequel will live up to the first’s reputation.