Speedrun Fast: Psychonauts

Speedrun Fast is back with an exciting and infinitely silly game called Psychonauts. Originally released in 2005, Psychonauts stars wannabe Razputin as he strengthens his psychic powers and uncovers the twisted plot of Loboto. The game became a cult classic and achieved favorable review scores among several websites. A new game, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, will supposedly be shown at this year’s E3 for PSVR.

This time around, I have two videos to watch: a 101% run performed just last month, and any% run with commentary. “Razputin. Run. Very fast.”

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bDMJ0WcWeE[/embedyt]

This first video shows the 101% run. Being so recent, it only has a few views on Youtube, but it manages to beat the time of another user by over ten minutes, a major time difference. In this run, you will see every figment collected and the use of staple techniques like damage boosting. It’s an impressive session demonstrating the runner’s skill at wrangling an equally impressive game.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe41c-O6Ozs[/embedyt]

Grimdonuts’s 50-minute run isn’t the fastest, but the runner more than knows his stuff. He also isn’t afraid to try different tactics now and then to see what’s faster or more practical. This time RTA, or real-time attack, where the recorded completion time for the game is counted in, naturally, real minutes and seconds. Many runs use the in-game clock, which typically halts any time the game is paused. Grim has also done numerous other any% and 101% runs of Psychonauts.

Did I say earlier that Psychonauts was infinitely silly? I think I meant infinitely disturbing. It’s both, and the comical personalities of the characters juxtaposed against the unnerving story and game world is a large part of what makes the game so popular. It’s a fantastic choice for virtual reality software, as allowing players to experience the Psychonauts world in such a way is sure to leave an impression. Now, “here’s your merit badge. Let us never speak of this again.”

Matt Eschbach

Matt Eschbach is a PC, Mac and Android indie game developer and fiction writer. His works have won multiple monetary awards from various contests. Graduating college in 2012 with a major in Game Design, Matt spends his time making stuff up and then building it. His favorite hobby… is sleeping.