The number of new games releasing in the final four months of 2021 is a little bit daunting. With so many high-profile titles coming out seemingly every week, it’s hard to keep up with which games to pay attention to. Although it hasn’t received nearly as much attention as otherfirst-party Microsoft games releasing this year,Psychonauts 2might just end up being one of the best games of the year that everyone is sleeping on. It releases on August 25 and deserves far more attention than it’s currently getting in the weeks leading up to its launch.
A sequel to 2005’sPsychonauts,Psychonauts 2is the latest game to come out from Double Fine. The studio has a history of creating excellent games and with the originalPsychonauts' status as a cult classic,Psychonauts 2has just about everything going for it to make it one of the year’s all-time greats. Because of the 16 year gap between releases, it’s likely that many people haven’t heard ofPsychonautsbefore, butPsychonauts 2will definitely be worth the time of anyone who decides to give it a try.
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Psychonauts 2 Will Have Real Vision
If it turns out to be anything like the original (which every trailer seems to suggest that it might be)Psychonauts 2has so much going for it, especially when compared to the other games releasing in the latter half of 2021. If there’s one thing thatDouble Fine gameshave, it’s vision above all else. Even with their less fondly remembered titles, each game is nearly full to the brim with style, personality, and humanity that all work in favor of Double Fine’s vision for the game, andPsychonauts 2seems to be totally in line with that.
The game’s visual style is so unique, almost looking like a claymation movie in the same vein asThe Nightmare Before ChristmasorCoraline.Each character inPsychonauts 2has unique silhouettes and body shapes that really inform who they are, almost helping the player distinguish each character based on their memorable appearances alone. While not every Double Fine game has such distinct character designs for each new addition to each game’s story,Psychonautsreally makes the most out of its wackier tone by including characters with wacky designs that still fit into the fiction of the world.
Double Fine games seem to all share a refined slapstick sense of humor, no doubt due to Tim Schafer’s directorial and writing style. Tim Schafer is the president and CEO of the studio and has directed and written many of the classics that Double Fine is known for includingBrutal Legend,Costume Quest, and the originalPsychonauts. Schafer is once again writing and directingPsychonauts 2, so it’ll likely fall right in line with the comedic tones of the games that have come before it: a tone that will help it stand out fromthe rest of the 2021 release calendar. While serious games are all well and good, comedic writing isn’t often explored in gaming, at least, not usually in the AAA space, soPsychonauts 2has a good chance to really shine next to the likes of other major titles releasing this year.
Psychonauts 2will launch on August 25 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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