Why Psychonauts Is Still So Mind-Blowing
100It took 16 years for Double Fine’s mind-bending cult classic Psychonauts to get a sequel, and in that time fans have returned to the original again and again. There’s something really special about Psychonauts, and while we can always praise its platforming, art style, and humor, it’s a little tricky to put a finger on just what makes it so mind-blowing.
To get to the bottom of this, we sat down with James Willems, perhaps the biggest Psychonauts fan on the internet. Together, we discussed Psychonauts’ point-and-click adventure influences, the tender love and care baked into every level and mechanic, and the twists you’ll discover along the way. These three concepts (and more!) are what make the game so mind-blowing.
Both Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 are available on Game Pass for Xbox and PC right now. If you want to play the interquel, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, you’ll need a PSVR, Oculus Rift, or HTC Vive headset. Either way, we totally recommend checking out this incredible series!
00:00 - Intro
00:54 -- Title Card
1:12 -- James Willems & The Three C’s
2:15 -- A Brief History Of Tim Schafer
3:01 -- Point-And-Click Elements
5:45 -- The Meat Circus
7:01 -- Gloria’s Theater
9:26 -- Puzzle Solutions
10:18 -- Clairvoyance
10:57 -- Ford Cruller
12:04 -- Plot Twists
12:55 -- Lungfishopolis
13:54 -- Mental Vaults
15:24 -- Concluding Our Analysis
17:12 -- Like, Comment, & Subscribe!
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Sources:
Monkey Island special edition gameplay / Running on xbox one x [Seed Wilson]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0JSJXKjxu8
Full Throttle Remastered Gameplay (PC) [TheBlueDragon]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4s_aeVoYQA
Grim Fandango Remastered - Gameplay Overview [Polygon]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTa1lme67h8
Look behind you! A three headed monkey! [FroggyBoi]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mibEl_DGT8c
Aero the Acrobat(Genesis)Gameplay [Bulletfreak's Gaming Corner]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBaZhqR-ojY
Other Videos By FrameWork
Other Statistics
Psychonauts Statistics For FrameWork
At present, FrameWork has 1,413 views spread across 1 video for Psychonauts, and less than an hour worth of Psychonauts videos were uploaded to his channel. This is 1.62% of the total watchable video on FrameWork's YouTube channel.