I’m sure that this will get brought up on the episode, but allow me to explain it here first. Pixel Picks was created with the idea of presenting a game to you, the audience, that you may not have given a chance, or have played but never really took a true critical look at. Now, what I didn’t say there is that we pick games that are the best games ever. Sometimes games are built around a really solid idea or two and, even with their flaws, are still worth taking a look at. Psychonauts, for me, is definitely one of those games. Pixel Picks focuses on the good though, and that’s what I’m here to do. To see more of a discussion on where the game breaks down, be sure to watch the episode on Monday.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the pile of shit that is Psychonauts. Of course, I kid. Psychonauts is one of those very rare games that creates a fully realized world, as Aaron said, where the story actually triumphs over the gameplay and makes the player want to push on. I will admit that I am one to not finish games. It’s not because I’m bad at them, but more so that if a game doesn’t draw me in with its world or story, I rarely see the point in doing what I’m doing. Obviously, amazing gameplay will give me that drive, but come on, how often does that happen? To me, and I know I’ll catch a lot of flack for this, but Half-Life 2 was a game that I put down because I didn’t get drawn into the story. The world was bland (by design, I know), and I never really knew why I was doing what I was doing. On the flipside, Mirror’s Edge was a game that laid out clear motivations for why I was doing what I was doing and, despite its gameplay flaws, kept me wanting more.
So, how does that apply to Psychonauts? Psychonauts is a game that features a story and world truly unlike anything you’ve experienced before. The player isn’t running around shooting everything in site, and it’s refreshing. Both the story and the characters themselves remind me of Nickelodeon cartoons such as Aaahh! Real Monsters and Invader Zim. It’s a completely different world that is set in its own absurd version of reality. What’s interesting though, is that the game creates a connection between the player and this strange world by having themes in the story that are so universal and grounded in our reality.
I know that it may seem like I’m jumping all over here, but all of this really works hand in hand. This story and these characters wouldn’t work in a setting like we’ve seen before. This couldn’t be set in the Halo world or any real world environment for that matter. And, on the other side of it, these characters probably wouldn’t work with another story. To make it all work, Tim Schafer had to make sure that this universe was expansive but never strayed. Every little object in the game is consistent with the world. For example, a bunny isn’t just a bunny in this game. It’s slightly distorted and made to be fatter than a bunny in real life. It’s this type of consistency to a universe that can really grab a player right from the beginning, and it definitely did me.
It’s hard, without just telling the story and describing every little part of the world, to convey how truly amazing of a story and world were created. Even though I had my problems with it, I can say that Psychonauts is worth giving a look just to see the world and get a taste of the story. You never know, you may find yourself nine hours later clamoring for a sequel.