Psychonauts 2 Hands-On Preview: An Ambitious Return To A Classic Kurt Indovina Double Fine's studio head, Tim Schafer, has been noticing a trend with games recently. He feels like games have to have a certain look: a darkness, grittiness, or adultness to them. He's glad those games exist, he admitted, but he longs for a time where he played games with brightly colored characters, running and jumping on vibrant platforms that didn’t feel so dark and serious. It's an interesting sentiment considering Psychonauts 2's serious themes of mental health; contradictory even. But it's that same contradiction that also illustrates the game's distinct and inspiring identity, combining Tim's desire for a brightly colorful world to jump around in, while tackling a certain kind of adultness. It's a clashing of concepts and, for Psychonauts 2, it works very well. During my five hours of hands-on time with a preview version of the game, the theme of clashing concepts was persistent throughout, with laugh-out-loud humor and imaginative level design contrasted with weighty themes of mental conditions like addiction, PTSD, and anxiety. These topics are handled in Psychonauts 2 in a light-hearted manner without demeaning them--they are treated in an approachable and empathetic way. None of this is new when the sequel is held up next to its cult classic predecessor, which came out 16 years ago and featured similar themes as the basis of its inspiration and story. Psychonauts 2, however, feels more deliberate, thoughtful, and considerate in its approach, bringing these themes of mental health front-and-center. This intentionality is signalled early, by way of a mental health advisory shown the moment I booted up the game. "Ultimately, Psychonauts 2 is a game about empathy and healing" the statement reads. Continue Reading at GameSpot https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Double Fine's studio head, Tim Schafer, has been noticing a trend with games recently. He feels like games have to have a certain look: a darkness, grittiness, or adultness to them. He's glad those games exist, he admitted, but he longs for a time where he played games with brightly colored characters, running and jumping on vibrant platforms that didn’t feel so dark and serious.

It's an interesting sentiment considering Psychonauts 2's serious themes of mental health; contradictory even. But it's that same contradiction that also illustrates the game's distinct and inspiring identity, combining Tim's desire for a brightly colorful world to jump around in, while tackling a certain kind of adultness. It's a clashing of concepts and, for Psychonauts 2, it works very well. During my five hours of hands-on time with a preview version of the game, the theme of clashing concepts was persistent throughout, with laugh-out-loud humor and imaginative level design contrasted with weighty themes of mental conditions like addiction, PTSD, and anxiety. These topics are handled in Psychonauts 2 in a light-hearted manner without demeaning them--they are treated in an approachable and empathetic way.

None of this is new when the sequel is held up next to its cult classic predecessor, which came out 16 years ago and featured similar themes as the basis of its inspiration and story. Psychonauts 2, however, feels more deliberate, thoughtful, and considerate in its approach, bringing these themes of mental health front-and-center. This intentionality is signalled early, by way of a mental health advisory shown the moment I booted up the game. "Ultimately, Psychonauts 2 is a game about empathy and healing" the statement reads.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

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