I am going to be very plain here. This game is awful. That's all there is to it. There is no excuse for games this bad anymore. I understand this game has a cult following, but these people can go all Jonestown/Heaven's Gate.
So, what's wrong with it? Well, let's talk about what's right with it. It has an unusual premise and a quirky art design that's pretty much like Nightmare Before Christmas. These are the things the above-mentioned cultist tend to love. My response is if Double Fine wishes to make cartoons, they should make cartoons. If they wish to make games, they need good or at least passable gameplay. This is what Psychonauts lacks.
The disappointing thing is they had a good idea and a few good elements but these are overwhelmed by the bad elements. The bad elements can be summed up in two simple words: 3D platforming.
Platform games have never worked very well in 3D. Frankly, they hardly worked in 2D, but that third dimension just makes the annoyingly difficult frustratingly impossible. In large part because of the camera. If I've said it before, I've said it a million times, all 3D has brought to gaming is bad camera angles and Psychonauts is a prime example of this.
I didn't even get past the tutorial level when you enter your instructor's mind. There is a portion where there's a room with rolling logs and the game tries to be humorous about it by mentioning how this is an old idea. However, this portion is simply impossible because I don't spend the time navigating the narrow logs so much as arguing with the camera to get it in a position where I can see where I'm going or see myself at all, as there are many obstacles here made only to impede my vision. The logs would have been challenging enough if I didn't have to deal with the camera at the same time.
I dislike platforming games where it's really easy to fall off the ledge to your doom. Particularly ones where it's easy to be moving in a direction you can't see where you're going. Like this one. It's cheap. They should feel shame.
The disappointing thing is that this game didn't have to be so cheap. The main character is a circus acrobat and is able to walk a tightrope with no problem. That he has trouble keeping his balance on a four-foot wide ledge is incongruous. If the game eliminated the cheap platforming and made use of the main character's acrobat talents more consistently, this might not be a bad game.
Sadly, this is not the case. I suppose the cultist will say I'll feel a great deal of satisfaction if I best that impossible section of the level. Frankly, I felt a good deal more uninstalling the demo than I ever would have mastering this poorly designed game.
So, what's wrong with it? Well, let's talk about what's right with it. It has an unusual premise and a quirky art design that's pretty much like Nightmare Before Christmas. These are the things the above-mentioned cultist tend to love. My response is if Double Fine wishes to make cartoons, they should make cartoons. If they wish to make games, they need good or at least passable gameplay. This is what Psychonauts lacks.
The disappointing thing is they had a good idea and a few good elements but these are overwhelmed by the bad elements. The bad elements can be summed up in two simple words: 3D platforming.
Platform games have never worked very well in 3D. Frankly, they hardly worked in 2D, but that third dimension just makes the annoyingly difficult frustratingly impossible. In large part because of the camera. If I've said it before, I've said it a million times, all 3D has brought to gaming is bad camera angles and Psychonauts is a prime example of this.
I didn't even get past the tutorial level when you enter your instructor's mind. There is a portion where there's a room with rolling logs and the game tries to be humorous about it by mentioning how this is an old idea. However, this portion is simply impossible because I don't spend the time navigating the narrow logs so much as arguing with the camera to get it in a position where I can see where I'm going or see myself at all, as there are many obstacles here made only to impede my vision. The logs would have been challenging enough if I didn't have to deal with the camera at the same time.
I dislike platforming games where it's really easy to fall off the ledge to your doom. Particularly ones where it's easy to be moving in a direction you can't see where you're going. Like this one. It's cheap. They should feel shame.
The disappointing thing is that this game didn't have to be so cheap. The main character is a circus acrobat and is able to walk a tightrope with no problem. That he has trouble keeping his balance on a four-foot wide ledge is incongruous. If the game eliminated the cheap platforming and made use of the main character's acrobat talents more consistently, this might not be a bad game.
Sadly, this is not the case. I suppose the cultist will say I'll feel a great deal of satisfaction if I best that impossible section of the level. Frankly, I felt a good deal more uninstalling the demo than I ever would have mastering this poorly designed game.
.