Mechanics
The game features thirteen varied levels. Three of them take place in the real world. The remaining ten takes place in the wacky minds of various characters. The protagonist must save them from crazy thoughts. In order to do it, he must solve many weird riddles.
Luckily, Raz knows many ways to beat the obstacles on his way. The young adept can swim, run, climb and sneak up. Additionally, he can take advantage of various parts of his surroundings like trampolines, walls and slides. He can eliminate his opponents with Psi-Blast, a psychic energy that removes nightmares. After some time the protagonist gains new psychic powers like telekinesis, levitation, invisibility and pyrokinesis.
Psychonauts can be completed in various ways. Each level features many paths to choose from. Additionally, there are many surprises, bonuses and minigames (like looking for missing brains, telekinetic canoeing, hunt for psychic scavenger) waiting to be discovered.
The game was developed by Double Fine, a studio founded by Tim Schafer – the creator of the cult adventure games Grim Fandango and Full Throttle. Other people involved in the project include creators of Maximo, Diablo II and Jedi Knight series. Thanks to that, Psychonauts features many references to these games, a completely unique characters, unforgettable game world and large dose of humor.
