Psychonauts
My fourth suggestion is another terribly overlooked title called Psychonauts. Sadly no sequel has been announced and is unlikely, though many gamers (me included) are mad to see one. Psychonauts is a hilarious platformer from the psychotic mind of Tim Shafer, the creator of Full Throttle and Grim Fandango — two of the greatest PC games to come out of the 90s.
Psychonauts plays like a puzzle filled platformer, but at heart it is a humoristic adventure filled with crazy characters, situations and levels that will stick in your mind forever. The story follows Raz, a young psychic, and his adventures at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, where he learns how to harness is psychic powers and jump directly into people’s minds. As Raz starts his training the other campers begin getting their brains stolen by an unknown enemy. It is up to you to find out who is behind the attacks and get your friends’ brains back.
There are many places to explore in the camp and later an insane asylum, collecting items to level sell and level up your abilities. As the game progresses, Raz will be able to use psychic powers like telekinesis, levitation, invisibility, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, PSI shield, PSI blast and confusion. These can all be needed to progress and can be used to mess with people in the open-world — setting things on fire is especially fun. However, the real fun comes when you get the ability to jump into other people’s minds.
Each mind is a different themed level and inside you’ll have to deal with your hosts inner demons, thought censors, emotional baggage and figments of imagination to find what you’re looking for. These themes are the brilliant part of the game, especially when you have to dive into the minds of people in the asylum.
The humor and memorable moments are really what make this game shine and that is to be expected from Tim Shafer. It’s a shame that games like this get passed over despite the good reviews. If you’re looking for a solid game that will captivate, entertain and make you laugh till the neighbors complain, then please pick up a copy of Psychonauts. For this one you may have to buy used for under $18.98 on Amazon because new copies are hard to find and are pricey.
