At E3 2019, Double Fine Studios took to Xbox’s E3 stage to reveal more information on their upcoming title Psychonauts 2 and to announce their acquisition by Microsoft. Following the groundbreaking Cyberpunk 2077 announcement, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer proclaimed they would do whatever Microsoft needed whether it be Excel, Halo, or Forza. Despite the humorous jab at being owned, Microsoft’s new acquisition is already off to a great start. With a strong E3 showing, Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 will reunite the world with Raz and the psychonauts, more than ten years after the first entry debuted. Although E3 was a month ago, we can’t stop thinking about Psychonauts 2; in fact, seeing the E3 demo inspired us to pick up the first Psychonauts during the Steam Summer sale.
Located behind the giant Fortnite booth, Double Fine looked to show the world what they have been missing. Despite being a little difficult to find, the Psychonauts 2 booth focused on the game rather than being flashy. The booth welcomed guests to the world of Psychonauts while providing a comedic aspect. This game is something we believe more people should be excited about and not to let it be overshadowed by some of the larger AAA releases. In short, don’t sleep on Psychonauts 2!
Psychonauts 2 fittingly starts off after the events of the first Psychonauts. Raz has officially joined the team and is tasked with discovering the identity of Dr. Loboto’s boss. The team of other psychonauts feel rather useless in the opening level but they may improve later in the game. Despite the team’s minimal assistance, new circumstances arise when Raz corners Loboto in a cage. Although we are unable to see who Dr. Loboto’s boss is, Raz does hear a calm, menacing voice threatening Loboto. Raz also witnesses who Dr. Loboto is afraid of, none other than the monster that destroyed Raz’s village.
The demo featured a variety of enemies including a flammable creature called Regret. With Double Fine using the Unreal Engine, the game looks more crisp and loads quicker than ever. Based off of the first level, the game’s mechanics look rather simplistic and the game reunites players with the level crawling mechanics that were popular during the ’90s and early 2000s. The game’s use of quirky and eccentric scenery and terrain make it memorable. The game’s humor will surely remind fans why they loved Psychonauts while piquing the interest of newcomers.
Sadly, we will have to wait until 2020 for Psychonauts 2 to be released. Thankfully, even though Microsoft bought Double Fine, Psychonauts 2 will still launch on previously announced consoles including: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux
Psychonauts 2 may have flown under the radar at E3 2019 but the game looked great. Below is a video from Tim Schafer documenting Double Fine’s E3 2019 experience. The video is comedic but makes you wish you could be a part of Double Fine’s team. Don’t sleep on Psychonauts 2 or Double Fine might probe your mind! Hopefully, Jack Black will be a part of the upcoming sequel.
For more information on Psychonauts 2, check out the official website.
