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Double Fine Productions / Microsoft



In a year filled with excellent Game of the Year candidates, Psychonauts 2 accomplished what seemed impossible: It took a massive leap of faith when it launched as a crowdfunding campaign in late 2015, spent six years flipping and twisting like an acrobat in the air as it came together, and then stuck the landing. It's not easy to do that, especially being the sequel to Psychonauts, with the cult following and lofty expectations that entails. To have captured everything that was special about the original, while simultaneously expanding the Psychonauts universe and telling a more grownup story centered on the hubris of youth, the mental trauma our more selfish choices can inflict (both on ourselves and others), and the subsequent ripple effect across multiple generations? That's a delicate tightrope walk. And Raz, Psychonauts 2's acrobatic protagonist, was born for that kind of challenge… literally. 

Double Fine's sequel to the first Psychonauts is everything a great platform-adventure game should i buy casino stock be. Engaging in psychic combat and solving platforming puzzles across a variety of levels -- ranging from a hospital casino to a psychedelic exploration of human senses -- is both visually arresting and mechanically satisfying. It's also a completionist's dream, with figments of the imagination, combat mods and other collectibles to pick up. And the finishing touch is a large cast of lovable weirdos, each with their own idiosyncrasies, hopes and dreams. It'll definitely make you laugh -- you might even shed a tear or two when it's over. Psychonauts 2 basks in the glow of its whimsical weirdness; aside from its predecessor, there's nothing else like it. -- Ashley Esqueda