One Year Of Psychonauts 2
It's a cliche to say that "time flies" but phrases become cliche for a reason. One day, when I was eleven years old and playing my Dreamcast, I blinked and suddenly it's 2022. Not so long ago but still "half a decade ago," Psychonauts 2 moves from a flittering idea in Tim's mind to something that could actually be funded and made. And now, in an even faster blink, Raz's latest adventure has been out for an entire year. That's one year of dental doors, fan theories confirmed or denied, speedruns sprinted, patches added, languages supported, and memories made.
When the Psychonauts 2 Fig campaign was announced at the Game Awards 2015, there was no guarantee that the target would be met. Crowd-funding is a dice roll in many ways (both for the creatives and the backers) where you could blow things out of the water or fizzle tragically right before the finish line. Either way, you take the shot and see what happens. Thanks to the help of 24,109 amazingly enthusiastic and vibrant fans, Psychonauts 2 would become a reality.
Yes, there were hurdles and changes along the way. Publisher shifts and purchases that expanded what could be done. But at the end of the day it all comes down the the fans that lent their trust and directly helped us tell the story of the Aquatos, the Psychic Six, and just what the heck happened after spending all that time in summer camp.
The result is one of our best reviewed in the press. "Overwhelmingly positive" comments and reviews on Steam. Many award nominations, awards and recognitions from the Golden Joysticks, The NME, The Game Developers Choice Awards, and BAFTA. Countless people have played and enjoyed Psychonauts be it backers, curious Xbox Game Pass players, or other fans. It's been humbling as hell!
We want to celebrate this happy year and pull back the curtain on Psychonauts 2's design. Two Player Productions continues to work on their massive documentary that will blow minds and steal countless hours of your free time. For now, we have never-before-seen art, fresh developer level tours, discussions with doctors and designers, strange glitches, and more. There's plenty to share and nuggets of wisdom galore. Game design is full of tough decisions and unexpected roads; no matter what you think in the start, it's rarely ever where you end up at the end. Tim's writing shifted with feedback from the team, entire levels were reworked after playing them, powers were added and removed, and happy accidents toss the metaphorical pirate ship in fresh direction.
Before any of that hits the page, we need to start with the most important message of all: thank you. Two words that hold a near-bottomless depth of sentiment. Thank you. Without your generosity and excitement, without your curiosity and feedback? It's hard to say where we'd be or if Psychonauts 2 would even be here. This is your game as much as ours!
Here's to many more games and many more years! Be the the roads walked with Raz or fresh heroes, there will always be fun and strangeness along the way!
