Episode 87 - The Linda Interstitial - Psychonauts

Overly…intricate…podcast! Welcome back to NOCLIP! Today we’re going
to be talking about Double Fine’s platformer classic Psychonauts,
which really set the standard for games coming from the company for
years to come. Psychonauts is pretty unique as far as platformers
go, with an emphasis on strong character writing and level designs
that are based on those character’s personalities. Really, the
writing in the game is what stands out the most, and they take the
concept of a psychic summer camp and really run with it, squeezing
as much as they can from the campers and their relationships with
each other. The actual play experience, while containing some
hallmarks of early 2000s game design has also aged surprisingly
well and means while Psychonauts may not be all you remember it, it
is still a game worth going back to. We talk about comedy and
setting acting in service of one another, the ubiquity of the
Levitation power and its place in making the core gameplay feel
unique, and how the Meat Circus should have been abject horror but
somehow wasn’t. Thank you for joining us again this month. Next
time we’re going to be talking about Kojima Productions’ Death
Stranding, a controversial title to be sure. So make sure you check
us out then to hear the objectively correct take on the game.