Virtual Reality Point-and-Click Adventure Review: Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a Virtual Reality game with a story that takes place directly in the middle of Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2.

The game takes place directly after the end of Psychonauts on the mission to rescue Lili's father, the leader of the Psychonauts. The plane they are on goes down while flying over the Rhombus of Ruin due to an abundance of psylirium, a radioactive material that is mentally disorienting to most psychics.

Because Razputin Aquato is a powerful psychic, he is able to mostly overcome the effects of psyliryum, making him the only person who can uncover the plot behind the leader's disappearance as well as to save his fellow Psychonauts and his girlfriend Lili.

It is one of the best uses of virtual reality that I have played so far since it sticks to the strengths of the concept while avoiding the pitfalls of the current technology. To reduce the possibility of motion sickness, the game can be played while sitting. It plays like a point-and-click adventure game where the motion of your head acts like a cursor, while there are text prompts for objects with which you can interact. 

The story is also told in a fantastic way that makes complete sense why Raz would be seated as he serves as your eyes and ears. You can use many of his psychic powers to manipulate the environment as well, with many powers from the original Psychonauts making their return. There are many characters that make their return as well, including one that fleshed out a larger backstory than they were given in the original game.

The music and art style was a big part of what made the original Psychonauts so appealing, and Double Fine did a fantastic job capturing the spirit of the original in both respects. The opening has my favorite song in the franchise so far, as it is a James Bond-style spoof complete with over-the-top female vocals. You can also move your head around to view the credits in virtual reality which was a nice touch. The rest of the game retains that spirit as well.  There aren't as many areas to play around, so there isn't as much of a vast difference in art styles between the real world and the mental worlds, but they all adhere to the aesthetic set by the original game.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a fun virtual reality point-and-click adventure take on the world of the Psychonauts. The voice acting, art style, and music are all great and adhere to the style of the previous game. The story is also fantastic and ties the virtual reality aspect into the story well. It's a shame Double Fine hasn't released a version of the game without the headset requirement, but if you have a PlayStation 4 and a PlayStation VR or a Windows computer with a VIVE or Oculus headset it is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Microsoft Acquired Double Fine

Tim Schafer posted a video explaining that Microsoft has acquired Double Fine Productions.

Games already announced won't be affected, such as Psychonauts 2, which will still launch on Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as planned, and crowdfunding backers will still get everything for which they pledged.

 However, the company will focus on Microsoft platforms going forward.

My PAX East 2016 Experience - Day 2

I ended up sleeping in the second day, probably due to all the walking around Boston I did while I was looking for the parking garage, and ended up waking up at 10:30.  I headed to McDonald's to get myself a cheap breakfast before I headed into Boston, and ended up arriving at the convention center at noon.  This time, I ended up getting lucky in terms of parking.  While the convention center sign usually stated that the parking lot was full, this time I was pleased to see that parking was available.  I headed to the parking lot and paid the attendant fifteen dollars.  However, I still had to circle around a few times before someone pulled out of their parking space.  The bonus of being able to park right next to the building was, with my exhibitor's badge, I could enter the exhibitor's entrance and walk through the staff corridor.  This brought me right to the show floor.

I headed to the Double Fine booth, and went right to work, operating the credit card system for the store.  It seems that Saturday was a good day for sales, as the Psychonauts mini action figures were completely sold out.  While working the booth, two people came up who were cosplaying Double Fine characters - one as Raz and one as Manny Calavera.  Sadly, since I was working, I left the camera in the staff tent area, but it was still enjoyable to see.  The pinny arcade pins again continued to sell quite well, as we continued to restock them in the display area in front of the booth.  I personally enjoyed selling the Raz and Hexipal plushies, as the people who bought them were always so pleased once they were given them.  They are cute, and they are really well made.  I have one of each, which are currently sitting happily in my living room.

This time around, since I arrived late, I continued working at the booth right up until the close of the exhibition hall.  Spaff reminded me that they were holding a meet-up with Media Molecule and friends at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel immediately after the exhibition hall closed.  It was right down the street, so I thought I'd be saved the amount of walking from the day before.  I should have known to not sell my knack for getting lost and confused short though, as I ended up walking for another three hours until I made my way to the hotel.

When I did make it though, I had a great time.  It was great to meet up with the group, talk about games (mostly about Miitomo on my part, as I was a bit addicted to it when it first launched), and enjoy the great seafood New England has to offer.  I'm not much of a drinker, so I ordered a lemonade, tried an oyster, and ordered a fantastic lobster roll.  Since I got there so late, most of the group left shortly after I arrived.  Once I had finished my meal, I decided to head back to the convention center.

As I was at the convention center anyway, I decided that I'd check out what PAX East had to offer after the exhibition hall had closed.  The day before I was talking to Ron Gilbert about the difference between E3 and Pax.  He said that he liked PAX better because it felt more fan-oriented, and wasn't as loud.  I thought that, even though it was as big as E3, it had the some of the vibe of smaller gaming shows like Magfest or the Midwest Gaming Classic.  This feeling was increased tenfold once I got a taste of the show after exhibition hours.  It had rooms dedicated to multiplayer gaming, both on consoles and on PCs.  There were also people playing card based role-playing games, arcade games, and rooms full of games running on classic video game consoles, from the 8-bit era to the original X-Box and PlayStation 2.  I had always enjoyed classic game shows, so I enjoyed checking everything out.  This portion of PAX East closed at midnight, so at 11:45, I headed out to the parking lot (after getting directions from one of the PAX staff).  At this point the parking lot was fairly empty, so my car was only one in about a dozen, making it easy to find.  I then headed out of Boston, which was an easy task at this hour, as traffic was minimal, so I could get some sleep for the last day of the show.

Double Fine Will Be at PAX East this weekend

Double Fine will be coming to PAX East this weekend. They'll be at booth #6123 showing off Day of the Tentacle Remastered and Headlander. They'll also have three Double Fine Presents titles, Gnog, Gang Beasts, and Everything. A new title will be shown at the show as well.

They'll also be selling merchandise at the show, including the Raz and Two Headed Baby Pinny Arcade pins, and a new special edition game bundle box. The bundle contains 10 games, with 10 game cards drawn Jon Magram and Melissa King. The game cards can be seen below (click to see them in a larger size).

I'll also be volunteering at the Double Fine booth at PAX East this weekend, so if you're at the show, come by and say hello. :)

Psychonauts Retrospective By Two Player Productions

2 Player Productions has created an excellent retrospective on Psychonauts titled The Color of Your World. This 50 minute retrospective has been posted in three parts on YouTube. You can view the first part embedded above, or directly here, and the other other parts can be selected from the annotations at the end of the video. Or, alternatively you can, you can view part two directly here, and part three directly here.

The Psychonauts Fig campaign is doing well so far. It's currently nearly 75% funded with 31 days left to go. So, there's plenty of time to back it if you haven't. If you feel like playing a social media game, Double Fine has set one up for the campaign, which is a neat new twist on their social media campaign from the original Psychonauts which used Friendster and Myspace (remember those relics of the internet from 10 years ago?), this time using modern social media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Vine, and YouTube and combining them with achievements.

Although, unlike usual video game achievements, you actually get tangible rewards for playing this game. Once enough people hit a goal, everyone who follows the campaign will get fun stuff like this retrospective, which was the first goal hit. The next goal is previously unseen concept art from the original Psychonauts. The social media game is a completely optional part of the campaign, but if you want to join in on the fun, join the PSI Cadets.

Psychonauts In The Rhombus of Ruin Coming To PS4 VR

One more Double Fine game was revealed at the PlayStation Experience.

If you wondered what happened after the end of Psychonauts, you'll now get your answer in the form of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the PlayStation VR game, coming to PlayStation 4 next year. You'll finally be able to take part in the rescue mission mentioned at the end of the first game, bridging the story gap between the original Psychonauts and the forthcoming sequel, which you can still back over at Fig, if you haven't already.

You can view the trailer embedded above, or directly here.

Psychonauts 2 Is Seeking Crowdfunding on Fig

The biggest news of the Video Game Awards tonight was the announcement of Psychonauts 2! They are now seeking 3.3 million dollars, with a significant portion of the game's financing being done through Double Fine themselves, through the crowdfunding site founded by ex-Double Finer Justin Bailey. Head over to Fig now and make your pledge to make this happen!

Check out the trailer for the game embedded above, or directly here.

Amnesia Fortnight 2014 JAM + Humble Weekly Sale

The Amnesia Fortnight 2014 Jam is on now! Pay $1 or more and get to choose which three prototypes will be made between these prototype pitches:

David Ferrell's Cat in a Box, Brandon Dillon's Timagotchi, Levi Ryken's The White Witch's Gnome War, Jeremy Mitchell's Astro Helmet, Matthew Franklin's Scavengers, Duncan Boehle's Project 行, Patrick Hackett's Bad Golf 2, Drew Skillman's Reentry, Derek Brand's Mnemonic, Lydia Choy's Dum Sim, Chad Dawson's Parabolic, Ben Burbank's Jet Girl & Ghost Dog, Paul Owens' Gone Astray, Elliott Roberts' GREAT SPIRITS, Asif Siddiky's ExtraTerrarium, Justin Bailey's Eras of Adventure, Brain Min's The Last Missile Commander, Oliver Franzke's Derelict, Geoffrey Soulis' Breach, Lee Petty's Headlander, Andrew Wood's ether, JP LeBreton's Buried Metropolis, David Gardner's What Could Go Wrong, Kee Chi's Humans: A Study Guide, Ben Peck's Oscillate, Jeremy Natividad's Mega Rad Karate Troopers, Paul Levering's Fathomless, Anna Kipnis' Dear Leader, and John Bernhelm's Steed.

10 finalists will be announced on February 10th. If you pay more than the current average (just over $7 at the time of writing), you also get to choose a prototype to be led by Adventure Time's creator Pendleton Ward (Cupid, You Fat Little Scamp, Damnit Jerry, No More McDonalds, or Little Pink Best Buds).

In addition, the whole thing will once again be documented by 2 Player Productions. Everyone who pays for the Amnesia Fortnight 2014 gets the Amnesia 2012 prototypes. Plus, if you pay $35 or more, you'll get a Blu-Ray Collector's edition of Amnesia Fortnight 2014.

That's not the only Double Fine Humble Bundle that's going on though. The Humble Weekly Sale is all about Double Fine, with Psychonauts, Costume Quest, Stacking, and Brutal Legend up for PC, Mac, and Linux (for Steam or DRM-free) for whatever you wish to pay, including their soundtracks. If you pay more than $16.74, you'll also get Spacebase DF-9 (for PC, Mac, or Linux through Steam Early Access).