Primarily I quit this game because it suffers from obtuse Schafer LogicTM, which is inconsistently applied and lends itself to considerable amounts of time trying to work out which item or which power can be used to kill a boss/navigate an area. Games with a good plot, funny dark humor, but terrible gameplay, camera and controls are not a unique game design experience for Schafer and company (see: Grim Fandango).
Combined with obfuscated level progression checkpoints, you can't be sure of your saved progression in a level. This makes for an incredibly frustrating experience. It is also frustrating that you don't get to choose when to leave a level and are kicked out. Sometimes you see a bunch of Figments or Tags you want to get, but there are some in another direction too. So you go in one direction to grab them and BOOM, you're in a non-skippable cutscene. As soon as you complete the cutscene task, you're thinking you will go grab your previously identified collectables. BAM you're kicked out of the level and the story advances. Tough titties, you should have known in exactly which order to collect everything, n00b. What a frustrating mechanic, punishing exploration in the 'right direction' in a platforming adventure game. This is something Banjo Kazooie (1998) had already solved. When you collect a Jiggy, you aren't kicked out of the world (ala Mario 64). Instead you can continue roaming and complete more tasks (which Super Mario Odyssey mastered).There is no excuse for Psychonauts (2005) not including this. It unnecessarily reduces player immersion and control.
Bosses
A good example of the frustrating elements within the game is its bosses. I like puzzle bosses. I really do. Knowing what their attack looks like, their range, how long they take to recharge, when to hit them. Having a wide range of abilities means you can choose your approach on how to kill them. Not in Psychonauts. Your regular 'attack' is used surprisingly little against bosses and generally only one of your abilities will work. This is the Schafer LogicTM coming into play which makes you groan each time you finally work out how to kill the boss. A good example of this is the:The Hideous Hulking Lungfish boss fight
This has three major problems which notably soured the game for me. After a timed platforming level (which for the first time you are not playing with the player controlled camera), you fight the fish in an underwater town.
Issue 1: The non-player controlled camera mechanic should have been addressed prior to this boss fight. Good game design ramps up challenges by first teaching a skill in a simple way, then applying it in a variety of higher stake environments. The security camera views in The Milkman Conspiricy (the game's best level) skill should have been introduced earlier. Why can Raz see from this perspective if he doesn't have the Clairvoyance power (which you get in The Milkman Conspiricy and does this exact thing?) This makes me think the Lungfish battle was clearly meant for after the Clairvoyance power was gained and was initially meant to be used in the fight but was changed late in the production of the game. The underwater level could have been dark and the only way to see through it would be to use Clairvoyance on fish that can see in the dark to navigate the level. I admit the idea of seeing yourself from a chasing boss' eyes was a cool idea. But the gameplay implementation was poor and also didn't make sense. Why wouldn't the Lungfish just follow me 100% of the time? Why would it keep changing directions if it wanted to eat me? Why do I keep changing from the Lungfish's perspective to mine? Why not have the entire battle from the Lungfish's perspective?
Issue 2: Inconsistent damage: the clams. So, you trap the Lungfish's lil light bulb with clams. Then you hit him with your attacks. There is no way to damage the Lungfish without trapping his bulb in a clam. Sure, fine, I worked that out after trying every attack and ability I had. Fun. The only reason I worked out you can trap his bulb with a clam is by accidentally doing it. You see, the game teaches you NOT to step on clams because they can trap you and leave you open to attacks. So I therefore kept avoiding clams during this boss fight.
There are two ways to shut a clam in Psychonauts and only one works in this boss fight. You can hit a clam which will instantly shut it, or you can walk over it and 2 seconds later it shuts. To me, it made sense to wait just before he attacks, then hit the clam and catch the Lungfish's bulb. A perfectly timed attack which would leave him exposed. A classic gameplay mechanic which rewards player reflexes, pattern recognition and response times. Only it doesn't work. You actually need to walk over the clam then stand in range, then he gets caught in it. Why have players be able to attack clams if it will never be a teaching moment/be useful in any way? Why put ambiguity in the game like this?
I understand that bosses sometimes are invulnerable in specific states until you expose a weak spot, but come on. If I can use my regular attack on a boss when his bulb is stuck in a clam, I can do that damage when his bulb isn't stuck in a clam. The boss fights in this game are an exercise in pure pedantry.
Issue 3: Walking outside of the water is a get out of jail free card. If you drown outside the bubble, you just die and respawn. You loose nothing. It permanently broke the immersion for me. If the Lungfish attacks you, you at least loose health or a life. If you drown, you respawn at the boss' feet and they patiently wait for you to get up. I actually started running into the water when I had nowhere else to go when trying new ways to actually damage the boss.
The El Odio boss fight
This is the boss which made me quit the game. God, what a terrible boss fight. So the idea is El Odio charges and rams his head into a wall. You attack him when he's stuck in the wall. Then you kill the matador. Sure. |
| https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/psychonauts/images/7/7a/Bull.png/revision/latest?cb=20140207121507 |
Issue 1: El Odio usually runs around the larger Black Velvetopia level. You are familiar with him before this fight begins. He charges you for 0 damage, which 95% of the time cannot jump over (even with Levitate). The only way to stop him for a brief period of time is to use a Confusion Grenade. These are lessons the game teaches you. Unfortunately this is not the way to fight him. Turns out, you can jump over him (with Levitate) and confusion grenades don't really work. You have to use telekinesis...
Issue 2: The throwing range of Telekinesis range is limited. I thought I was doing something wrong when the bull got his head stuck in the wall. I threw the spear. It landed 10m short. I was like: oh, this isn't the way to kill him. I was wrong. To kill the bull, you need to telekinesis a spear. Aim and throw the spear. Run forwards. Telekinesis the spear again. Aim and throw the spear again. All in a very short amount of time. What? Why? What's worse is that once-thrown spears will actually fade and disappear in a short amount of time, so you can't pre-throw a bunch closer to the edge.
Why not just increase the range of telekinesis so you can just throw the spear and hit the bull? Or make the level smaller so it's in range. Or make the spears start closer to the edge of the arena. Also, why only spears damage him? When his head is stuck in the wall, that would be the perfect time for regular attacks to damage him. The matador can attack the bull when it is charging with nothing but a sword. Why can't I kill a bull by shooting its ass with freaking mind lasers?
Issue 3: The matador Dingo. You kill Dingo by throwing a confusion grenade (yes we're back to this mechanic) then spearing him. What I don't understand is that after lobbing a confusion grenade, why can't the bull El Odio can't hit him. What the fuck is that? Seriously? A thrown javelin will do more damage to him than a giant stampeding bull? Also this would have been far more therapeutic for Edgar Teglee (whose mind we are in). Instead of me defeating Edgar's tormentor alone, he helps tackle his own demons and delivers the final blow. I thought we were tag-teaming, but instead I am meant to spear the matador before he kills the bull. Schafer LogicTM.
Schafer LogicTM
The Milkman Conspiricy is one of the greatest levels I have ever played in a game. I really understood the level of paranoia Boyd felt. The feel and tone of the level was amazing. Even being seen in video cameras when you break into houses. It was a trippy level which Mario Galaxy seems to have even borrowed from.I had this one moment where a bunch of little Rainbow Scouts were following me and I got a bit freaked out because I didn't know what they were doing or what they wanted from me. I felt like I was being watched at every point, from every bush and bin and they weren't even trying to hide it. Everything felt hostile, but nothing was. I loved it. Being pulled into an interrogation with G-men who asked you about stuff you actually did ("Why did you hit the little girl?", "Why did you burn the bushes?") was incredible. It is a genius level and stands above the rest of the game.
Unfortunately Schafer LogicTM invariably found its way into this level. I think it also really sums up the issue with this game and games like it.
When you try to get to the book repository with your gun, you get shot and killed by a sniper.
This is the first time a single attack kills you in one hit. 'Okay, lesson learned. Don't step out in the open. Use the trees for cover, no issues.'
But it is an issue. Because the sniper shoots you THROUGH trees! Trees you can't walk through.
'Oh fuck' you think. 'Maybe I can just go invisible and I won't get-' BOOM headshot.
'Okay, I'm running out of lives here. What to do? I can't unequip the gun because the G-men won't let me in the zone. Maybe if I use Levitate and move really fas-' BOOM headshot.
I had to look this one up. You're meant to shield just before you get shot, then keep moving.
Seriously? Any of those ideas should have worked. But they didn't. Because this is a PuZzLe GaMe in which there is only one obtuse answer. Where bosses only take damage when their bulbs are caught in clams. Where obstacles for the player are not obstacles for an NPC. It's not a challenging puzzle, it's just bad puzzle design. If you give a player an ability to throw heavy things but also a ground pound, don't punish them when they use a ground pound to press a floor button. It should work. Both should work. They solved the puzzle.
Invisibility
Fucking useless. Why give us such an ability if it can never be used? It is useful like 3 times throughout the game, and never where you think it will be. Most abilities are like this. Fire is barely useful. Throw is only used to hurl projectiles at situational enemies, not solve puzzles etc. Instead, developers should have fleshed out a smaller amount of abilities with deeper gameplay mechanics. Again, this is something Banjo Kazooie seven years prior had already worked out.
The camera and controls (on PC) are awful
There appear to be glitches on my Good Old Games version, during target lock dodging. When you target lock an enemy and jump dodge in a certain direction (say backwards or sidewards), after 1 - 2 jumps, Raz will start flipping forwards. This has straight out killed me/put me in hot water multiple times.The camera is just as bad. There's not much more to say about this. The camera sucks. It makes platforming and determining enemy ranges more difficult than it needs to be.
What I liked and summary
I liked this game as a low stakes adventure platformer (see: the Camp area). I loved the camp area, with it's little platforming puzzles and environments. 
Unfortunately, combat is janky, awkward and a bit of a struggle, even for basic enemies. I just feel like there are no straight up good attacks. All attacks feel sluggish and weak, with the exception of Lungfishopolis. Which was incredible.
Constantly-respawning Censors just add unneeded stress in a game which sometimes requires constant backtracking (see Black Velvetopia).
I loved the levels, they were dark, different, creepy. It is a cool idea for a game and I liked all the characters.
I just hated playing it.
