Psychonauts 2’s criticized graphics are a GOOD thing

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Hyper-realistic visuals aren’t always the best option for a game. In the case of Psychonauts, the series’ less realistic art style complements its themes.

Graphics in video games have steadily improved over the years, but sometimes better graphics are not the best choice for a game. There are some games where realism is at the expense of game quality. One example is Psychonauts 2005 and its upcoming Psychonauts 2 sequel. While the new game has received some criticism for its graphics, the developer’s choice in terms of art style and visuals seems to be the best.

The Original Psychonaut is a platform game developed by Double Fine Studios that follows a young boy named Raz as he joins a summer psychic camp. There, he discovers a hidden threat in the camp and must save his new friends by entering their minds to help them overcome trauma. The game boasted of an art style that eschewed the realistic and instead embraced the cartoon, and the development team embraced the weird and weird ideas they came up with.

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There are many reasons why a game may choose to go this stylistic route. In the case of Psychonauts, it has to do with lore and the game world. Raz has to get into the minds of his friends to help them. The appearance of the game allows each of the different minds to be represented in different ways and is not constrained by the need to adhere to realism. However, the fact that the actual characters look normal to the world would be too shocking for most players and actually make it harder to get lost in the game.

A good example of this can be seen in EA’s upcoming game, Lost In Random. This follows a young girl as she tries to escape a huge board game-inspired dungeon with her dice mate. The game has a style reminiscent of the animated films of Tim Burton. If the game used realistic graphics rather than a more stylized approach, it would be more disturbing for players.

Psychonauts 2 focuses on the themes of mental health, empathy, and respect – the topics are difficult to convey properly at the best of times, especially with a group of kids and audiences of all ages. Such matters should be approached with caution and care so that they are portrayed with precision and respect. Psychonaut’s art style allows developers to do this due to its unrealistic appearance. Using a more cartoonish style allows Double Fine to portray aspects of sanity in a recognizable way without focusing on the literal. He can use more subtlety in level and character design to describe what is needed.

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For example, a level that uses bubbles to contain Raz’s movement might show the difficulty people sometimes encounter when having difficulty moving forward. The art style also allows the developers to mix more humor into in-game situations in a way that feels natural instead of hypocritical. Double Fine even took the time to bring in mental health experts to review the game to ensure the end product doesn’t cause undue mental strain or perpetuate harmful stigmas around mental health.

Psychonauts 2 is a game that seems to deal with complex topics that affect many people in the real world. Double Fine’s choice to stick with a more stylistic artistic design is ultimately a good choice. While some gamers care more about graphics than anything else, it’s not the only way a game can achieve greatness, and the cult success of the original proves there is a place for them. titles that choose a different path.

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About the author Josh Render (47 published articles)

Josh is a British-born writer based in London who spends most of his days playing video games, watching movies and talking about them in a low voice. He particularly likes the Mass Effect and Alien series, basically everything about space. Follow him on Twitter @ JoshRender5

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