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Psychonauts 2 brings psychic goofiness later this summer

The E3 2021 Xbox and Bethesda conference gave us more information about the highly anticipated sequel to Psychonauts, which is aptly named Psychonauts 2. The conference showed off a trailer filled with mind-bending worlds and familiar faces from the original game. The trailer ends by revealing a release date of August 22. Psychonauts 2 will be available on the Xbox console series, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Psychonauts 2 Action Trailer // Summer 2021

The trailer showed off Raz, the protagonist of the first game, traveling to the Motherload, the Psychonauts headquarters, and finding out that the organization is at risk from a threat within. We also see more of the new sense-based worlds that focus on new characters and enemies to face. Tim Schaffer, the creator of the series, promises that Psychonauts 2 will go deeper into Raz’s backstory in regards to his family and the curse that afflicts them.

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The trailer reveals that the Censor enemies are returning and it also shows off the levitation power that allows Raz to roll around on a thought bubble, granting him speed and higher jump capacity. New characters such as the amoeba-like beings were shown briefly in the trailer, as were familiar faces like Milla and Dr. Loboto. New places were also teased, including a pinball level that you must traverse using the aforementioned levitation power.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pyschonauts 2 was originally announced back in 2015, but it was delayed multiple times. It was originally crowdsourced to try to get enough funding to start the development. With Double Fine, the developers of the game, now being part of the Xbox Game Studio, we finally have a confirmed release date for Psychonauts 2.

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Andrew Zucosky
Andrew has been playing video games since he was a small boy, and he finally got good at them like a week ago. He has been in…
The best badges in Psychonauts 2
Raz near a brain in Psychonauts 2.

You would be forgiven for forgetting, but Raz is still just a kid who ran away from home to join the Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp in hopes of becoming a true Psychonaut. At the start of Psychonauts 2, Raz has moved on from just being a camper into a full-on Psychonaut ... well, at least as an intern anyway. Still, in the canon of the game, only days have passed since his first adventure wrapped up, and the themes of the original camp are still present.

Raz's psychic powers are represented, just like in the original, as old-school camp merit badges. Many badges from the first game make a return in Psychonauts 2, functioning mostly the same as they did previously, along with several new and exciting powers to play with and upgrade. Psychic abilities have many uses, but not all are created equal. Some may even start out feeling bland but could end up becoming some of the best. Here is everything you need to know about the best badges in Psychonauts 2.

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Psychonauts 2: Nuggets of wisdom locations
Raz standing in the Motherlobe in Psychonauts 2.

Psychonauts 2 is one of the few collect-a-thon-style games to come out in recent memory. There are hundreds of figments to pick up, challenge cards, keys, vaults, and tons more to collect across the various mental worlds you dive into. All of them are unique to the world and themes of Psychonauts 2 and fairly clever as well. Along with the Half-A-Minds, which you can pick up to raise Raz's max HP, the Nugget of Wisdom item is another collectible that can give you a permanent boost to your abilities.

Nuggets of Wisdom are basically an instant rank increase. Each one you get will boost you one rank, earning you Intern Credits that you need for upgrading all the psychic powers you will be using throughout the adventure. Ranking up can be time-consuming normally, but there are 29 Nuggets of Wisdom across all the levels in Psychonauts 2 to help give your brain a mental boost. Here's where you can find them all, level by level.

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Raz hits an enemy with a giant hand in Psychonauts 2.

Combat in Psychonauts 2 plays out much faster than it did in its predecessor. Within minutes, you'll have access to multiple skills, dozens of enemies bombard the screen, and you'll need to stay on your toes in order to make it out unscathed.

Despite some radical changes, combat in Psychonauts 2 never becomes overtly difficult -- however, newcomers might need a bit of assistance to wrap their brains around its intricacies. If you're getting booted out of brains more often than you'd like, here are a few pointers to help master the combat in Psychonauts 2.

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