| 100 |
GameShark
The best platform game ever to grace the Xbox. The combination of solid gameplay and a clever and intelligently written story make this a game that must be experienced to be fully appreciated.
|
| 98 |
Worth Playing
Without a doubt, it's the best platformer developed in the past few years, and quite possibly the best 3D platformer yet produced. It's got art, music, a storyline, incredible levels, a real sense of direction and a great sense of humor.
|
| 98 |
XboxAddict
Psychonauts is a unique, fully realized world complemented with beautiful, artistically-minded aesthetics, addictive gameplay, and a touching regard for the humanity of its characters.
|
| 97 |
Game Chronicles
This is easily the most fun I have had playing a video game in 2005 and I can’t recommend it highly enough. With any luck this will spin-off into a TV series – it’s just THAT GOOD!
|
| 97 |
BonusStage
Hands-down, one of the best games I’ve played, period, and I’ve been gaming for over 30 years. Whether Raz is going at it with a masked wrestler or stomping down the streets of a mental city at 50 stories tall, there’s nothing out there like this.
|
| 96 |
Xequted
If you’re a fan of sharp humor, great stories, stellar gameplay, or Invader Zim, you simply can’t go wrong with this gem.
|
| 95 |
Deeko
A platformer that stands head and shoulders above the rest. With a combination of quirky humor, fantastic graphics and wonderfully delivered voice acting, Psychonauts is an experience that you have to play in order to truly believe... It's simply brilliant.
|
| 95 |
Official Xbox Magazine
Call us crazy, but we're willing to bet the farm that the world of Psychonauts is the most inventive, creative, and downright vision that's ever graced a videogame. [May 2005, p.76]
|
| 95 |
netjak
Just a hair’s breadth from perfection. The only real flaw comes in the form of the difficult to locate figments littering the levels. Everything else was incredible. The gameplay was smooth and responsive, the audio presentation was beyond impressive, and the visuals display a rare artistic value not seen in many games these days.
|
| 95 |
XGP Gaming
One hell of a good platformer with an awe inspiring story to keep it going if gamers feel the platforming is getting redundant.
|
| 95 |
Talk Xbox
Simply put, Psychonauts is without a doubt, the best 3D platform game ever, yes I did say best 3D platform game ever, not one of the best, not second best, but best ever.
|
| 94 |
Team Xbox
With a solid gameplay foundation the Psychonauts story, character creation, and level design shines through brilliantly. The way in which the game designers made Psychonauts feel like a playable, adult cartoon is quite impressive and will floor anyone that enjoys the animation style that "Ren & Stimpy" helped to establish.
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| 94 |
eToychest
Psychonauts may not be particularly innovative in any of its undertakings, but it breathes new life into a stale genre by virtue of its humor and creativity alone.
|
| 94 |
Kombo
Psychonauts stays in your mind with its great gameplay, memorable visual style and storyline, as well as its persistently hilarous dialogue. It’s easily the best platformer on the Xbox.
|
| 94 |
Inside Gamer Online
No title is likely to exhibit this much magnetic appeal for some time to come, and as an outspoken resident of Lungfishopolis once remarked, if you don't buy Psychonauts, you "are against children—and against love.”
|
| 94 |
DailyGame
"Creative" and "well-executed" are the perfect terms to describe Psychonauts as a whole. Psychonauts is simply one of the most inspired, fun and ingenious games to appear on Xbox, if not any of the current console systems.
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| 92 |
Gamezilla!
The actual game is absolutely solid, but it’s the charm, humor, and inventive environments that’ll win you over time and time again.
|
| 92 |
GameZone
The storyline is unique, the graphics are great, and the dialog is many times down right hilarious.
|
| 92 |
Jolt Online Gaming UK
The fact that Psychonauts isn’t on the radar as one of this year’s big releases is a major shame, as it is, quite simply, superb.
|
| 92 |
Gaming Target
Most definitely the best platform game to come to the Xbox in its 4 year life.
|
| 91 |
Gaming Age
As entertaining as it gets. It's not revolutionary, it's exceptionally refined.
|
| 90 |
Loaded Inc
A fantastic platformer and a welcome addition to the Xbox hardware. There are some frustrating parts within the 15-hour game, but nothing too difficult that can’t be overcome with a few restarts.
|
| 90 |
NTSC-uk
Simply beguiling, a must-experience game, which will firmly cement itself in the mind of the player long after the system has been switched off.
|
| 90 |
Armchair Empire
Psychonauts marries platforming, adventure games, stellar art, fun dialogue and a great gaming experience – it’s a polygamous experience that I definitely recommend to all gamers.
|
| 90 |
GamerFeed
It'll tickle your brain (OK, not literally) and put a smile on your face.
|
| 90 |
Yahoo! Games
Weird, funny, immensely playable, and has that nigh-unclassifiable thing we can only call charm.
|
| 90 |
1UP
The humor will make you laugh, not smile: the writers tend not to go for the obvious joke, and the uniformly spot-on voice acting -- not just for Raz or his immediate supporting cast, but for virtually every character in the game, which number in the hundreds -- gives each out-of-left-field payoff the impact it deserves.
|
| 90 |
GameSpy
It's one of the best platformers the system has seen, mostly thanks to its amazing visuals and downright hilarious dialogue.
|
| 90 |
Cheat Code Central
It's almost perfect. Technically it's solid and virtually bug-free but still manages to ooze with personality and imagination. This is definitely going to be a contender for Game of the Year.
|
| 90 |
Play Magazine
To say that Psychonauts as finally brought the platforming epic out of the kiddy pool (if indeed you considered it wading there) would be a gross understatement. [Apr 2005, p.20]
|
| 90 |
Sydney Morning Herald
Frequent gags, sharp dialogue and attention to detail richly reward those willing to explore and experiment.
|
| 90 |
Boomtown
I asked you at the start of this review to buy a copy of this game - buy two - and not to let it become another "ICO." If it does, it’s YOUR fault, dear reader.
|
| 90 |
Xbox World Australia
Quirky, zany, downright hilarious... call it what you will, but Psychonauts is mind-blowingly good.
|
| 90 |
MS Xbox World
The puzzle element is intriguing the way it has been implemented into the game and the general all out wackiness of the characters and story surely sets it apart from its peers.
|
| 90 |
Games Radar
Loading screens can stall the action on Xbox and especially PlayStation 2, and there are some rough platform encounters late in the game, but Psychonauts is still easily one of the best titles of this, or any other, year.
|
| 90 |
EuroGamer
Innovation takes on many guises; this isn't this generation's "Super Mario 64" in terms of reinvention, but given its comprehensiveness and attention to detail, you might liken its impact on us to that of Yoshi's Island. Except, you know, this is funnier.
|
| 89 |
Console Gameworld
A rare game indeed - excellent writing and voice acting, an intriguing story, great characters and solid platform gameplay.
|
| 88 |
Game Informer
I was always motivated to continue my travels in the twisted world of Psychonauts, if only to see what bizarre sights I would witness next. Few titles have ever inspired in me this genuine sense of discovery. [May 2005, p.120]
|
| 88 |
GameSpot
Psychonauts doesn't reinvent the platformer, but it still delivers an experience that feels wholly original in every aspect of its execution.
|
| 87 |
IGN
The first half of this game is easily one of the most enjoyable I've had in the past year. But as is the case with many humorous games, the laughs begin to fade in the home stretch and in the end Psychonauts started to wear on me.
|
| 86 |
Next Level Gaming
It's a quirky and sometimes twisted game, but it's fun, and it's got a good story to it.
|
| 83 |
Game Revolution
This stylish adventure is just what we hoped it would be - a deranged, oddball jaunt through a fun, bizarre world - proving that a creative mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste.
|
| 83 |
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Anyone who doesn't fall for the unique characters, hilarious dialogue, and brilliantly conceived environments of Psychonauts has no soul. The James Brown of games, Psychonauts' personality overcomes its flaws. [May 2005, p.136]
|
| 83 |
Just Adventure
Creative mayhem, and is at times crazy fun to play.
|
| 81 |
TotalGames.net
We'd suggest you're somewhat dead inside if you didn't succumb to Psychonauts' attractive lure; the comedy ranges from sublime to outright hilarious, the visuals are delightfully detailed and the level design, while focused on collecting for the most part, is both devious and thought-provoking.
|
| 80 |
GamePro
A fantastic marriage of styles, somewhere between "Beetlejuice" and "Tron"... It's a satirical, sardonic does of mind fun. [May 2005, p.96]
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Insanity is what makes Psychonauts entertaining and unusual, so it is a shame you have to spend several hours in the mildly eccentric minds of instructors before getting to the cool part of the game.
|
| 80 |
G4 TV
The levels are fun, the gameplay is solid, and the puzzles and bosses require more than a bit of brain matter to figure out, resulting in a nice sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new milestone in Raz's adventure.
|
| 80 |
AceGamez
The uniquely quirky presentation, brilliantly conceived storyline, excellent cut scenes and tremendously varied gameplay all combine for a totally refreshing and fun game experience.
|
| 80 |
Edge Magazine
It isn’t any kind of reinvention, but a revitalisation, with a style so rich that it becomes an integral part of the game’s substance; Psychonauts breathes imagination and individuality as effortlessly as most games steal from one another. [July 2005, p.84]
|
| 80 |
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
One of the most brilliantly twisted and charming adventures of recent years, featuring gameplay that's on the verge of going stale.
|
| 80 |
Computer and Video Games
Dazzlingly clever and way left of field - if you want a platformer where collecting 99 gems for an extra life actually means drilling through someone's psyche to their darkest secrets, you're in for a treat. Bizarre, but beautiful. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
|
| 75 |
Detroit Free Press
With its mind-jumping mayhem, Psychonauts is definitely a breath of fresh air. It is crazy, though. Crazy good.
|
| 70 |
games(TM)
It’s not revolutionary by any means, nor is it particularly long, but thanks to some clever creative control the game delivers a funny, engrossing and downright weird experience unlike most other platform adventures. [July 2005, p.104]
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