Psychonauts - Reception

Reception

Psychonauts received critical acclaim, with its unique premise, endearing characters, sharp writing, and overall sense of humor being the most commonly praised aspects of the game. The PlayStation 2 version received slightly lower (though still high) scores than the Xbox and PC versions due to performance issues such as increased load times and frame rate problems. GameSpot wrote "The whole look of the game feels like the unholy love child of Tim Burton and a Pixar animation team, and it's just wonderful stuff... anyone looking for a fun and whimsical adventure with a brilliant presentation and a fantastic story will find just that in Psychonauts." IGN was positive: "The first half of this game is easily one of the most enjoyable I've had in the past year", but was critical though: "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."GameSpy: "It's one of the best platformers the system has seen, mostly thanks to its amazing visuals and downright hilarious dialogue." GameShark was positive also: "The best platform game ever to grace the Xbox." Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote "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." 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." The Sydney Morning Herald: "A wildly imaginative, frequently hilarious and hugely entertaining platforming romp through the subconscious."

In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.