Razputin is trapped in a chair for the game, so as mentioned, clairvoyance is the name of the game here, and while we sadly don’t get anything on par with the original game where you could use clairvoyance on every living thing to get a unique view of Raz in a brilliant Easter egg, it does allow for an easy method of navigation where you just look at a creature to highlight it and them press a button to switch to a new viewpoint. Speaking of which, the game probably is best seen as a series of levels, where you need to solve a series of puzzles in order to advance to the next area and/or break a character out of their trance. And of course, being able to jump into the heads of a hallucinating supporting cast lets you experience some unique visuals that are on their minds, in what basically acts as a miniature version of the mental worlds from the first game, which even on a smaller scale are a treat. And aside from the numerous vehicles that have crashed in the murky depths providing a wicked landscape to view in VR, they also make for a great variety of places to explore, including training areas with Fischer Price-style computers to campy UFOs and pop music-themed cruise ships. The comparison to I Expect You To Die wasn’t just referring to the basic gameplay concept, since Rhombus of Ruin also plays off of the classic spy film angle in several areas, from retro ’60s aesthetics to full on Bond-esque themes and guitar riffs whenever you make a new discovery or solve a puzzle. Of course, it also helps that the world of Psychonauts is yet again a visual and surreal treat, allowing for some insane sights to play off of. But for those who are here for the story, it is a simple affair centered on a rescue mission, but thankfully it still has the same sharp writing and humor that the original had, with Raz’s observations still eliciting laughs (props yet again to Richard Horvitz, always a treat), and the varying personalities of the rest of the crew allowing for some particularly amusing interactions as well. Thankfully, Rhombus of Ruin is a standalone story for the most part, so you won’t be missing out on any truly crucial plot developments concerning Psychonauts 2…well, except for a rather massive surprise at the end with a bit of a revelation concerning one character, but whether or not that bit has any impact on the sequel has yet to be seen. Even worse, the massive amount of Psilirium in the area is causing the others to hallucinate and become trapped even further, meaning Raz (played from a first-person viewpoint) has to use his clairvoyance to escape and explore his surroundings, find his friends, and eventually rescue Truman. Their search eventually leads to the mysterious Rhombus of Ruin, which houses an abandoned Psychonauts facility, but after their plane ends up going down, our heroes find themselves trapped in the ruins and crashed vehicles within, held hostage by some mysterious folks conducting experiments. Set up as an interquel between Psychonauts and the upcoming Psychonauts 2, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin picks off right where the original game ended, with our main cast of Raz, Lili, Sasha, Milla, and Coach Oleander heading out on a mission to rescue the head of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto, after learning of his kidnapping. So the question is: Can Double Fine make such a formula work without avoiding any major pratfalls and can Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin deliver a satisfying VR experience on its own, all while retaining the same charm that made the original such a classic? The first Psychonauts game in over a decade, mind you. And now, here we are essentially combining a similar setup from one of my favorite games of last year with one of my favorite games of all time, Psychonauts. The virtual reality spy game perfectly blended together classic first-person adventure game puzzles with modern virtual reality tech and a quirky, fun atmosphere to create an absolute gem. If we had made our own lists, however, I Expect You To Die would have been an inclusion in mine. You may have noticed that unlike last year, we didn’t have any individual Editor’s Choice Top Ten lists in our Best of 2016 coverage this year, largely due to time constraints.
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