Thanks to new concept art, Psychonauts 2 fans have a better idea of what Double Fine Productions and Xbox Game Studio's upcoming platformer will look like. Specifically, the art gave glimpses at the game's long line of characters and some of the psychedelic locations players can explore. In an interview alongside the concept art, Double Fine president Tim Schafer also spoke on how Psychonauts 2's development is going.
Psychonauts 2 was announced at The Game Awards all the way back in 2015 as the sequel to 2005's Psychonauts, which followed a young spy with psychic abilities named Raz. The follow-up is slated to bring Raz back as an established agent who must uncover the secrets of Psychonauts Headquarters. Schafer revealed during The Game Awards that year that Psychonauts 2 would be primarily crowdfunded by Fig, an investment platform created by Double Fine's own Chief Operating Officer Justin Bailey. The original Psychonauts received critical acclaim and sold more than 1.2 million units, so people were excited to crowdfund the sequel. Psychonauts 2 later surpassed its crowdfunding goal of $3.3 million.
Although development has taken a few years now, Schafer assured IGN that things are going smoothly in a recent interview, and he brought along loads of concept art to prove it. Included in the images were a front and back look at Raz in full color, wearing his signature coat and aviator helmet, as well as characters Aaron, Morris, Lizzie, Sam, Norma, and Gisu. Plus, images of Ford showed him dressed as a bowler and a barber. There were also black-and-white and full color images of some locations, such as rooftops and trippy roadways.
According to Schafer, Double Fine has "mostly" everything in Psychonauts 2 by this point. "We're mostly moving on to polishing stuff that's in the game already," he said. He noted that COVID-19 and working from home definitely slowed down production, but things are where they should be and Schafer "feels good" about where the levels have ended up.
Fans already got a look at some of Psychonauts 2's levels in Double Fine's anniversary video back in August. A mini-documentary about Double Fine's story included a few development clips from the game, showcasing a plant-filled checkered corridor level. Plus, the video revealed Raz's new telekinesis and wall-walking abilities. Later in September, fans got an in-depth look at a level called "Brain in a Jar," which incorporates synesthesia and '60s psychedelic flavor.
There's no release date for Psychonauts 2 yet, but it is expected some time in 2021. It's been a long time coming, and fans can't wait to see Raz on his next adventure. Fingers crossed that development continues to go smoothly in the final stages.
Source: IGN