Double Fine Productions has released the newest update on its highly anticipated platforming sequel Psychonauts 2, and the milestone they’ve hit is a rather large one.
Psychonauts 2 has now reached a part of development that Double Fine refers to as “First Playable”, which means they have compiled work from the art, animation, tech, design, and cinematic teams into one area of the game. This area of the game, which takes place in a Quarry outside of Psychonauts HQ, now contains quests, combat, movement, dialogue, audio, lighting, textures, and a single cutscene as well. According to lead director Zak McClendon, this area of the game is about an hour to 90 minutes in length. He also specifies that it is still far from being complete despite combining all of these features together for the first time.
In addition to getting this first level up and running, we see that Peter McConnell, the composer of both Psychonauts and this sequel, has begun his work on the game’s score. The newest update video for the game features McConnell speaking with Double Fine President Tim Schafer as they discuss the vibe and feeling that Schafer wants McConnell to aim for within a certain section of the game. We’re able hear a bit of McConnell’s score for Psychonauts 2 in the background of the gameplay portion of the update video, but it is on a loop.
All of this information and more are expanded upon by Schafer and McClendon in newest update video for the game, which you can find at the bottom of the page. Psychonauts 2 still doesn’t have any other broad release window outside of 2018, but when it does release it will arrive on PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One.