Psychonauts 2 review: A GOTY contender with a mental health focus

The game does a consistent job of homing in on small moments and recalling earlier details from the franchise and expanding upon them, adding a sense of heft and solidity to this fictional world. Early on, for example, a henchman utters an obscure riddle in the 2021 sequel; by the game’s closing act, we learn what the riddle means, even if it’s a small detail that some may miss. There’s even a nod to the first game, when Coach Oleander, one of the original villains who has since been reformed, asks if “Psychonauts 2′s” Big Bad should be allowed to return to a normal life; the other Psychonauts give him a pointed look before he relents.