The original Psychonauts was an amazing game. It wasn't just a tribute to the classic 3D platformers of the N64 era, it was one of the wittiest, funniest games ever written. Sadly, there just wasn't much of a market for platformers back on the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 - Psychonauts sold extremely poorly despite its quality, and most gamers thought that Raz's first outing would also be his last.
Then, late last year, director Tim Schaffer announced a Psychonauts 2 crowdfunding campaign. At first, it seemed too good to be true - then, earlier this year, Psychonauts 2 hit its $3.3 million dollar fundraising goal. For the first time in over a decade, Psychonauts fans have something to look forward to.
Now it's time to reintroduce the gaming world to Raz and psychic summer camps - and to do that, Double Fine Productions is teaming up with Sony yet again. While details about the port are somewhat scarce, Sony did confirm that an updated version of the original Psychonauts would be hitting the PlayStation 4 sometime later this spring.
For those who missed the original game, Psychonauts tells the story of Raz, a circus performer who runs away to join the Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. After learning to control his powers, Raz slowly uncovers a sinister plot by delving into the minds of his instructors. If it sounds bizarre, that's because it is - and that's one of the reasons Psychonauts was so good.
Considering that Sony just launched its PlayStation 2 emulation service, it's safe to assume that the upcoming version of Psychonauts will be an enhanced port of the PS2 version. While they're not technically remakes, PS2 games on PS4 run at a higher resolution and framerate - you won't have to worry about the game looking like it's running on a 2005 television.
In the end, bringing back the original Psychonauts on PS4 isn't just a great way to celebrate the successful Psychonauts 2 campaign, but also a great way to introduce a new generation of gamers to the series. The original game was released way back in 2005, when demand for platformers was at an all-time low - now that indie games have helped revitalized the genre, Raz and his fellow Psychonauts should have an easier time finding a fanbase this time around.
Sony hasn't revealed the game's release date quite yet, but expect to see Psychonauts hit the PlayStation 4 sometime later this spring.
