History Videogame / Psychonauts

* KickTheSonOfABitch: In Fred Bonaparte's mental landscape, while the first two recruited peasants lament their fates and wax philosophical about the cruelties of war, the third is a jerk that fully admits he plans to rob the Carpenter at gunpoint when you complete his FetchQuest, and only fights against Napoleon's soldier because he's in the way and he wants to practice.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Oleander's the one who led Raz to the camp in the first place, through his pamphlets. If he hadn't done so, his plan would have gone off without a hitch.]] That said, it ended up better for him in the end...
** Double hoist: [[spoiler:He only let Raz stay to begin with because he was so impressed by Raz' natural psychic prowess that he just ''had'' to use it in the plan that it eventually ended up foiling]].

* NoodleIncident: You're given a rough idea, but you never get told precisely what Clem and Crystal were trying to accomplish. [[spoiler:The poison? Trying to kill themselves. The rooftop? Trying to kill themselves. Crystal's backstory on Campster says that she's suicidal; Clem's says that they're no longer allowed to handle sharp implements. It's strongly hinted that they're trying to gain ultimate psychic power by destroying their bodies and setting their spirits free.]]

** Boyd's paranoia came about after having been fired repeatedly.
*** Rather, he went insane due to his string of bad luck with jobs. His paranoia was the result of having a split personality embedded in his mind; his active mind knew something was wrong and he became obsessed with figuring out what it was.

* {{Spexico}}: Black Velvetopia, oh so very much. Lets see: We have TorosYFlamenco, Spanish architectural style, Mexican sombreros, and [[MaskedLuchador Masked Luchadores]]. [[spoiler: Justified, since Edgar has actually probably never been to anywhere Spanish-speaking, and it's all one big symbolic fantasy of his creation.]]

* SpoofAesop: "Shooting things is fun and useful!"
** "Now Razputin, remember only to use your power of Pyrokinesis only when it's very, ''very'' important... or really, ''really'' entertaining."
*** "And if you're doin' it to impress girls, make sure none of them have on a lot of hairspray. Whoo!"

* AnAesop: Several.
** When Raz first encounters a censor that Sasha believes was what he saw in his vision, he tells Sasha that it appeared much bigger in his mind, to which Sasha replies that problems can oftentimes seem much bigger inside our heads, something that Sasha felt was an important lesson for him to learn. [[spoiler: Raz learns this at the end of the game, when he discovers his dad wasn't as harsh or cruel as he made him out to be in his mind.]]
*** Building off of the above, [[spoiler: there's also a lesson to be had about making your intentions clear when it comes to working out your problems with your family, since even well intended decisions can be easily misinterpreted if you are not careful or considering of your actions.]]
** A recurring one across the minds of the Asylum residents is the importance of empathy and compassion when it comes to the mentally disenfranchised. Raz helps out each of the patients by working through their issues with patience and empathy. As a result, each patient ends their stay in the asylum on the road to a full recovery.
*** Branching off of the above, mental problems can be solved much easier if you let someone help you. It may be difficult opening yourself up to another person, and you won't be instantly cured just by talking to someone, but it's an important first step in learning to live in spite of your issues. [[spoiler: You also need to learn when you might be wrong about something, as demonstrated by the finale- Raz learns that his father really does love him, and Oleander learns that other people have gone through [[AbusiveParents similar situations as him.]]]]

* SlideLevel: Milla's level teaches you to control Raz's psycho-kinetic ball that he rides on. To this end, the entire level is rounded and sloped. While Raz can slowly make his way around on foot in places, the ball automatically rolls down with the idea of using ramps to collect the various figments in the level.

* PsiBlast: One of the plot-relevant psychic abilities Raz learns is Psi-blast, taught to him by Sasha in his mind The Shooting Gallery. Psi-blasts are described as raw negative emotions (mainly the will to attack) and expel them in the form of a red laser that works as a long-distance attack. After getting permission to learn psi blast from Ford Cruller with a learner's permit, Raz can use the power outside of his mind with the Marksmanship merit badge.

* HeroesWantRedHeads: Lili.

** Since the 2011 UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} patch, you no longer lose lives if [[spoiler:Olly gets caught during the EscortMission or if you drown during the rising water part of the Meat Circus]]. It's still possibly the hardest part in the game. This also appears to be the case in the UsefulNotes/XboxOne port.

** Not only do all the psychic powers in the game get different (and often hilarious) reactions from every NPC, almost every ''item'' gets similar reactions. For instance, at one point you need to rescue Sheegor's turtle, Mr. Pokeylope. If you were playing the game normally, you'd probably have him in your inventory for less than 30 seconds. Yet most of the cast has something to say about him. There's even an achievement on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for showing Mr. Pokeylope to all of the campers (save for Benny and Maloof).

** Raz earns all badges, learns all skills, saves the campers and by extension probably the world. At age ten. After ''less than a day'' at camp. The only one even close to his abilities is Lili and she's been at camp for at least a few days longer than him.