History Videogame / Psychonauts

* ArtificialBrilliance: If you try to use your shield to block Kochamera's Mighty Ram before he actually starts charging at you, he'll actually wait as long as it takes for your shield to drop, either because you willingly dropped it, or if the power runs out.

* SurpriseSlideStaircase: Managed by a trained bird. The bird pushes the button at the top step, but you still can't use momentum to jump onto the main platform.

* OedipusComplex: Raz, Sasha and [[spoiler:Oleander]] all have some serious father issues. In fact, [[spoiler:the final boss is a monstrous amalgam of Raz and Oleander's nightmarish versions of their fathers.]]

* CameraScrew: Perhaps inevitable in a third-person platformer, but most notable during the Meat Circus, where the camera switches angles mid jump several times.

* SurpriseCreepy: The game gets progressively darker as time goes on, particularly once night falls and Raz heads for the asylum. Milla's level has a self-contained example: it's probably the brightest, happiest mental space in the game, [[spoiler:until you find the hidden area with the memories of the destroyed orphanage.]]

* PickupHierarchy: All of which serve to help Raz rank up in varying increments. Let's see, you have the...

** PSI Cards, from challenger markers which fell apart, now scattered all around the camp. Collect 9 and buy a core from the camp commissary and they can be assembled into a marker in Ford's lab.

--> '''Edgar''': Ah, you see, the poor dumb beasts have no thumbs, so I ask you... how are they holding their cards? ...It should be impossible, and yet somehow they go on... playing the game. In the end, Razputin, aren't we all just dogs playing poker?

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The game depicts Napoleon as having an descendant living in America who presumably isn't from France (given his lack of an accent). In the real world, Napoleon's brother [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte]] married an American woman. They had a son, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Napol%C3%A9on_Bonaparte Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte]], who lived in America for most of his life and had kids of his own, resulting in an American branch of the Bonaparte family.

* BlackBugRoom: Many of them. The most noteworthy example would probably be the one hidden in [[spoiler:Milla's mind]], as she's [[HiddenDepths probably the only character you]] ''[[HiddenDepths wouldn't]]'' [[HiddenDepths expect to have one]], and it's among the worst]]. WordOfGod is that this is how a ''healthy'' mind is meant to work, compartmentalizing and managing tragic experiences rather than letting them taint everything.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Vodello gets you to make the hoops spin by [[PassThroughTheRings passing through them]] in order to "lighten up the party".

%% * {{Gainaxing}}: Lampita Pasionado.

* SchizophrenicDifficulty: One of the most common complaints about the game. ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' noted that roughly the entire first half consists of tutorials for the various game mechanics, followed by a massive DifficultySpike into NintendoHard territory for the last few levels.

* NostalgiaFilter: In Edgar's mindscape, Raz learns from an artistic collie about a scandal: Edgar was once a famous painter, married to the beautiful flamenco dancer Lampita. But one day, El Dingo the matador commissioned the artist to paint his portrait, only for Edgar's cunning client to seduce his wife and run off with her before the painting was complete. Later, Raz talks to an artistic dalmatian who sets the record straight of what ''really'' happened: it was simply a highschool incident where Edgar's girlfriend Lana left him for a male cheerleader named Dean, leaving Edgar unable to finish his wrestling match (or anything else in general). In short, Edgar romanticized Dean and Lana to be more grand than they really were.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Inverted in Edgar's Mindscape. [[spoiler: Raz points out that Lana and Dean are ''more worthless'' than Edgar believes they are. It also doubles as this trope for Edgar, as Raz is letting him know he's bigger than a couple of dumb kids from highschool.]]

** Lungfishopolis as a whole is parody of {{Kaiju}} films, the Franchise/{{Godzilla}} franchise in particular, with Raz as the monster. "Kochamara"'s jumpsuited design and role as the city's protector are a riff on ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' (with a little bit of {{Sentai}}[=/=]Franchise/PowerRangers thrown in), but is named after Film/{{Gamera}} the giant {{turtle|Power}}, from one of Godzilla's more prominent [[DuelingWorks rival franchises]]. [[spoiler:Unlike Gamera, Kochamara turns out not to be much of a FriendToAllChildren.]]

*** Building off of the above, 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.

** 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 as he made him out to be in his mind.]]

** 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.]]]]

** 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 it’s 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 as he made him out to be in his mind.]]
** A recurring one across the minds of the Asylum residents is the importance of empathy 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.

** Raz thinks there's a pretty solid chance his dad's endless training was an attempt to distract him from his budding psychic powers, if not actually kill him; and further, that his dad hated him for those exact same psychic powers, even though he had psychic powers himself. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted; Raz's father actually loves his son deeply, and the training was to teach him control so that his powers would be more effective, and to give him something to rely on aside from said powers. And he doesn't hate psychics in general; just the ones who cursed his family. A lot of the level progression is done through trapeze and tightropes so it seems that his dad's training actually helped him save the day several times over.]]

* EpiphanyTherapy: Edgar, Fred, Gloria and [[spoiler:Coach Oleander]] all have their own struggles and personal demonds that they've been dealing with for (presumably) a long time. When Raz comes in and defeats the personifications of their issues, they're all finally able to move on with their lives (and in [[spoiler:Oleander's case, reform from evil]]).

** [[spoiler: Elton talks to the fish about a ghost town and a giant lake monster with glowing eyes and a prehensile lure.]]

*** Likewise, listening on the platform with the loudspeakers allows you to hear Oleander sleep-talking, begging his papa not to do something, and then crying out for a "Mr. Bunny". [[spoiler:Given the final level's revelations, Oleander was likely having a nightmare, begging his father not to kill his childhood pet rabbit.]]

* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Hagatha Home For Girls, a boarding school in Gloria's backstory. According to "Gloria's Cruel Training", the matriarch of the school whipped the children during recitals, film watching and [[UpToEleven the plays they performed]].

* EasterEgg: The original protagonist, D'Artagnan, who was replaced with Raz [[strike:for being ''really hard'' to render]] because his [[NiceHat hat]] was ''too awesome'' for the engine to render, shows up briefly in the ending. Briefly, as in a one-second appearance. [[spoiler: For those who can't find him - at the beginning of the final cutscene, peeking from the outhouse, as Raz is running after Lili.]]

** If you use cheats to unlock late-game powers early in the game and use them on characters who wouldn't normally be around when you get said powers, you'll often hear dialog that you would never hear otherwise. As one example, certain characters have unique lines for Confusion, which is unlocked very late in the game (highlights include Boyd [[MomentOfLucidity temporarily snapping out of his paranoia]], his G-Men breaking character and wondering why the heck they're wearing their disguises, and Oleander [[{{Foreshadowing}} wondering where a "Mr. Bun" is going]]).

** Sasha and Milla have special lines for being tickled with the Crow Feather [[spoiler:when their brains are stolen.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: In addition to the three camp counselors, there are 21 campers at Whispering Rock, all named, all voiced, with distinct personalities and character designs.

* YouAllLookFamiliar: During most of the game, this is [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters averted quite beautifully]], but during the Milkman Conspiracy this is played straight [[InvokedTrope on purpose]]. All the G-Men look blatantly identical and have carbon-copied personalities, and yet they are still trying their best to [[PaperThinDisguise blend in like any other people]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts In The Rhombus of Ruin}}'': Picks up immediately after the first game left off, concerning the kidnapping of Truman Zanotto (Grand Head of the Psychonauts, and Lili's father).

* AbandonedHospital: An abandoned ''mental'' hospital, if you will. Its history is actually quite interesting if you're [[OverlyLongGag willing to hear the whole thing]].

--> '''Gloria:''' ''[Delusionally mistakening Raz for her mother]'' Would you like me to tell you how I won that award? ...Or are you trying to take it from me, ''because you don't think I deserve it?'' I never asked to be famous - I just wanted you to ''love'' me!

* WiseBeyondTheirYears: [[ChildProdigy At age ten]], Raz was able to cure ''four'' people from their insanity, and he did that by jumping into their minds and talking to their subconscious mental figments, representing the patient's psychological issues, in the most encouraging and most gentle way possible. Did we mention that all these people are ''[[AdultsAreUseless adults?]]''

* WordsCanBreakMyBones: Jasper. And Raz was so sure he had nothing to fear...
-->'''Raz''': How can I say this and still sound cool... Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never... hurt me?