[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ps2_psychonauts_-_NTSC_Front_Cover_Small.jpg]]

->''"You shall engage the enemy in his own mentality! You shall chase his dreams! You shall fight his demons! You shall live his '''nightmares'''. And those of you who fight well, you will find yourselves on the path to becoming international secret agents -- in other words... '''[[TitleDrop Psychonauts]]'''! The rest of you... will '''die'''!"''
-->--'''Coach Oleander''', [[MundaneMadeAwesome addressing a group of children around a campfire.]]

''Psychonauts'' (2005) is a well-loved action adventure game from DoubleFine Productions, headed by former Lucasarts employee TimSchafer. It's the story of a young psychic prodigy named Razputin Aquato ("Raz" for short) who runs away from his home in the circus (an inversion of the usual [[TheRunaway run away to]] [[CircusBrat the circus trope]]) to sneak into Whispering Rocks, a government training camp for child psychics like himself.

Raz is quickly caught by the camp's leaders, but he's allowed to stay for a while until his psychic-hating dad will come to take him home again. During his one day of training, he discovers that something horrible is going on: someone is stealing the brains of his fellow campers, leaving them mindless zombies obsessed with ''teeeeeveeeee'' and hacky-sacking. As he tracks the brain-stealing scheme to the source, he hones his powers, and encounters a variety of [[EccentricTownsfolk eccentric]] and downright crazy characters. Raz finds himself forced to literally [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind get into their heads]] and fight his way through their memories and mental disorders in order to save the world.

The platforming aspect of ''Psychonauts'' is often made of {{Bizarchitecture}}, and some levels -- especially the notorious final one -- are ''extremely'' NintendoHard. Luckily, DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: even if Raz loses all of his lives inside someone's mind, the items and events he has already unlocked won't have to be found again.

The game is especially notable for its level of detail. Every line of dialogue in ''Psychonauts'' is voiced, and every single character has elaborate voiced reactions to virtually [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything every item, ability or situation that Raz can show them]]. (This is even true for characters who aren't actually around when certain items or abilities are available: hacking the game reveals that the game data has scripted reactions for these things regardless.) Additionally, the majority of characters have their own separate plot lines and interactions, many optional cut scenes, and long, hidden conversations that can be overheard by Raz.

[[CriticalDissonance Critically praised but initially somewhat poor in sales]], ''Psychonauts'' is considered one of the great under-appreciated games of its time by many gamers for its unique premise, colorful characters, and humorous dialogue. The game is also praised for its visual style, which owes quite a bit to ''TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' (the credits theme is notably a loving homage to DannyElfman) and ''InvaderZim'' (including RichardHorvitz playing Raz). Overall, the game presents a very inventive and solid world with virtually every character having a strong personality. In recent years, the game has picked up a lot of new fans, and is now available on Steam.

There's a ''Psychonauts'' Wiki, the [[http://www.doublefine.com/Psycho-pedia/ Psycho-pedia]] at Double Fine.

On November 11, 2010, Schafer [[http://www.gamestooge.com/2010/11/12/tim-schafer-ready-for-psychonauts-2/ indicated]] he was "ready" for a sequel. On February 7, 2012, Markus Persson, the creator of ''{{Minecraft}}'', [[https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/166838426207924224 offered]] to sponsor ''Psychonauts 2''. At first he claimed he was [[https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/166843982683451392 serious]], but he has since [[http://notch.tumblr.com/post/17681692985/hype reconsidered on that offer]] after being informed on how much money it would cost.

Psychonauts was sold as part of the [[HumbleIndieBundle Humble Double Fine Bundle]].

----
!!This game provides examples of:

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: With a high school locker room in it!
** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that it's a mental representation of deeply buried (and rather painful) memories of the place where the owner of that particular headspace found and lost the love of his life.
* AbusiveParents: 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.]]
** This also appears to be the case with [[spoiler:The Butcher, who chopped up Oleander's pet rabbits and claimed they were only good for meat. However, given Razputin's history with his father and the fact that Oleander's image of The Butcher has been twisted over the years into a tremendous, ''cannibalistic'' madman (and Oleander's memory of him is the only information we get), it's ambiguous whether he was as bad as it seems.]]
* AcademyOfAdventure: Well, summer camp, anyway.
* ActionBomb: Both the personal demons and those danged rats in the tower.
* AdultsAreUseless: Averted in exactly the sort of setting you'd expect it to be played straight. As noted below, most adults are actually {{Bunny Ears Lawyer}}s. Even though the adults do the ass-kicking later in the game, Sasha [[NotNowKiddo ignored Raz]] when he tried to [[spoiler: tell about Oleander's psychic death tanks]] because he and the other teachers were in a hurry due to an emergency Psychonaut meeting...[[spoiler: which turned out to be a trap laid by Oleander to kidnap the teachers so that they wouldn't interfere with his plans.]]
* AdultFear:
** [[spoiler: Your child running away from home out of resentment and fear of being indirectly murdered by you.]]
** Dying and leaving your spouse and newborn child behind.
** The children in your care dying a fiery death whilst you're out grocery shopping.
** Your parent committing suicide, possibly out of being shadowed by your own success.
* AffablyEvil: Doctor Loboto. Even offhandedly commenting to a hostage that he uses his little jokes to put his "patients" at ease. Combine his "jovial family mad doctor" routine with his hideously menacing appearance and the fact that his idea of humor includes stuff that goes way beyond "tickle torture," and you get some of the purest NightmareFuel in a game already loaded with it.
* AllCheeringAllTheTime: Crystal and Clem, who deliver pretty much all their lines in cheer form.
* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Edgar's ex-girlfriend.
** Oddly enough inverted with Edgar's girlfriend as well, who dumped the large and manly Edgar to go out with the MALE cheerleader captain.
* AllThereInTheManual: The supporting characters have expanded backstories and personalities on [[http://www.myspace.com/13762391 Myspace]] and the [[http://www.doublefine.com/Psycho-pedia/ official wiki]].
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation
* AmbiguouslyGay: Benny, particularly on the official character RP MySpace pages. He's obsessed with three things: bullying, musicals, and Bobby.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:The disembodied brains are still fully conscious, as shown in the pre-Meat Circus scene]]. Though if [[spoiler:Sasha and Milla]]'s dialogue is any indication, the stuff they're in kind of sedates you so you don't realize that.
* AnAesop: Lampshaded in Sasha's Shooting Gallery at the end.
-->'''Raz:''' So is this where you teach me another important lesson?
-->'''Sasha:''' ...No. Here's your badge, now LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Since the 2011 Steam patch, you no longer lose lives if [[spoiler:Olly gets caught during the EscortMission]]. It's still possibly the hardest part in the game.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: [[spoiler:Oleander's shortness led to him not being allowed in the Army. Or the Navy. Or the Air Force. Or cooking school.]]
** Also in the Gloria's Theater level-- you're warned about messing with the [[MoodWhiplash mood lighting]], and the possible results thereof-- utter chaos, etc. ending with "...or worse: [[spoiler:''improv'']]."
** In the Meat Circus level, [[spoiler: Raz's father, confronted with Raz's mental image of him, explains that he ''doesn't'' hate psychics or seeing his son happy]], and also that [[spoiler:he has more hair than that.]]
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[http://youtube.com/watch?v=OMs5-6haCZ4 In Lungfishopolis, Raz becomes GOGGALOR!]] Lungfishopolis is a giant spoof of {{Kaiju}} films, right down to the bad English dubbing.
** Also appears at some sizes in Waterloo World, although you can't destroy things.
** [[spoiler: Building up enough psychic charge to create a giant astral projection of yourself is how you beat the FinalBoss.]]
* AvoidTheDreadedGRating: Most of the game is actually pretty clean, just subversive and/or creepy. A lot of its weirdness can't really be "rated against," but actually making it look like it ''was'' for younger kids (when it skews more towards teenagers) would have been... bad. As such, it features a few shoehorned usages of "ass" and a few instances of blood, seemingly to bump the rating.
* BaconAddiction: You summon Ford Cruller with bacon. He loves bacon so much he'll pop out of your ear at the smell of it. He warns you that you shouldn't bring out the bacon in his presence or he'll eat it right there.
* BadassGrandpa: Ford. Especially in the [[spoiler: showdown against Oleander.]]
* BadBadActing: The 'Actors' in Gloria Van Gouten's mind. SO much.
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Rather the point of the game.
* BearsAreBadNews: (''Telekinetic'' bears.)
* BedlamHouse: The Asylum level.
* BerserkButton: An actual button you receive early in the game. Show it to Elka Doom repeatedly.
--> '''Raz:''' Hey look at this button I found on Nils’ bunk, it looks like it came off a girl’s dress!
--> '''Elka:''' *loud gasp* ... I don't care.
--> '''Raz:''' Looks like it was pulled off by force!
--> '''Elka:''' ''I don't care.''
--> '''Raz:''' It's got little teeth marks on it...
--> '''Elka:''' RAZ, PUT THAT THING AWAY OR ELSE I'LL SHOVE IT IN YOUR EYE SOCKET AND SEW IT TO YOUR BRAIN!
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Coach Oleander]]
** BiggerBad: [[spoiler: Oleander's dad, his cooking Oleander's bunnies is one of the roots of his psychosis]]
* BigShutUp: Raz says "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "Shut up!" to the cheerleaders urging him on to victory in the Punching Game in Basic Braining in the same rhythm as their cheers.
* BindleStick: Raz is seen with one in a memory reel flashback, even though he already has a backpack. It's a visual cue to let you know he's a runaway at that point.
* {{Bizarchitecture}}: The asylum starts going all M.C. Escher on you near the top.
* BlackBugRoom
* BlackComedy: All over, but Waterloo World most obviously.
-->'''Peasant:''' Hurl my innocent bones into the cruel machine of war. I'm ready!
* BlatantLies: Anything the G-Men say in the Milkman Conspiracy.
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: A ballet bording school in Gloria's backstory.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: In the Milkman Conspiracy level, the agents you meet throughout attempt to disguise themselves as, among other things, road workers, widows, and '''assassins.'''
** There's also the Rainbow Squirts Pledge of Purpose:
-->'''Rainbow Squirts''': "To promote niceness. To make the world prettier. To share candy with everyone. To obfuscate the true nature of the Milkman. To protect the Milkman at all costs. To eliminate all who threaten to reveal his secret objective."
* {{Brainwashed}}
* BrickJoke: At the beginning of the Waterloo World level, the carpenter you need to recruit will not come out of his house because he is afraid of a burglar on his roof. Near the end of the level, a peasant you recruit wants to use the musket you give him to "rob that stupid carpenter", whose house he has been trying to break into for days.
** Early on in the game, Raz asks Ford if he has a jet hidden around the sanctuary somewhere. [[spoiler:In the final cutscene, with Ford being rendered incapable of teleporting everyone to the HQ, Oleander says they'd have to take the jet. Cue jet.]]
* BullfightBoss: Literally. You dodge the bull and impale it with banderillas once it stops. [[spoiler: Though when it turns out that the bull is actually the owner of the headspace the level takes place in, it becomes a ''[[InvertedTrope matador]]''-fight boss where you have to protect the bull. But you win by convincing the matador that he's actually a bull, and repeating the same tactics you already used, causing a DoubleSubversion.]]
* BungledSuicide: Crystal and Clem tried cyanide, and later jumping. Neither worked.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Milla, Sasha, and Ford. In fact, almost every adult in the game.
* ButThouMust: Trying to tell Ford you're not ready [[spoiler: only results in him [[DopeSlap slapping Raz upside the head]] and saying: "How about now?"]]
* ButtMonkey: Dogen just can't catch a break, can he? Though, when you think about it, Sasha has it rough too.
* BystanderSyndrome: When you save the kids, most of them have better things to do than help you save the world from a battalion of killer psychic death tanks [[spoiler: powered by the stolen brains of their fellow campmates]]. Like make out. Though at least 3 do try to do something that could be construed as help (one radios for help, but since she's calling aliens that's likely gonna be a bust, while the other two sabotage the coach's car. Which, while useful as a backup plan, does nothing to help you right now).
* CallingYourAttacks: Parodied with [[{{Kaiju}} Kochamara]].
** "Overly Intricate ... ''Combination!''"
** "Hard-to-Avoid ... ''Area Attack!''"
* CameraScrew: Perhaps inevitable in a third person platformer, but most notable during The Meat Circus, where the camera switches angles mid jump several times. And occasionally, it will just get stuck inside an object, forcing a restart.
* CanadaEh: Chops even pulls out a few Canada-isms.
* CaptainObvious: The secret agents from The Milkman Conspiracy.
* CausticCritic: The Critic from Gloria's Theatre.
* ChekhovsGun: Pretty much everything seen inside the Brain Tumbler. [[spoiler:The whole area from the bathtub onward foreshadows Thorney Towers Asylum. The bathtub itself has "Oblongata" written on the side, the name of the lake next to the camp, past it is a tower covered in thorns, and on the floor around the tower are figments shaped like bottles of milk, flowers, a Napoleon hat, and a purple bull. And then there's The World Shall Taste My Eggs!, a bizarre memory vault that explains itself very shortly after finding it]].
** Also [[spoiler:the rabbits which can be seen in Coach Oleander's obstacle course. No matter how much you prod them, they won't run or hide from the pillbox and keep getting mowed down. Further, you are led to the Guns listed above by another rabbit.]]
*** Use Clairvoyance on those same rabbits. [[spoiler:To them you look like a butcher.]]
*** Not to mention [[spoiler:the meat plant in the obstacle course which Raz and Lili both mention they saw in their dreams (and the brain tumbler does indeed have meat scattered all over), in addition to figments shaped like butcher knives.]]
** Most of the figments in general.
** Lili's cold becomes plot-relevant later on as [[spoiler:it renders her immune to the sneezing powder and delays her de-braining operation.]]
* CircusBrat: Raz.
* CircusOfFear: The Meat Circus. ''[[NightmareFuel Oh God, the Meat Circus]]''.
* CobwebOfDisuse: Parts of people's minds which haven't been accessed in a long time are blocked by "mental cobwebs" which you need to [[CashGate buy a specific piece of equipment]] to clear.
* CollectionSidequest: Let's see, you have the...
** PSI cards
** Challenge markers
** Scavenger hunt
** Figments of imagination
** Emotional baggage
** Cob webs
** [[spoiler:And all the campers' brains]]
** There are also the Ammo/[[OneUp Mental Layer]] Increase Trophies, but they're not included in OneHundredPercentCompletion.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: When Raz gets Pyrokinesis:
--> '''Ford:''' You have to promise only to use this when it's really important or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential really really entertaining.]]
* TheComicallySerious:
** Sasha, who's the only living character who can't be made to giggle with the Crow Feather item -- instead, he grumbles about germs.
** Boyd's G-men subvert the trope by using a comically serious demeanor for their voice. As with Sasha, they won't giggle with the Crow Feather. However, they display a paper thin disguise combined with gross incompetence on how they use their item.
* ConspiracyTheorist: Boyd. [[WriteWhoYouKnow Based on a real person Tim Schafer knew.]]
* CorridorCubbyholeRun: Most of Black Velvetopia. Curse you, El Odio!
* CreepyMonotone: The agents in The Milkman Conspiracy, hilariously.
-->'''Agent:''' I am a grieving widow. Why, God. Why.
* CuteAndPsycho: Secretly dysfunctional male/female cheerleading duo, Clem and Crystal. [[spoiler: Though their brains get stolen before they pull off whatever it was they were planning.]]
* DevelopmentGag: When Raz first sneaks into the camp, Oleander guesses that his name starts with "D". The previous protagonist, scrapped in development, was named D'Artagan.
** You can also see D'Artagan in the final cutscene, hiding out in the latrine.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: After your mentors are suddenly kidnapped, you can still return into their minds - and they are there, too, but for ''some reason'' are nearly helpless.
** Way more than that; 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, and if you were playing the game normally you'd probably have him in your inventory for less than a minute. [[http://www.viddler.com/explore/Sethur/videos/81/ Yet most of the cast has something to say about him]].
*** If you play the game on {{Steam}}, you even get an achievement for showing everyone Mr. Pokeylope.
** Try using cheats early in the game to unlock the powers you're not yet meant to have. Use said powers on characters who won't be around once you're actually supposed to have the powers and you'll often hear dialog that you would never hear if you played through the game without cheats. The best use for cheats is confusing the G-Men.
--> [[spoiler: "Oh my God! Why am I holding a gun?!"]]
** Try to enter the mind of someone you're not supposed to enter, and there'll be an explanation. Except for Sheegor, but she is one of the most sane characters in the game.
** If you turn invisible and attempt to steal Gloria's trophy, you get a different cutscene than if you interacted with the trophy without using your invisibility power.
* DialogueTree
* DieChairDie: Among the things you can destroy: pillows, stereo speakers, fruit carts, buildings, stacks of papers, lava lamps, napkin dispensers, watermelons, televisions...
** Special mention: Sasha Nein ''hates'' Tiffany lamps. "Say something hideous and horrible jumps out at you... Something so disgusting that it simply must ''die''."
--->'''Sasha''': ''(covering his eyes and momentarily looking away)'' So... tacky! ...Can't look directly...at it! ...Now, you simply take that hate, focus, and release! ''(lamp shatters)'' And the world is a better place.
*** A Tiffany lamp was in view when [[spoiler:his mother died]], so he may have come to associate them with that as well.
** There's also the soldier whose father was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed by a bridge.]]
* DifficultySpike: The Meat Circus is insanely difficult compared to the other dozen levels of the game, as [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee Croshaw]] stated was one of the few flaws in the game.
** The 2011 Steam version had an update that made it less frustrating in one regard: you no longer lose a mental layer every time you [[EscortMission fail to protect Olly]] or fall into a BottomlessPit, just when you lose all your mental health. This dramatically decreases your chances of getting kicked out (especially if you increased your mental health to the maximum by [[spoiler:saving everyone's brains]] and gotten the RegeneratingHealth by going up to Rank 90), so you won't have to repeat parts you've already beaten near as much.
* DirectionallySolidPlatforms: Trampolines act like this in a few places.
* DirtyMindReading: In one of Sasha's memory reels, it's shows that he learned to never read his father's mind [[PrimalScene the hard way.]] He was just searching for positive memories of his dead mother and got much more than he bargained for.
* DiscoDan: Milla.
* DontExplainTheJoke
--> '''Raz''': Hey, Bobby. Someone's stealing kids' brains!
--> '''Bobby''': Well in that case, you've got nothing to worry about! Ah-ha-ha-ha!
--> '''Raz''': ... Good one.
--> '''Bobby''': BECAUSE YOU GOT NO BRAINS!
* {{Dissimile}}: "We've fought monsters like you before, Goggalor! Only much smaller!"
* DrillSergeantNasty: Coach Oleander.
* DummiedOut: Originally there was going to be a subplot involving [[spoiler: the nightmares in Milla's mindscape getting loose and abducting campers]], due to either time constraits or because it was simply too scary, the subplot was dropped but the bosses weren't, leading a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere during The MilkmanConspiracy.
** Alternately, [[spoiler: it was pointed out mid-development that Milla wouldn't allow children to be harmed in her mind by not having control of her emotions. Thus her comment on having her nightmares under control when you find the room.]]
* DVDCommentary: An iPhone app has been released of the memory vault pictures with an accompanying commentary track, featuring lead Tim Scafer and Scott Campbell, the artist who drew the images.
* DysfunctionJunction: Paying enough attention to throw away conversations and memory vaults will make it clear that most of these people are ''really'' messed up.
* {{Eagleland}}: The Milkman Conspiracy. On the outside, it looks like a typical Flavor 1 1950s suburb...Though it's incredibly twisted around. It's immediately apparent it's under an obvious yet incredibly creepy BigBrotherIsWatching scenario, with government agents dressed in [[ConspicuousTrenchcoat trench coats and fedoras]] poorly attempting to imitate normal people, trashcans and fire hydrants staring at you, mailboxes walking around, and unusual girl scouts.
* EasterEgg: The original protagonist, D'Artagan, 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- final cutscene in the outhouse as Raz is running after Lili. So yeah. ]]
* EccentricTownsfolk: Most of the children have some form of insanity.
* TheElectricSlide: Raz does it at one point.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: For the final, two-headed boss, [[spoiler:Raz's dad lends Raz his psychic powers in order to protect his mind]].
* EscortMission: A brief optional one early in the game, plus the final platforming section.
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Vodello gets you to make the hoops spin by [[PassThroughTheRings passing through them]] in order to "lighten up the party".
* FallingIntoHisArms: In one of Milla's memory reels, Sasha catches Milla in this fashion after they escape from an exploding building. They both look [[ShipTease quite happily flustered.]]
* FantasticRacism: It's heavily implied, both with Coach Oleander's opening monologue and Raz's fear that his father wants to kill him, that prejudice against psychics is all too common.
* FateWorseThanDeath: The whole brain-sneezing thing [[CaptainObvious just can't be pleasant.]]
** CrossesTheLineTwice: Removing someone's brain? Horrible. Inducing them to ''sneeze'' out their brain? Hilarious.
* FluffyTheTerrible: A horrific, mutated lake monster -- with a deep, thoughtful voice -- named [[spoiler:Linda]].
* FollowTheWhiteRabbit: A (mindscape-generated) rabbit acts as something of a guide for Razputin in the first tutorial, leads him to an important clue, and also eventually becomes a central element in an Escort Mission.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Coach Oleander talking in his sleep after Basic Braining; he mentions "eggs" (brains) and seems to be talking to a "bunny" (Linda), telling it to be careful with the eggs under the water (Lake Oblongata), give them to "who you know" (Doctor Loboto) and put them in their "holders" (the tanks). Then they'll all see. Who are you callin' short?]] Also, [[spoiler: Elton talks to the fish about a ghost town and a giant lake monster with glowing eyes and a prehensile lure.]]
* FourFingeredHands: Everyone except Raz and his father.
* FreudianExcuse: And since the game takes place in peoples' minds, you get to ''fight'' it.
** And they hit like a Mofo. Especially in the Scrappy Level.
* GambitRoulette:
** Spoofed. Upon returning to Sasha's mind, Raz is told by Sasha that the "censor overload" incident was all an elaborate training course, knowing that Raz would push the censor deployment rate to its maximum. Raz, of course, asks if the giant mutant censor that handed Sasha his ass on a platter was all part of the course, too. Sasha is not amused.
-->'''Sasha''': "Okay, ''that'' part got a little bit out of hand..."
* {{Gainaxing}}: Lampita Pasionado.
* GenderReveal: Bonita Soleil. The viewer can determine the gender by triggering reactionary speech (smashing objects, etc), but Raz is still unsettled during conversation for assuming the wrong gender. Although Bonita still might sound like a really gruff woman, the voice is a reveal in itself.
** [[spoiler:Linda.]]
* GermanicDepressives: Chronically ComicallySerious Sasha.
* GimmickLevel: Almost all of them.
* GirlInTheTower
* GirlScoutsAreEvil: The Rainbow Squirts from "The Milkman Conspiracy", [[spoiler:who are guarding the Milkman so he can bomb the asylum when the time comes]].
* GogglesDoNothing: Raz wears a pair of goggles on his head, and only puts them over his eyes when he enters a person's mind. There's no readily apparent reason for having them at all, though there is a brief mention of them being used as a method of protecting his eyes from rabid conspiracy theorists in the manual.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the Milkman Conspiracy level, when Raz is captured and interrogated by the Men in Black, one of the things they ask him is "''What is the purpose of the goggles?''". Later, the boss of the level screams "'''I'll pluck out your eyes!'''" and Raz's response is [[{{Subversion}} "Ha! You can't! THAT is the purpose of the goggles!"]]. So the boss shuts off the lights.
* GottaCatchEmAll: Figments, PSI Cards and Challenge Markers (and as a subset of that, Mental Cobwebs), Scavenger Hunt Items, Emotional Baggage, Memory Vaults and [[spoiler:campers' brains]] are all tracked, and the first four categories are factored into your PSI Cadet Ranking. If you ''really'' want to go all out, there's also the ammo/extra life capacity upgrades.
* GravityScrew
** Sasha's stage features planetary gravity.
** Boyd's stage features a vaguely-enforced "fall towards the ground" gravity system, which will probably kill you more than anything else in the level.
** There's even a bit during a few select parts of the tutorial level. Specifically, after you complete the obstacle course with taking cover and the machine gun, what looks like a drop when you jump into the nest instead becomes a hallway...
* [[GreenRocks Purple Rocks]]: Psitanium.
* GrindBoots: Raz can grind on ''anything''. Even wooden railings and telephone wires.
* GuideDangIt: Certain sections can be trying. Thankfully using the summoning bacon can provide some helpful advice.
* HairRaisingHare: MEAT GRINDER BUNNIES.
* HarshWordImpact: [[spoiler:The Phantom/Critic]] uses this as a weapon.
* HartmanHips: Milla Vodello - exaggerated because of the thin torso and neck.
* HeartContainer: [[spoiler:The brains found in the later part of the game.]]
* HehHehYouSaidX:
-->'''Kochamara''': I have the brain of a little girl back in my lab that'll power a whole army of psychic death tanks!\\
'''Raz''': ''*starts laughing uncontrollably*''\\
'''Kochamara''': What?\\
'''Raz''': You have the brain of a ''little girl''?\\
'''Kochamara''': I ''said'', "in my lab!"\\
'''Raz''': I think you've got the muscles of a little girl too!\\
'''Kochamara''': *groan* ... Good one.
* HeroesWantRedHeads: Lili.
* HistoricalInJoke: Razputin is a psychic whose cursed to die in water. In real life, Grigori Rasputin was an adviser to the Russian royal family who claimed to be psychic and died drowning. Coincidence?
** Waterloo World is almost entirely built out of this trope.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Oleander's the one who led Raz to the camp in the first place. 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]].
** Also, Dingo Inflagrante's defeat is contingent on the confusion grenades that he earlier gave Raz.
* HookHand: Dr. Loboto.
* HotBlooded: A lot of the characters in Waterloo World. You know your army is going strong when a ''bucket of snails'' are proud to fight and die for your cause.
* HundredPercentCompletion. And DAMN do you have to work for it.
** The recently-added "Math is Hard" achievement is so named because you can get to Psi Cadet ranking of 10''1''.
* IdleAnimation: They vary from level to level, and can involve everything from bowing to rolling out invisible pie crusts to dancing enthusiastically. And they occasionally cause Raz to walk on air.
* TheIgor: [[PunnyName Sheegor]], a female and obviously TheWoobie during her brief appearance.
* IllKillYou: Napoleon's soldier.
* InCaseOfBossFightBreakGlass: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin brain-powered psychic tank]] is defeated by [[MindOverMatter flinging chunks of concrete]] at the glass dome [[JustifiedTrope shielding the final boss's brain]].
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Subverted: The fact that Lili had a head cold was the only thing between her and [[spoiler: Doctor Loboto's magical brain-sneezing powder]].
* IndianBurialGround: Subverted:
-->'''Franke:''' The camp is built on an Indian Burial Ground and-
-->'''Raz:''' Oh my gosh! Indians buried their dead here?!
-->'''Franke:''' Ewwww! I hope not. No, stupid, they buried their arrowheads here.
* InterfaceScrew: When hit with a confusion grenades (or similar effect), the screen is flipped horizontally. It also randomizes your psi powers, even switching to those you didn't have selected.
* InUniverseGameClock
* InvulnerableCivilians: You can set fire to your fellow camp mates and the worst that will happen is that they complain about it.
** Not exactly; the air only distorts around them a little and their visible heat gauges don't increase. It's likely that their own psychic powers suppress your pyrokinesis.
* IronicName: [[AllThereInTheManual Raz's last name is Aquato]], but [[SuperDrowningSkills his family doesn't take to water too well]].
* IronicNickname: Benny "The Nose." [[DontExplainTheJoke Have you seen the size of his ears?]]
* ItsUpToYou: Used to the point of deliberate absurdity: of the ''nineteen'' campers [[spoiler: whose brains you recover]], none of them are willing to directly help you save the world. Most or all are perfectly capable of helping, they just have better things to do. Like getting pedicures or making out. Aversions:
** Maloof and Mikhail sabotage [[spoiler: the coach]]'s car. However, it's really only useful in case you fail.
** Chloe tries to help by using the coach's radio in an attempt to contact aliens. However, if you talk to her again, you find out that [[DoubleSubversion she thinks that Earth is doomed and she's just looking for a ride out]].
** Chops and J.T. patrol the cabins of the campers. Considering that there are [[BearsAreBadNews telekinetic bears]] and [[IncendiaryExponent fire-starting]] mountain lions, and that the camp counselors who would be keeping them away are all unavailable, the help is definitely necessary.
** A bit of FridgeBrilliance: Doctor Loboto already rejected their brains for being too nice to fight. The others don't really have it in them to help. [[invoked]]
* JerkJock: Bobby Zilch.
* JokeItem: The crow feather, which can be used to tickle almost everybody (except Sasha, who hates germs and refuses to play along). Using clairvoyance on it helps to solve a puzzle, but it can be solved with luck. Clairvoyance can also be used on it to find out where items for a couple of the GottaCatchEmAll quests are, provided that those items are outside and that Raz is standing within mind-range of a crow.
* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: The basic premise of the game.
* JustAStupidAccent: Used deliberately in Waterloo World. Napoleon and his toy soldiers have archetypical French accents. Fred Bonaparte's troops all have modern American accents, since Fred is an American, despite the fact that the "game" they're in takes place in a setting very loosely based on Napoleonic-era Europe. Even the Knight, who specifically identifies himself as a Frenchman, only speaks in something like an upper-class New England accent.
* JustifiedTutorial: Basic Braining.
* KidAnova: Nils Lutefisk, though it might be all talk.
* KillItWithFire: One of your standard psychic powers. Target the squirrels and seagulls. Also, Boyd's reaction to [[spoiler: being fired]].
* LaResistance: In Lungfishopolis, "For Freedom!"
* LargeHam:
** Coach Oleander.
** The Den Mother really takes the cake though. "And the seas shall run white... with his... RAGE!"
* LastLousyPoint: Packing off all the Emotional Baggage and getting all the Scavenger Hunt items? Simple. Tracking down every Memory Vault and Mental Cobweb? Difficult, but doable. Finding every PSI Card and Challenge Marker? Challenging, but at least there's not too many per area. But getting every figment-- of which there's ''hundreds'' per level, and you have to get them ''all'' for OneHundredPercentCompletion-- is an exercise in masochism.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Sasha, at the end of his stage.
* LipLock: After Bobby kicks Raz off the platform in Basic Braining, he mocks him with some half-singing gibberish while doing a dance. If you watch his lips, it isn't matching what he's saying.
-->'''[[TheBully Bobby Zilch]]:''' I'm not stupid. You're stupid. The Coach is stupid. This whole camp is stupid! [*points behind Raz*] That thing flying at you is stupid!
-->'''Raz:''' What thing?!
-->'''Bobby Zilch:''' [*kicks Raz off the cliff*] Bobby Zilch's foot, that's what!
* LostForever: All mental worlds can be revisited to gather stuff you've missed, so almost no item in those places is LostForever. (In fact, gathering items after a level is cleared is usually the better option, because it often means that the monsters are gone too.) However, since all of the (very) extensive dialogue branches depend the situation, it's almost impossible to hear every line of dialogue in the game. A few of the achievements and achievement-related items can be missed, however, such as the "Made Man" achievement and one of the [[OneUp golden helmets]]. There is a major point of no return, which creates an autosave beforehand.
* MadScientist: Dr. Loboto, although he's a dentist.
** Also Sasha, to a lesser extent. "If I could only get him (Raz) in my lab, I'm sure he could withstand more than the others."
* MagicAIsMagicA: The cougars have pyrokinesis, bears have TK Claws, and the psychic death tanks have confuse grenades.
* {{Magicant}}: Nearly every level is some combination of this and GimmickLevel.
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Coach Oleander]] is the one behind Loboto's plot.
** Whose identity is revealed unusually early for this trope. A far better kept reveal is the true source of [[spoiler:Oleander]]'s insanity: [[spoiler:the Butcher]].
* TheMenInBlack: The hilariously inept, robotic undercover agents in The Milkman Conspiracy.
* MeaningfulName: See "PunnyName" below.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: "It's like looking at the site of a horrible car accident! A car accident where the victims can't act, and the paramedics forget their lines!"
* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead:
** Sasha Nein's second mental vault, and possibly other things in the game.
** [[spoiler:Milla's personal nightmare room, where visions of monstrous ashen ghosts whisper her name and ask why she did not save them.]]
* MindOverMatter
* MindScrew: ''The World Shall Taste My Eggs!''
-->'''Raz:''' "Okay...what the hell was that?"
* MismatchedEyes: Most of the characters have these. This is most obvious with the aquatic Linda, who even has a red left eye and a green right eye, [[VisualPun true to the trope's previous name, Boat Lights]].
* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: Milla sees her students as little children and treats them accordingly. If you use Clairvoyance on her, you can see Raz through her eyes as a very small child. It turns out that [[spoiler: she once worked at an OrphanageOfLove which was accidentally burned down, and her psychic abilities caused her to hear the thoughts of all the children as they burned to death. She was traumatized as a result. The part of her mind that contains these memories is well-hidden, and she gently tells Raz not to go there.]]
* MissingMom: [[spoiler:Sasha]]'s mother died shortly after he was born.
* MissionControl: Ford Cruller, who's also the OldMaster and TheObiWan.
* MilkmanConspiracy: In the level that [[TropeNamers named the trope]], the conspiracy is actually ''about'' a milkman, but ''of'' eight-year-old girls.
* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain: "I am a phone repairer. I can listen to any phone conversations I wish, but do not do so out of my sense of professional responsibility."
* MundaneUtility: Sasha uses his psychic abilities to light his cigarette.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Coach Oleander, as you can see from the opening quote, takes summer camp ''WAY'' too seriously.
* MurderWater
* MyNaymeIs: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin Rasputin]]->Razputin
* TheNapoleon: Coach Oleander, and Napoleon himself. Inverted in Fred Bonaparte, a descendant of Napoleon's, who is extremely tall and has no ambition whatsoever. He also has bizarrely short arms -- he appears to be part T-Rex.
* NapoleonDelusion: Fred Bonaparte's SplitPersonality.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Sure, you've gotten Boyd to open the gates... but now he's on a hair trigger: [[spoiler:his original, [[ConspiracyTheorist mildly deranged]] personality has been replaced by another, [[AxCrazy somewhat more deranged]] personality, and he's about to blow up the asylum! On the other hand, you really don't care much about the Asylum...]]
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed - The bulldog in Black Velvetopia / ChristopherWalken
* NoFairCheating: "[[LampshadeHanging Yooooouuuuu cheated!]]". Napolean also does not permit cheating in Waterloo world. He tells Raz not to touch his pieces, his soldiers tell you that using PK on them is cheating if you talk to them, and he won't accept victory if Raz tries jumping in the stronghold directly. Yet, [[HypocriticalHumor he jams the gate mechanism when you're about to win]].
* NominalImportance: ''Everybody'' has a name. Usually first and last, too. Most of them have defining personality characteristics and flaws.
* NoNameGiven: Almost every character has a first and last name... with the exception of the protagonist himself. Among [[{{Fanon}} fans]], though, he's generally given the last name of "Aquato" because of the Circus posters seen in flashbacks.
** However, as of recently, it's AllThereInTheManual at [[http://www.doublefine.com/Psycho-pedia/ Psycho-pedia]]. Aparently, Aquato IS their family name, and Raz's dad is named [[http://www.doublefine.com/Psycho-pedia/Augustus/ Augustus]].
* NonLethalBottomlessPits: The good news about Raz's SuperDrowningSkills is that he doesn't normally lose a life from them.
* NonSequiturThud: "My name is Yon Yonson, I live in Wisconsin, I work in the lumberyard there..."
* 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 Myspace 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.]]
* NoticeThis:
** Interactable objects glow with an aqua blue aura or sparkle silvery.
** You'll know when you can dig up an Arrowhead when Raz is looking at the purple smoke.
** This trope is the only way to find Deep Arrowheads. You can only dig them up when the Dowsing Rod is out and the higher the sound it makes, the easier it is to pull one up. [[hottip:*:If your computer is good enough to run it on the highest settings, there's also a distortion effect around the tip of the Dowsing Rod that increases along with the sound. When it's making things nigh-impossible to see, you're right on top of one.]]
* NotSoDifferent: Raz and the main villain both have daddy issues. This turns out to be a [[OhCrap very, very bad thing]] when they have a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind.
* ObviouslyEvil: [[spoiler:Oleander. It gets painfully obvious to the point of lampshade hanging, especially on a replay. The "armored like a tank" and "walking around at midnight" thing, etc. etc. It gets up to a peak when you're back in the ominous evil white hallway, and see that really distinct bunny fresco - then the anvil should hit you.]]
** Some thought he was so over the top that he had to be a RedHerring. Maybe that was the point.
** Also, [[spoiler:Jasper.]] [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the cutscene before:
-->'''Raz:''' ...I totally guessed that!
-->'''Actress''': Nuh-uh! You said it was [[spoiler:Becky]]!
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: At the end of The Milkman Conspiracy, [[spoiler: a huge swarm of agents and censors come after the milkman. The Rainbow Squirts go out to confront them while you fight the boss. When the camera shows the outside of the house again, there are dead or unconscious combatants everywhere which suggests that the battle was epic.]]
* OhCisco: The HundredPercentCompletion bonus video ends with a really weird one of these.
* OutOfFocus: While Linda and the campers show up in the animated bumpers for MTV2 and G4, none of the adults in the game appear at all.
* PrimalScene: One of Sasha's memory reels shows that [[spoiler:[[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead he read his father's mind]] to learn what his MissingMom was like.]] He found some memories he really was not looking for.
* OhGodDidSheJustHearThat: Raz overhears Lili's thoughts.
** Played with, since [[spoiler:the last time, she intended for him to hear them.]]
* OneUp
* OrphanageOfLove: Milla's old job. [[spoiler:Before it burned down.]]
* OverlyLongGag: The story of the asylum. The Steam version gives out an achievement for actually listening to it.
** Also, [[http://v2.razputin.net/index.html@page=razputin%252Ffeatures%252Ftimwords.html This interview]] with Tim Schafer. Specifically, his response to the first question.
* PantyShot: It's possible for Raz to see up Milla Vodello's dress. She's not wearing underwear. [[spoiler:Milla's legs end at the upper thigh.]]
** After Milla's level and before revisiting Sasha, Lili can be seen in the Kids' Cabin area, on top of one of the poles surrounded by speakers. It's very easy to see up her skirt there.
* PaperThinDisguise:
** TheMenInBlack: "[[CreepyMonotone I am a grieving widow. I wish my loved one was not dead, but alive.]]"
** Raz uses them to get past the MIB, just picking up a rolling pin makes you appear to them as a housewife. Also [[spoiler:a literal example, when Raz uses a painting of Loboto and a few other props to sneak past near-sighted Crispin.]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Subverted. Despite being the [[MissingMom main]] [[DisappearedDad character]] [[DoomedHometown of]] [[LongLostSibling a video]] [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan game]], [[AllThereInTheManual both of Raz's parents are around, and he even has an assortment of brothers and sisters he lives with]].
* PassThroughTheRings: When learning levitation. Repeated in the Meat Circus with flaming hoops.
* ThePenIsMightier: [[spoiler:The phantom/critic]] has two mounted on his flying mecha. They fire deadly inkblots in the shape of insults.
* PersonalityPowers: [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Bubbly]] [[DiscoDan Milla Vodello's]] specialty power is levitation. [[GermanicDepressives Repressed,]] [[NoSocialSkills slightly awkward]] [[TheSpock Sasha]] [[MeaningfulName Ne]][[BilingualBonus in's]] specialty power involves controlling one's emotions and turning them into firepower.
* PinballZone: Milla's Dance Party.
* PlayableMenu: Naturally, your main menu is a brain with the ''Psychonauts'' logo and several doors on it. [[MakesSenseInContext If you think that's unfitting, read what it says on the logo again.]]
* PlotCoupon: Very blatant at the ground floor of the asylum. The only way past an unarmed orderly guarding the elevator is to get a trophy, a straitjacket and a painting to use as an disguise, and there is only one of each item that can be used, and you need to clear a full level before you're allowed to take it? You'd think a boy who can turn invisible and set fire to things with his mind could get past some other way. At least the levels you need to play are a lot of fun.
** DoubleSubverted: Fred, the mind behind Waterloo World, has a history with Crispin the "orderly" guarding the elevator. When you complete Waterloo World and get Fred's straitjacket, Fred offers to take care of Crispin, which would remove the need to collect the other two items. Unfortunately, he's so exhausted from fighting with his [[spoiler: now gone]] alternate personality, he decides to have a nap first, and doesn't wake up until you're already past Crispin via the PlotCoupon route.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: One of the game's last abilities, usually only unlocked by those going for HundredPercentCompletion, uses the power of your friends "focusing their good energies on you" [[RegeneratingHealth to heal you slowly]].
* PunnyName: Too many to count, some [[BilingualBonus in foreign languages]].
* PstandardPsychicPstance
* PsychicPowers: Even the animals have them! Including the [[Series/TheColbertReport Godless Killing]] [[BearsAreBadNews Machines]]!
* PsychoSerum: Psitanium. While it does grant and enhance mental abilities, it can also cause psychological instability in those without psychic aptitude.
* PunchClockVillain: The Censors that you fight in most levels exist for the purpose of stamping out foreign, bad, and hurtful thoughts before they're allowed to come to fruition. They're like mind antibodies. However, since you're a foreign body, you're fair game.
** Raz does wonder why they're attacking him inside his ''own'' mind at one point though. Or, for that matter, why Sasha's Censors attacked him inside ''his'' own mind. (The first one, at least, is answered - [[spoiler:by that point, Raz isn't in his own mind at all.]])
* PyroManiac: Boyd seems to be a rather harmless, if a little bit creepy conspiracy theorist when you first see him, but when you crack the other vault in his mind, it's revealed that [[spoiler: he was sent to an asylum when he burned his old workplace after getting fired.]] Also, at the end of his level [[spoiler: Raz releases the arsonist part of his personality again, when he is a hair trigger away from burning the BedlamHouse he now guards]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Well done Raz...]]
** Also, Phoebe.
*** Using Clairvoyance to see yourself through her eyes reveals that she sees Raz as an unlit campfire.
* RaymanianLimbs:
** The dancers in Milla's Dance Party have limbs, but they taper off before connecting to the body.
** Jasper Rolls' head also detaches from the body, but it's usually in a position where it seems attached.
* RecurringRiff: A phrase from the game's theme shows up in many places in its music.
* RecursiveReality: In the Asylum, you can go inside Fred's mind to find him playing a board game with Napoleon. Then, you can jump on the board to find a whole living world controlled by the rules of the game. Then, you can look in the window of a house to find... wait for it... Fred playing a board game with Napoleon.
** It's not just any board game, either. Before you jump into the board game you can look out through the window to see the walls of the board game sitting on the table!
* ReluctantMadScientist: Sheegor, though she is, of course, technically an [[TheIgor Igor]].
* RiseToTheChallenge: The ''Meat Circus'' has a long climb with rising water.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: The starting room in Boyd's mind.
* RunningGag: Every time Raz tries to tell someone directly[[hottip:*:talking to Bobby Zilch about it will have Raz mention it as part of a question about something else]] [[spoiler:that Dogen's brains were stolen]] he'll be told some variation of "Oh, no, he's just like that", regardless of who the other person is, or what that person is doing.
* SceneryPorn: Black Velvetopia. Oh lord hallelujah, maybe more appropriately "viva" in this case.
** SceneryGorn: Meat Circus.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Probably the most notorious example ''ever.''
* SecretLegacy
* SelfDeprecation: InUniverse. Raz buys a painting from an artist in Black Velvetopia:
--> '''Dog''': Yeah, maybe you can write it off in your taxes as a loss. A ''catastrophic'' loss, even!
* SequelHook: There were actually multiple hooks - the head of the Psychonauts being kidnapped and Raz's father warning him about the rival family of evil psychics he's been trying to protect Raz from. Unfortunately there seems little chance for those to be explored, what with the miserable sales figures, [[http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1191 though Schafer has said he would love to do one]].
* SeriousBusiness: As you can see from the page quote, Coach Oleander takes summer camp very seriously.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: subverted. [[spoiler: When Raz is looking for Lily inside the fish's mind, and he is asked if ''"Lily is your girlfriend?"'', his answer is a sincere ''"I don't know"'']]
* ShoutOut: To ''ForbiddenPlanet'': "You are my own creation! I command you to stop!"
--> '''Raz''': Man, does that ''ever'' work?
** Examining the tree stumps causes Raz to make a remark about "a series of catacombs", a reference to an easter egg from an earlier game Tim Schaefer worked on, ''The Secret of MonkeyIsland''.
** Gloria's level, to [[spoiler:''PhantomOfTheOpera''.]]
** Also, does Dr. Loboto [[TheNightmareBeforeChristmas remind you of anyone?]].
** After you get your oarsmen badge, Crystal and Clem are [[spoiler: contemplating suicide]] on top of the lodge. Crystal says something along the lines of "we're going to become so powerful, aren't we?" Clem responds, [[StarWars "More powerful than you could possibly imagine."]]
** Phoebe and Quentin's Band The Firestarters is a reference to the Stephen King novel ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}''. It's about a 7-year-old-girl that can start fires with her mind.
** '''Raz''':First question: What do you think the queen is drinking right now? Second Question: What was your favorite science-fiction mini-series in the eighties?
-->[[spoiler:'''Dogen''']]: [[SpotOfTea T]]{{V}} ?
** [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail "None shall pass!"]] in the Bonaparte level.
** A couple of screens in Ford's secret lair show the games VideoGame/{{Pong}} and VideoGame/{{Battlezone| 1980}}.
** WordOfGod says that the name of Fred's chapter "Waterloo World" is a reference to ''Film/{{Waterworld}}''.
** In one of Fred's memory reels we can see him looking at the mirror and seeing Napoleon instead of his own reflection. Suddenly Napoleon jumps out of the mirror and tries to strangle Fred, a la ''Franchise/EvilDead'' 2, when Ash hallucinates his own reflection choking him.
* {{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.]]
* SplitPersonality: Fred Bonaparte battling with his ancestor Napoleon Bonaparte. [[spoiler:And Ford Cruller, whose psyche was shattered in a mental duel against another psychic and can only be himself when he's near a relatively large Psitanium deposit.]]
* TheSpock: Sasha Nein
* 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!"
* SpringJump: The levitation ball can be used in this fashion.
* StageMom: Gloria's mother.
* StandardSnippet: The music for Waterloo World is constructed from the PublicDomainSoundtrack ''The 1812 Overture'', with the theme of destroying the oppressive opponent.
* StealthPun:
** The final level in the game is a [[spoiler: circus made of meat,]] I suppose one could refer to it as a [[spoiler: Carne-val.]]
** In order to cure Edgar Teglee, you have to collect the four Queens; otherwise, he can't complete the house of cards, because he's not playing with a full deck.
** VisualPun: The literal "emotional baggage".
** Then, there's Mr. ''Pokey''lope. He's pretty ''sharp'', for a turtle.
* StepfordSmiler: The Rainbow Squirts, a transparent parody of the Girl Scouts.
** Also, the transparently suicidal cheerleaders.
* StepfordSuburbia: "The Milkman Conspiracy."
* SteveBlum: Voices the G-Men, among others. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny And there was much rejoicing]].
* StrawCritic: Gloria has a really ''nasty'' one living in her head.
* 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.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong
** Raz's "Badge Get" musical sting sounds very much like "[[Film/{{Rocky}} Gotta Fly Now]]".
** The track "The Censors Unleashed" contains a few bars from the beginning of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik".
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In one of the plays in Gloria's mind, with a conversation between actors playing Gloria and her mother.
-->'''"Gloria"''': And isn't it wonderfull that you aren't even slightly jealous of my fame, which has risen so much faster and higher than yours, while your star has faded?
-->'''"Mother"''': ({{Beat}}) ... Yes.
** Crispin: "I'm an orderly you know. I am NOT an imposter."
* SuperDrowningSkills: Made a JustifiedTrope thanks to a curse placed on Raz's family, but taken to ridiculous extremes within the game. Raz can "drown" in a cheap wooden prop made to ''look like'' water.
** To clarify: Hitting a large body of water causes the water to form a hand-shaped-appendage and try to grab Raz and pull him under. When you hit the wooden-prop water, [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything an equally cheap wooden prop-arm is pushed up and grabs him.]]
* SuperheroSchool: Technically, it's a summer camp, but close enough.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: Ford doesn't bother to correct Raz's guess as to [[SplitPersonality why]] he goes around acting as everything from the camp coordinator to the janitor.
* 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.]]
* TakeThat: The, ahem, [[MediaWatchdog censors]] which serve as your default mooks. They dress up in stereotypical suits, wear overly large glasses and all their attacks consists of different ways of saying "No." Given the fact that you mercilessly beat them up in hordes and the amount of [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar crap that gets past in this game]] there is no way this is just a coincidence.
** Brainless kids only want to watch television.
*** Or, occasionally, play hacky sack.
* TalkingToHimself: Andre Sogliuzzo voices both halves of a split personality, Fred/Napoleon Bonaparte, who argues with himself. With such ''drastically'' different accents and tone it's uncanny.
* TeenSuperspy: ''Pre''teen Superspy.
* TelevisuallyTransmittedDisease: The four residents of the asylum have pretty [[TheThemeParkVersion Theme Park]] examples of paranoid schizophrenia (Boyd), bipolar disorder (Gloria), Dissociative Identity Disorder (Fred), and a combination of obsessive compulsive disorder/chronic depression (Edgar).
* TimeyWimeyBall: Maloof claims that the staff haven't thrown any kids in the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chamber since the fifties, but according to the tree cutting in the parking lot, the camp was opened less than a decade ago. Given Milla's seventies-party-girl flair, it doesn't seem like it's possible for both statements to be true.
* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:Boyd ''is'' The Milkman.]]
** Likewise, [[spoiler:Edgar is El Odio.]]
* TopHeavyGuy: Edgar Teglee. Also, the Lucha wrestlers.
* TorosYFlamenco: Edgar's mind. And it's [[SceneryPorn smooooooth]]...
* {{Tsundere}}: Lili is very much a Western version of this trope.
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:Doctor Loboto; you don't get to even enter his mind. He just gets pushed off the the top of Thorney Towers by a tank piloted by the ''talking turtle disguised as a human brain''.]]
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailers, back of the box, and the summary for the Steam store page all mention the fact that [[spoiler:someone removes Raz's campmates' brains]].
** TrailersAlwaysLie: Said trailers also said "the councilors have something to hide"; implying the camp itself was a front for the aformentioned [[spoiler:brain thefts]].
* VentPhysics: In use in the platforming dream world.
* VictoryPose: Done via a strange hold-your-hand-out-like-a-chicken (Egyptian walk?) and walking around in a circle while saying "Erh, eh-erh! Eh-eh, eh-erh!"
** It was originally Bobby Zilch's pose. Raz co-opted it as an insult.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: "See ya in hell, squirrels!"
* VocalDissonance: Mr. Pokeylope. Also Bonita Soleil and - in a way - the giant lungfish. [[spoiler:She's female; her name is Linda.]]
* WalkOnWater: The Levitation power ''should'' let you do this, but Raz's curse prevents him from doing so.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: Quite aggressively so -- every NPC has a unique reaction to just about every psychic power. Some reactions to psychic powers require cheating to see. Just about every object gets a unique reaction, too. Trying every power and item with every possible NPC and object is vastly rewarding.
** If you punch a girl scout in The Milkman Conspiracy, "Why did you punch that little girl?" will be added to the list of questions you're asked when captured and interrogated.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Gloria.
* WidgetSeries: This is a game with a level based on ''black velvet paintings.''
* 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?"
* {{Yandere}}: Elka is... kinda nuts about relationships.
* YouGetWhatYouPayFor: During the Brain Tumbler experiment Raz will tell Sasha about seeing "very weird things". Sasha exclaims "Ack! Why did I have to buy the CHEAP Brain Tumbler?". Turns out cheapness has nothing to do with it...
* YourHeadASplode: Dogen did this to someone once. ''Four'' someones. Allegedly. He definitely did it to three squirrels who were saying the little guy would kill everyone. [[spoiler:By little guy, they mean Oleander.]]

----