Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility toggle to enable "all ages, all possible needs" to enjoy the game - Game journalist mode ahoy!

[Haramburger]

Which is standard operating procedure for Double Fine. A ton of the early coverage for Brutal Legend didn’t mention the gameplay, and I’m going to guess there was not an insignificant number of people who were looking forward to it who were surprised that it was a strategy game.

It was actually a mix of genres, the strategy/RTS was the multiplayer and two segments of the story. It leaned more heavily on a driving open world, a few stunt driving segments and third-person melee action sequences. It was definitely over-ambitious and should have stuck to just the driving and third person, the only well-done parts.

 

[The Last Stand]

This brings up one situation I will agree with game journalists on, they don't need to necessarily complete the whole game to write a review.

Slightly disagree. You're reviewing a game, you would need to have a basic idea of the game from beginning to end. A general scope of the game's mechanics, gameplay and presentation to inform the buyer of good and bad. You don't necessarily need to have hours on hours of the whole game, especially for multiplayer.

Some games are great at the start and then become rather lousy at the end. System Shock 2 comes to mind, I just was playing SS2 again and I decided to stop when you leave the Rickenbacker. At that point the level designs get really boring and unless you purposely handicap yourself by picking lousy upgrades you'll have an easy time with the enemies. Still a classic and a must play for most gamers.

That would be something to notify the buyer.

You know why I'm against making games so easy that even drooling retards could complete it? Let me put this in language the SJWs will understand: stolen valour. Y'know, the thing you accuse people wearing native American headdresses at rock concerts of? I earned that damn ending, if they want to see it they should put in the work too. This would be somewhat mitigated by trophies and achievements for completing the game in normal or hard mode, but apparently that's too exclusive now as well. Sooner or later every game will just say "Game Over, You Win!" the second you start it up.

I get what you're saying, but games would have difficulty settings for a reason. Accessibility and challenge for replayability. Unless you are a completionist or achievement hunter, you are not required to play on X difficulty.

Example: I played Halo 3 on Normal. I had 9 hours from that campaign, I did not enjoy it that much. If I want that special ending, play on Legendary. Great for those who want it.

 

[Picnic_Boy]

Yoshi's Story is a fairly easy game with built-in extra challenges and lots of secrets for more advanced players. It was made to appeal specifically to the very young and diehard Nintendo fans who want a challenge. This was 1997.

 

[The Last Stand]

You know why I'm against making games so easy that even drooling retards could complete it? Let me put this in language the SJWs will understand: stolen valour. Y'know, the thing you accuse people wearing native American headdresses at rock concerts of? I earned that damn ending, if they want to see it they should put in the work too.

Nobody's "stealing" anything from you. You beat the game, you got an ending. They beat the game, they got the ending too. Would watching an ending of a game without playing it be considered "stealing" as well? You made the choice to play the game at a certain way or difficulty to get said ending. Talk to the developer about that.

 

[Dante Alighieri]

Game developers absolutely fucking suck at difficulty options. A majority of the time it's simple modifiers to damage and health. I only ever play on Normal because of that, and if I have some difficulty I get better at the game instead of whining.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Cool, it will be shitty garbage that the journalists suck off

JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE.

 

[Marissa Moira]

Cool, it will be shitty garbage that the journalists suck off

JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE.

Unless there's a transexual level and he finds out that he can never be a woman.

 

[The Last Stand]

Game developers absolutely fucking suck at difficulty options. A majority of the time it's simple modifiers to damage and health. I only ever play on Normal because of that, and if I have some difficulty I get better at the game instead of whining.

Sometimes the game cheats with "difficulty." World at War is a fantastic example. Grenade spam, infinite enemy spawn, and miniscule health.

 

[Slap47]

Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility toggle to enable "all ages, all possible needs" to enjoy the game

www.eurogamer.net

Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility toggle to enable "all ages, all possible needs" to enjoy the game
"It's an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to meet."

News by Vikki Blake, Contributor

Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility mode to enable more people to beat the game.

In response to a tweet from Xbox that said "beating the game on the lowest difficulty is still beating the game, the studio tweeted: "If you beat Psychonauts 2 with the invincibility toggle on, you still beat P2."

"All people should be able to enjoy games," a later tweet insisted (thanks, TheGamer). "All ages, all possible needs. It's an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to me[e]t.

"End of the day? We want you to have fun, to laugh, to experience a story that affects you. On whatever terms you want."


Another tweet teased: "'Uh, excuse me I beat Sword Guy Serious Time on a no hit hard mode and if [you] didn't do that I don't respect you. and like, can you even comment on things if you're not diamond six rank in shooty mcBlam? I don't think so'. Cool bud. you're soooo cool!"

As you might well expect, the tweet has prompted the usual mix of terrible and terrific responses from fans, although which is which will depend upon your viewpoint, I guess.

Psychonauts 2 is scheduled to released on 25th August. The third-person platformer has seen a series of delays, with developer Double Fine previously explaining that it needed more time to bring it up to standard, and that the studio needed time to adjust to its acquisition by Microsoft.

When the game does land later this year, you can expect to find it on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, and has reportedly been developed with "no crunch".

I remember being a kid.

A huge part of the fun was actually succeeding after multiple attempts.

 

[The Last Stand]

I remember being a kid.

A huge part of the fun was actually succeeding after multiple attempts.

When all you had was a few dollars and not many opportunities to get games, you made the most out of what you had. Hence difficulty options.

That's how I beat a few CoD games on Veteran.

 

[Jack Awful]

It was actually a mix of genres, the strategy/RTS was the multiplayer and two segments of the story. It leaned more heavily on a driving open world, a few stunt driving segments and third-person melee action sequences. It was definitely over-ambitious and should have stuck to just the driving and third person, the only well-done parts.

Yeah, the concept and presentation were enough to carry the game if it was a decent hack and slash with open world driving. The RTS actually dragged the game down by being shit.

Tim Schaefer should be a TV writer. He's amazing at worlds, dialogue, and characters, but barely any of his games are actually designed well mechanically.

 

[Slap47]

Game developers absolutely fucking suck at difficulty options. A majority of the time it's simple modifiers to damage and health. I only ever play on Normal because of that, and if I have some difficulty I get better at the game instead of whining.

I'm quite fine with such modifiers. They often fundamentally change the game in a way that basically gives you a whole new challenging game.

When all you had was a few dollars and not many opportunities to get games, you made the most out of what you had. Hence difficulty options.

That's how I beat a few CoD games on Veteran.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were part of a strategy to get kids to buy lots of games instead of sticking with a couple.

 

[The Last Stand]

Git gud, that is until the game breaks its own rules.

Would my opinion of Halo 3's campaign be valid if I played on a lower difficulty and didn't like the level design?

 

[Tour of Italy]

I prefer when games were about engaging with the player’s ability to create a cohesive experience. Difficulty peaks and valleys enhance the story, can inspire growth and accomplishment in the player.

I’m not opposed to this on principle, but I think it by nature means the game will be lacking something. It means Tim thinks his gameplay and story operate independently of each other (they should not) and that his story alone is the core of the experience and worth the price of admission (it probably won’t be).

In short, older games were as much about a dialogue with the player and a process of overcoming, whereas this seems masturbatory the way it implies that the creator’s story is the only meaningful part of the experience.

 

[Tuxedo_Zemus]

I'm guessing not many people here are fans of Castlevania 64, but if you played the game on easy mode it ends after the infamous magic nitro section.

I'd like to see a modern game do that just to see all the coping and seething.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

“All possible ages, all possible needs”

For something that was made as a video game, this point of phrasing sounds suspect at best. It’s supposed to be about Psychonauts, not trying to steal children away from you.

 

[X Pac Heat]

You know why I'm against making games so easy that even drooling retards could complete it? Let me put this in language the SJWs will understand: stolen valour.

Holy Shit, Mike Matei, it's just a fucking video game not Viet-God Damn-Nam.

Game developers absolutely fucking suck at difficulty options. A majority of the time it's simple modifiers to damage and health. I only ever play on Normal because of that, and if I have some difficulty I get better at the game instead of whining.

I've always thought that if this was all you were going to do as far as difficulty goes, you should just add sliders for various things like damage/accuracy/etc. like the 007 mode in Goldeneye.

 

[Bad Gateway]

Psychonauts is and always has been a D-grade platformer for weebs and trannies, not my fault you all just figured it out.

 

[Kulee Baba]

You know why I'm against making games so easy that even drooling retards could complete it? Let me put this in language the SJWs will understand: stolen valour. Y'know, the thing you accuse people wearing native American headdresses at rock concerts of? I earned that damn ending, if they want to see it they should put in the work too. This would be somewhat mitigated by trophies and achievements for completing the game in normal or hard mode, but apparently that's too exclusive now as well. Sooner or later every game will just say "Game Over, You Win!" the second you start it up.

You got a lone autistic rating because you're acting like beating an ordinary game is something to be truly proud of. Also when I read "stolen valour" my mind instantly connected it with those pathetic shitheads who get military clothing from a surplus store and are caught as frauds by actual vets. I think what you meant to refer to is the SJW jargon "cultural appropriatiation."

But anyway let me give a solid example of why devs will encourage players to move up to higher difficulties, and why it can make for a stronger experience. Let's discuss a game that appealed to all gamers including casuals, Guitar Hero 2.

In Guitar Hero 2 you play thru the campaign by successfully passing each song. There's several difficulties, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. But you can't unlock all the songs if you just do Easy mode, no you have to play it on Medium at minimum to get to the "Encore" songs. Yes Harmonix did what SJWs like to call "gatekeeping", if you can't get past easy you're shit outta luck. This all culminates in the last song of the career campaign; Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird. Before you even play the song the game gives three silly warning prompts over how difficult Freebird is.



Freebird is a pretty tough song. I remember failing it a few times on Medium, losing a lot on hard but eventually overcoming it, and never getting close to beating it in Expert Difficulty. Still it was satisfying to complete it and see the whole career mode. Here's a player perfectly completing Freebird on the highest difficulty.

If you watch the ending you see this guy pump his fists several times. That right there is the true magic of video games, to give you the illusion that you did something truly amazing. At the end of the day we all know he was just following along to floating notes on a Fisher Price style guitar. But when we play a good game one suspends disbelief and you feel like you're in a virtual world. You felt like you actually played Guitar.

By all means the successors to Guitar Hero 2 were superior as they had more songs and the Drum set was awesome. But I look back at that whole short lived subgenre of Western Developed Rhythm games and my memories of Guitar Hero 2 remain the strongest. I'd argue because it pushed the player to master the songs. Something that Harmonix and Activision decided to move aside as they then retooled the franchises into being a more party friendly game.

 

[Dumpster dived waifu]

You know why I'm against making games so easy that even drooling retards could complete it? Let me put this in language the SJWs will understand: stolen valour. Y'know, the thing you accuse people wearing native American headdresses at rock concerts of? I earned that damn ending, if they want to see it they should put in the work too. This would be somewhat mitigated by trophies and achievements for completing the game in normal or hard mode, but apparently that's too exclusive now as well. Sooner or later every game will just say "Game Over, You Win!" the second you start it up.

It's not that deep. Just call them fucking stupid consoomers for spending 60$ to watch what could have been a YouTube video or Twitch stream.