The story of the Psychonauts is about to continue in VR, bridging the gap between the PS2 original and the upcoming sequel with The Rhombus of Ruin. For folks who are only just now getting into the series, though, the publisher is offering a pretty rad bonus for folks who are willing to preorder the upcoming game.
Double Fine Productions yesterday announced via the PlayStation Blog that anyone who preorders Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin will get a copy of the PS4 version of the original Psychonauts at no additional charge. So whether you're brand new to the series or just want to relive the original tale before diving into the VR adventure, you can get in on both games with a $19.99 pre-order between now and Feb. 21. For reference, Psychonauts on PS4 would set you back $9.99 if purchased on its own, so not a bad bit of savings if you were planning on picking up Rhombus anyway.
In case all of this Psychonauts chatter is a bit confusing, let me break it down for you. The original Psychonauts launched back in 2005, telling the story of a bunch of fun characters at a summer camp who have the ability to jump into the minds of other people. The game worlds were a representation of those folks' minds. The game ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved.
Thankfully, Double Fine has finally circled back around, successfully crowdfunding Psychonauts 2. While we don't have a launch date for the full sequel just yet, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a chapter of the story that fits between the two core games. The catch is that it's a PlayStation VR exclusive, so you should probably have that extra piece of hardware before getting too excited for this latest chapter in the unfolding saga.
If you do happen to have a PSVR, though, Rhombus of Ruin certainly looks like a lot of fun. You'll be dropped into the role of Raz, who finds himself paralyzed and only able to rely on his cool psychic abilities in order to solve a bunch of puzzles and save his friends. According to the developers, the experience will last around three hours. Here's a gander at what you can expect.
I like the idea of Raz being paralyzed, as it cleverly takes care of one of the main hurdles of gaming from the first-person perspective in VR: walking around. Many folks can't play Resident Evil VII for extended periods in VR due to the motion sickness that can come from this, while games like Batman: Arkham VR sidestep the issue by having the player operate within set locations.
There aren't a lot of major VR games coming out right now, so Rhombus of Ruin is certainly a welcome addition to the PSVR library. The fact that it comes with a free copy of Psychonauts is just icing on the cake.
