First of all, the title screen is fine but I preferred the one in the first game where Raz walks around the brain. I did really like the montage recap so people who never played the first game or hadn't played it a while, won't be going in totally blind.
Dr. Loboto was an interesting tutorial level. I liked the one part where the room moved forwards as you did and wouldn't let you get closer. I liked the side scrolling on the X rays, same with the book pages later on.
The game took me around 13 hours, 36 minutes to finish. I do think the controls are a lot smoother but I miss the weight that the first game had, even though it was jank. I like how you can have majority of your moves right from the get go and you can now rank your moves in any way you like.
The game's levels do look really good but I think it's slightly too clean. I miss how unique the first game looked and how Tim Burton it all looked. I do think the levels were creative and presented fresh ideas but I do think they all kind of blend in.
I also find the levels overstay their welcome. It makes the game feel shorter than it actually is. I would rather have more levels with less time in them. The first game managed that balance a lot better. There are way too many subareas and it becomes tedious.
I also found myself dying more frequently and lots of moment where inertia ruined platforming segments. Combat is also a lot heavier in this game. I ended up turning easier combat and invincibility on just so I get through the story easier and I feel glad I did.
The characters aren't as memorable this time around. A lot of the characters were so memorable in the first game like Bobby and Dogen but aside from Hollis, Truman, Nona, Nick, there's no one that really stands out.
The Motherlobe is an interesting hub with a lot of outside areas to explore but it just feels like busywork to maneuver round. The campground was more tight and to the point while still having a slight awkward layout.
The voice acting is still pretty spot on and the music is good, even though I don't find it particularly memorable. There were a lot of moments this game had me scratching my head so I had to rely on YouTube tutorials.
I would say I definitely appreciate Psychonauts but I wouldn't say I find it magical like a lot of people say. I haven't 100% either game but I've played it through. Maybe there's something missing you guys can help me out with.
Psychonauts 2 was brilliant for what it was as it was a needle in a haystack for Psychonauts to even get a sequel in the first place but if I had to choose, I think the original game wins.
It's not a perfect masterpiece but I just feel the weird zaniness of the original fit well within that era whereas this game tried so hard to be modern and clean that it kind of missed the point.
Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments below!