Psychonauts: Difference between revisions

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[[File:ps2_psychonauts_-_NTSC_Front_Cover_Small.jpg|frame]]

{{quote|''"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... '''[[Title Drop|Psychonauts]]'''! The rest of you... will '''die'''!"'' |'''Coach Oleander''', [[What Do You Mean ~~Its~~ Not Awesome|addressing a group of children around a campfire.]]}}

{{quote|''"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... '''[[Title Drop|Psychonauts]]'''! The rest of you... will '''die'''!"'' |'''Coach Oleander''', [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|addressing a group of children around a campfire.]]}}

''Psychonauts'' (2005) is a well-loved action adventure game from [[Double Fine]] Productions, headed by former Lucasarts employee [[Tim Schafer]]. 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 [[The Runaway|run away to]] [[Circus Brat|the circus trope]]) to sneak into Whispering Rocks, a government training camp for child psychics like himself.

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Psychonauts is now a part of the [[Humble Indie Bundle|Humble Indie Bundle V]].

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=== This game provides examples of: ===

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: With a high school locker room in it!

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* [[Academy of Adventure]]: Well, summer camp, anyway.

* [[Action Bomb]]: Both the personal demons and those danged rats in the tower.

* [[Adults Are Useless]]: 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|Bunny Ears Lawyers]]. Even though the adults do the ass-kicking later in the game, Sasha [[Not Now Kiddo|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.}}

* [[Adults Are Useless]]: 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|Bunny Ears Lawyers]]. Even though the adults do the ass-kicking later in the game, Sasha [[Not Now, Kiddo|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.}}

* [[Affably Evil]]: 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 [[Nightmare Fuel]] in a game already loaded with it.

* [[All Cheering All the Time]]: Crystal and Clem, who deliver pretty much all their lines in cheer form.

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'''Sasha:''' ...No. Here's your badge, now [[Let Us Never Speak of This Again]]. }}

* [[Anticlimax Boss]]: {{spoiler|The final boss of the game is very sad. You get big, beat it up until you run out of juice, you turn invisible, and then you wait to regain enough energy to turn big again. Even if your invisibility doesn't last long enough, as long as you turn it off and on before it runs out, you're still safe.}}

* [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]: Oleander's shortness led to him not being allowed in the Army. Or the Navy. Or the Air Force. Or cooking school.

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: 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 [[Mood Whiplash|mood lighting]], and the possible results thereof-- utter chaos, etc. ending with "...or worse: {{spoiler|''improv''}}."

* [[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever]]: ([http://youtube.com/watch?v=OMs5-6haCZ4&feature=related It's Goggalor!])

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'''Raz:''' It's got little teeth marks on it...<br />

'''Elka:''' RAZ, PUT THAT THING AWAY OR ELSE I'LL SHOVE IT IN YOUR EYE SOCKET AND SEW IT TO YOUR BRAIN! }}

* [[Big Shut Up]]: 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.

* [[Big "Shut Up!"]]: 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.

* [[Bindle Stick]]: Raz in a memory reel flashback. Though he already has a backpack, so doesn't really need to carry one.

** It's to let you know he's a runaway

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* [[Blatant Lies]]: Anything the G-Men say in the Milkman Conspiracy.

* [[Boarding School of Horrors]]: A ballet bording school in Gloria's backstory.

* [[Bread Eggs Milk Squick]]: In the Milkman Conspiracy level, the agents you meet throughout attempt to disguise themselves as, among other things, road workers, widows, and '''assassins.'''

* [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]]: In the Milkman Conspiracy level, the agents you meet throughout attempt to disguise themselves as, among other things, road workers, widows, and '''assassins.'''

{{quote| '''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]]

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** "Overly Intricate ... ''Combination!''"

** "Hard-to-Avoid ... ''Area Attack!''"

* [[Canada Eh]]: Chops even pulls out a few Canada-isms.

* [[Canada, Eh?]]: Chops even pulls out a few Canada-isms.

* [[Captain Obvious]]: The secret agents from The Milkman Conspiracy.

* [[Caustic Critic]]: The Critic from Gloria's Theatre.

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* [[Eleventh Hour Superpower]]: For the final, two-headed boss, {{spoiler|Raz's dad lends Raz his psychic powers in order to protect his mind}}.

* [[Escort Mission]]: A brief optional one early in the game, plus the final platforming section.

* [[~~Everythings~~ Worse With Bears]]: (''Telekinetic'' bears.)

* [[Everything's Worse With Bears]]: (''Telekinetic'' bears.)

* [[~~Everythings~~ Better With Spinning]]: Vodello gets you to make the hoops spin by [[Pass Through the Rings|passing through them]] in order to "lighten up the party".

* [[Everything's Better With Spinning]]: Vodello gets you to make the hoops spin by [[Pass Through the Rings|passing through them]] in order to "lighten up the party".

* [[Falling Into His Arms]]: In one of Milla's memory reels, Sasha catches Milla in this fashion after they escape from an exploding building. They both look [[Ship Tease|quite happily flustered.]]

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: The whole brain-sneezing thing [[Captain Obvious|just can't be pleasant.]]

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* [[Fluffy the Terrible]]: A horrific, mutated lake monster -- with a deep, thoughtful voice -- named {{spoiler|Linda}}.

* [[Follow the White Rabbit]]: 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.

* [[Four Fingered Hands]]: Everyone except Raz and his father.

* [[Four-Fingered Hands]]: Everyone except Raz and his father.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: 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.

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* [[Green Rocks|Purple Rocks]]: Psitanium.

* [[Grind Boots]]: Raz can grind on ''anything''. Even wooden railings and telephone wires.

* [[Hair Raising Hare]]: MEAT GRINDER BUNNIES.

* [[Hair-Raising Hare]]: MEAT GRINDER BUNNIES.

* [[Harsh Word Impact]]: {{spoiler|The Phantom/Critic}} uses this as a weapon.

* [[Hartman Hips]]: Milla Vodello, and how.

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'''Kochamara''': *groan* ... Good one. }}

* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: Lili.

* [[Hey ~~Its~~ That Voice]]: It's [[Invader Zim|Zim]]! And [[Cow and Chicken (Animation)|The Red Guy]]! And [[Monkey Island|LeChuck]]! And...

* [[Hey It's That Voice]]: It's [[Invader Zim|Zim]]! And [[Cow and Chicken (Animation)|The Red Guy]]! And [[Monkey Island|LeChuck]]! And...

** AND [[Powerpuff Girls|Bubbles]]!

** AND [[Cowboy Bebop|Spike Spiegel]]!

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* [[Idle Animation]]: 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.

* [[The Igor]]: [[Punny Name|Sheegor]], a female and obviously [[The Woobie]] during her brief appearance.

* [[I'll Kill You]]

* [[I'll Kill You!]]

* [[Incurable Cough of Death]]: Subverted: The fact that Lili had a head cold was the only thing between her and {{spoiler|Doctor Loboto's magical brain-sneezing powder}}.

* [[Interface Screw]]: Confusion grenades.

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* [[Ironic Nickname]]: Actually an ironic name. [[All There in the Manual|Raz's last name is Aquato]], but [[Super Drowning Skills|his family doesn't take to water too well]].

** Also Benny "The Nose." [[Don't Explain the Joke|Have you seen the size of his ears?]]

* [[~~Its~~ Up to You]]: Used to the point of deliberate absurdity: of the ''nineteen'' campers 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 get pedicures or make out. However, at least two do something to help, namely sabotage the coach's car. However, it's really only useful in case you fail.)

* [[It's Up to You]]: Used to the point of deliberate absurdity: of the ''nineteen'' campers 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 get pedicures or make out. However, at least two do something to help, namely sabotage the coach's car. However, it's really only useful in case you fail.)

** Hey, Chloe tried to help! Admittedly, she was convinced that the best way to help was use the coach's radio to try and contact the aliens she believes she's one of. But it's the thought that counts. However, if you talk to her again, you find out that [[Double Subversion|she thinks that Earth is doomed and she's just looking for a ride out]].

*** Plus, Chops and J.T. are guarding the rest of the campers, which, considering the fact that there are [[~~Everythings~~ Worse With Bears|telekinetic bears]] and [[Incendiary Exponent|fire-starting]] mountain lions,(and that the camp counselors who WOULD be keeping them away are all gone) is definitely necessary.

*** Plus, Chops and J.T. are guarding the rest of the campers, which, considering the fact that there are [[Everything's Worse With Bears|telekinetic bears]] and [[Incendiary Exponent|fire-starting]] mountain lions,(and that the camp counselors who WOULD be keeping them away are all gone) is definitely necessary.

** A bit of [[Fridge Brilliance]]: Doctor Loboto already rejected their brains for being too nice to fight. The others don't really have it in them to help.

* [[Jerk Jock]]: Bobby Zilch.

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* [[Mad Scientist]]: 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."

* [[Magic a Is Magic A]]: The cougars have pyrokinesis, bears have TK Claws, and the psychic death tanks have confuse grenades.

* [[Magic A Is Magic A]]: 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 [[Gimmick Level]].

* [[Man Behind the Man]]: {{spoiler|Coach Oleander}} is the one behind Loboto's plot.

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* [[Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher]]: 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 [[Orphanage of Love]] 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.}}

* [[Missing Mom]]: {{spoiler|Sasha's}} mother died shortly after he was born.

* [[Mission Control]]: Ford Cruller, who's also the [[Old Master]] and [[The Obi Wan]].

* [[Mission Control]]: Ford Cruller, who's also the [[Old Master]] and [[The Obi-Wan]].

* [[Milkman Conspiracy]]: In the level that [[Trope Namers|named the trope]], the conspiracy is actually ''about'' a milkman, but ''of'' eight-year-old girls.

* [[Most Definitely Not a Villain]]: "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."

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* [[The Napoleon]]: 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.

* [[Napoleon Delusion]]: Fred Bonaparte's [[Split Personality]].

* [[Nice Job Breaking It Hero]]: Sure, you've gotten Boyd to open the gates... but now he's on a hair trigger: {{spoiler|his original, [[Conspiracy Theorist|mildly deranged]] personality has been replaced by another, [[Ax Crazy|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...}}

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Sure, you've gotten Boyd to open the gates... but now he's on a hair trigger: {{spoiler|his original, [[Conspiracy Theorist|mildly deranged]] personality has been replaced by another, [[Ax Crazy|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...}}

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]] - The bulldog in Black Velvetopia / [[Christopher Walken]]

* [[No Fair Cheating]]: "[[Lampshade Hanging|Uooooouuuuu 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, [[Hypocritical Humor|he jams the gate mechanism when you're about to win]].

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'''Actress''': Nuh-uh! You said it was {{spoiler|Becky}}! }}

* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: 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.}}

* [[Oh Cisco]]: The [[Hundred Percent Completion]] bonus video ends with a really weird one of these.

* [[Oh, Cisco]]: The [[Hundred Percent Completion]] bonus video ends with a really weird one of these.

* [[Primal Scene]]: One of Sasha's memory reels shows that {{spoiler|[[A Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Read|he read his father's mind]] to learn what his [[Missing Mom]] was like.}} He found some memories he really was not looking for.

* [[Oh God Did She Just Hear That]]: Raz overhears Lili's thoughts.

* [[Oh God, Did She Just Hear That?]]: Raz overhears Lili's thoughts.

** Played with, since {{spoiler|the last time, she intended for him to hear them.}}

* [[One Up]]

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* [[Panty Shot]]: 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.

* [[Paper Thin Disguise]]:

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]:

** [[The Men in Black]]: "[[Creepy Monotone|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.}}

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* [[Punny Name]]: Too many to count, some [[Bilingual Bonus|in foreign languages]].

* [[Pstandard Psychic Pstance]]

* [[Psychic Powers]]: Even the animals have them! Including the [[The Colbert Report|Godless Killing]] [[~~Everythings~~ Worse With Bears|Machines]]!

* [[Psychic Powers]]: Even the animals have them! Including the [[The Colbert Report|Godless Killing]] [[Everything's Worse With Bears|Machines]]!

* [[Psycho Serum]]: Psitanium. While it does grant and enhance mental abilities, it can also cause psychological instability in those without psychic aptitude.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: 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.

* [[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 [[Bedlam House]] he now guards}} [[Nice Job Breaking It Hero|Well done Raz...]]

* [[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 [[Bedlam House]] he now guards}} [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Well done Raz...]]

** Also, Phoebe.

*** Although she's not quite in control of it.

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* [[Screwed By the Network]]: Probably the most notorious example ''ever.''

* [[Secret Legacy]]

* [[Self Deprecation]]: [[In Universe]]. Raz buys a painting from an artist in Black Velvetopia:

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: [[In Universe]]. Raz buys a painting from an artist in Black Velvetopia:

{{quote| '''Dog''': Yeah, maybe you can write it off in your taxes as a loss. A ''catastrophic'' loss, even!}}

* [[Sequel Hook]]: 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].

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{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Dogen'''}}: [[Spot of Tea|T]][[V]] ? }}

** [[Monty Python and The Holy Grail|"None shall pass!"]] in the Bonaparte level.

* [[Somebody ~~Elses~~ Problem]]: 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).

* [[Somebody Else's Problem]]: 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).

* [[Spexico]]: Black Velvetopia, oh so very much. {{spoiler|Justified, since Edgar has actually probably never been to anywhere Spanish-speaking, and it's all one big symbolic fantasy of his creation.}}

* [[Split Personality]]: 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.}}

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* [[Teen Superspy]]: ''Pre''teen Superspy.

* [[Televisually Transmitted Disease]]: The four residents of the asylum have pretty [[The Theme Park Version|Theme Park]] examples of paranoid schizophrenia (Boyd), bipolar disorder (Gloria), Dissociative Identity Disorder (Fred), and a combination of obsessive compulsive disorder/chronic depression (Edgar).

* [[Timey Wimey Ball]]: 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.

* [[Timey-Wimey Ball]]: 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.

* [[Tomato Surprise]]: {{spoiler|Boyd ''is'' The Milkman.}}

** Likewise, {{spoiler|Edgar is El Odio.}}

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* [[Walk On Water]]: The Levitation power ''should'' let you do this, but Raz's curse prevents him from doing so.

* [[What Could Have Been]]: The concept art for Gloria's Theatre shows much more detail than the actual level.

* [[What Do You Mean ~~Its~~ Not Awesome]]: Coach Oleander, as you can see from the opening quote, takes summer camp ''WAY'' too seriously.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Coach Oleander, as you can see from the opening quote, takes summer camp ''WAY'' too seriously.

* [[What the Hell Player]]: 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.

* [[What the Hell, Player?]]: 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.

* [[White Dwarf Starlet]]: Gloria.

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[[Category:Humble Indie Bundle]]

[[Category:Psychonauts]]

[[Category:Video Game]]

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