4. Psychonauts Explores Millas Secret Room
Psychonauts is a quirky platformer by
Double FineProductions. It's also the internet's go-to game when arguing that the majority of gamers are an unappreciative bunch; because, like most modern
Tim Schafer projects, it did lousy in the sales department - but became a cult classic. So, you play as young psychic Raz, who runs away from the circus to become a Psychonaut, and explore the minds of the many zany characters he comes across. Picture
Inception written by
Dr. Seuss, and you'd be half way there.
So, what's so disturbing about Psychonauts? Lots. It takes place in the warped minds of some down-right bizarre characters after all; so you end up exploring places like the
Meat Circus. There's a lot of eclectic ideas mashed together, but it's all done in a cartoony way so it doesn't end up any stranger than watching an episode of
Courage the Cowardly Dog. Just don't look at what's in
the sky during the Asylum level if you want to keep your sanity. As the game progresses the tone gets progressively darker; so when you go into the mind of the Brazilian Milla, it's quite a pleasant surprise to discovering it's essentially an uplifting seventies dance party. But then you find the
obligatory secret room. Well, what can be said about this? It's quite a shocker and packs an emotional punch. We learn that Milla was once in charge of looking after children at an orphanage, which was burnt down during an accident killing the children. This is obviously something that haunts Milla, which would be disturbing enough, but the game goes one step further. Upon entering the chest in the room Raz is teleported to a carousel/fiery cage hybrid. Strange creatures - that I'm assuming are manifestations of the children - circle the outer area and cry out several disturbing phrases: "Save us... Save us!" and "Why did you let us die?" It comes across as pretty mean-spirited for a game that's largely a laugh a minute; like whenever a sitcom does an infertility episode. But at least when compared to most games, this little tale is deeper than the sunken city of R'lyeh.
