Double Fine's documentary series PsychOdyssey takes us through the highs and lows of development

Psychonauts 2
(Image credit: Double Fine)

Double Fine Productions and 2 Player Productions have released Double Fine PsychOdyssey, an "unprecedented documentary experience seven years in the making".

Documenting the development of Psychonauts 2, the free series - which can be seen in full on YouTube and will take you the best part of a full day to get through - is described as "the direct continuation of the acclaimed series Double Fine Adventure, and offers even deeper insight into the passion, humor, and heartbreak of video game development".

"Ten years after the release of their flagship video game Psychonauts, Double Fine Productions returns to its most celebrated franchise with Psychonauts 2," states the playlist's description.

"Now facing the pressure to produce a worthy sequel, the studio must confront overly ambitious designs, poor morale, technical challenges and financial woes, all during a turbulent span of time for the world."

Psychonauts 2 is now Double Fine's best-selling game. That's according to art director Lisette Titre-Montgomery, who recently claimed that her "leadership resulted in shipping [Double Fine's] highest-rated and best-selling game to date".

"April Fools Day was my last day at Double Fine," she tweeted at the time. "I have learned so much over the past four years+ about who I am as a leader and what it means to be a creative visionary," she said. "Thank you for trusting me to bring the world of Psychonauts 2 to life."

Double Fine boss Tim Schafer has confirmed that the studio’s next project will not be Psychonauts 3 but something brand new. After revealing that Psychonauts 2 was "the first real big follow-up to a big story" that the studio had done, Schafer said: "I think it leads me to want to do new, original stuff for the next phase. Coming up with new ideas is really where my head is at right now"... although as Tim Schafer said himself, "never say never" to Psychonauts 3.

It was also revealed recently that the first Psychonauts originally started life as a peyote trip scene in Full Throttle.

Did you enjoy Double Fine’s sequel? Find out how Psychonauts 2 and its mental metaphors gave Hope a new way to combat negative feelings.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Read more
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Life is Strange director says Don't Nod returned to its episodic roots in Lost Records because he's not "invested" in Netflix's binge model
Official art for Hopetown, featuring a group of miners looking towards the camera.
The battle to steal the Disco Elysium successor's spotlight continues as former and current ZA/UM devs reveal teasers for their new RPGs simultaneously
Baldur's Gate 3 companion Shadowheart, a young woman with braided black hair and plated armor, smirking while glancing to the side
Baldur's Gate 3's Swen Vincke, feeling all "nostalgic," teases the "the story ain't over" for Larian Studios' "incredible journey"
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered
The Soul Reaver remaster's director was hired after creating their own fan remaster for free
The key art for Baldur's Gate 3 showing dragons and the Nautilus, with Karlach standing in the foreground, weapon in hand
The Making of Baldur's Gate 3: "We really wanted to make it so that even if you don't know D&D or Baldur's Gate, you would still have exciting choices as a player"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
Latest in Platformer
Animal Well screenshot, captured on PC
After his excellent debut Metroidvania took 7 years, Animal Well's solo dev says his next game shouldn't "take nearly as long"
Crash Bandicoot PS1
Former Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida says the PlayStation marketing team had to completely redesign Crash Bandicoot in PS1 commercials because he was too ugly for the Japanese market
Astro Bot
Astro Bot director says precisely what the industry needs to hear: "It's OK to make a small game" because "players today have a backlog of games" they can't complete
Sonic and Shadow clash in front of the moon in Sonic X Shadow Generations
Sonic gets an official lore timeline that goes "tens of thousands of years" into the past and 200 years into the future, and somehow canonizes a party game spin-off
Super Mario 64
Blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner declares "70 Star is DEAD" after he "absolutely obliterated" his old record
Spyro the Dragon speedrunner Dayoman
Spyro the Dragon speedrunner caps off a 5-month grind with a legendary world record milestone: "They said it couldn't be done!"
Latest in News
Fallout 76 screenshot showing an irradiated mutant man-like creature screeching, its sharp canine teeth showing
After 14 years at Bethesda, Skyrim and Fallout veteran made his final settlement in just 2 days – but only because he'd made some rough ones before that
halflife screenshot showing a headcrab jumping at a player
Half-Life devs worried Gabe Newell "promised things that they couldn't possibly deliver" for the iconic FPS, but "they just didn't know" that they'd be able to do it yet
Razer Freyja back cushions
Dune: Awakening will launch with full Razer Sensa HD haptics
Seth Rogen in The Studio
New Apple TV show with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes teases all its cameos, including Martin Scorsese and Zac Efron
Giovanni and Mewtwo from Pokemon Destined Rivals
Team Rocket is blasting off again in new Pokemon TCG expansion, Destined Rivals
Jack Reynor in Midsommar
Midsommar star cast in new Mummy movie, but still no word from the original stars