When Psychonauts 2 releases in 2021, its hero Razputin will have a whole new arsenal of mental weaponry at his disposal, and a recent trailer shows off his ability to slow down time. News of Psychonauts 2's delay to 2021 was announced recently, alongside a new look at its gameplay.

In the original Psychonauts, released in 2005, Raz was given eight psychic abilities. These included powers such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and levitation. In keeping with the game's psychic summer camp theme, these abilities were earned in the form of merit badges awarded once players reached a certain level. It looks as if quite a few abilities from the original will be returning to the sequel, along with a handful of new powers.

In the new "Brain in a Jar" trailer for Psychonauts 2 released by Double Fine, Raz is shown obtaining a new badge that allows him to slow time. According to a blog post on the official Xbox website, the new ability is called Time Bubble and is obtained from Jack Black's character, The Mysterious Stranger. The ability is used to slow down fast-moving enemies long enough to use Raz's PSI-blast, or freeze moving platforms to traverse levels. The blog post goes on to state that Black's character will accompany Raz on his journey to reawaken his lost senses.


The Psychonauts trailer also gives a close-up view of Raz's backpack where he houses all of his psychic power badges. The badges for pyrokinesis, telekinesis, levitation, PSI-blast, and clairvoyance are clearly displayed on Raz's pouch next to the Time Bubble badge, and it appears there are two more badge slots available. Assuming that there is only room for eight badges on Raz's backpack, Psychonauts 2 may not see the return of every power from the original game, and may not include many more new abilities, but the ability to control time is one that should make the game a lot more interesting.

The three missing badges from the original are PSI-shield, invisibility, and confusion, which are the least used of the abilities in Psychonauts. Players probably won't be too upset if they don't see the return of these powers, but it would be nice to have the full classic arsenal at their disposal. Regardless, Psychonauts 2 looks like a PSI-blast, and the recent gameplay trailer has re-ignited the flame of excitement for the game's release.