This often overlooked xbox title found its way into my steam library almost 10 years ago, and subsequently found its way into my heart as a bonafide classic.

Psychonauts is one of the best platformers of the mid 2000s ranking up with the likes of Okami, Super Mario Sunshine and Spyro. Doublefine and Tim Schafer knocked it out of the park with psychonauts and it's often overlooked in the sea of amazing platformers released in 2005.

Each level is lovingly crafted around storied characters and amazing art direction. The designs of both the characters and the levels they inhabit ooze personality, the gameplay is fantastic, it's easy to get lost in the bizarre world of Psychonauts, thanks to it's age it's very fairly priced as well and it'd be an insult to your steam library if you didn't buy it at such a low price point.

The voice acting is top notch and each voice actor deserves all the praise in the world for their roles (some highlights for me included Rasputin, Mila and Coach Oleander). Each voice actor flawlessly delivers tonnes of masterful voice work for many optional parts of the game that you may never hear, true fans will seek out all of the unique Mr. Pokeylope voicelines from each individual camper.

The graphics still hold up fairly well compared to many other games of the mid 2000s, it's brilliantly designed and many levels stand out thanks to their incredible art direction, one of my favourites being Black velvetopia.

The story is enthralling and engages easily. It cleverly takes turns and twists in the least expected manners, as you venture through the messy minds of many of the inhabitants of whispering rock psychic summer camp you won't know what to expect next as both the environment you're in and the characters around you change dynamically depending on which part of the game you're currently at. It's a joy to scour across the camp after each mesmerising mission, as you never know which minor characters may have been up to while you've been jumping through someone else's psyche, following these side characters short stories between levels quickly became a favourite pass time of mine between brilliant levels.

The open world of whispering rock psychic summer camp is inviting and rewards exploration with meaningful powerups in the form of the collectable PSI cards and PSI challenge markers, if you enjoy searching for small secrets in secluded parts of videogames you'll absolutely enjoy powering yourself up with these fun collectables.

The soundtrack by Peter McConnell is simply fantastic serving its purpose as an amazing audio backing for some of the best gameplay i've ever experienced. Every track (in particular The Milkman Conspiracy and The Meat Circus) fit the game so well and I can't ever imagine playing this game muted, a lot of games I play I listen to music on Spotify or maybe play a podcast while gaming, but with Psychonauts its tracks really tie each individual stage together in their quirky charming way and you might find yourself humming a few choice songs while walking around the house, and that's a real testament to the impact the audio has combined with the brilliant voice acting, art direction and stage design.

in 2006 Psychonauts won the BAFTA for Best Screenplay and playing the game it's easy to see why. Overall this game is a strong 9/10 with every element of it's production oozing charm and personality from start to finish. I personally can't wait for the much anticipated Psychonauts 2 and I immensely enjoyed the spin-off VR title the Rhombus of Ruin.

Please check out this game if you enjoy amazing platformers from the mid 2000s with hilarious writing, astounding artwork, engaging storylines and sensational voice acting.