Psychonauts 2 will have an invincibility toggle

Psychonauts
(Image credit: Double Fine)

Psychonauts 2 may feature a spinning tunnel of teeth but that doesn't mean you have to die in it, Double Fine has confirmed. The long-in-development sequel will have an invincibility toggle, meaning that you can beat the game without dying once, even if you're a beginner.

The studio confirmed as much on Twitter, during some stock standard Twitter brand banter. "If you beat Psychonauts 2 with the invincibility toggle on, you still beat P2," the studio tweeted. Adding later that "all people should be able to enjoy games."

"All ages, all possible needs," the messages continue. "It's an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to met [sic]. End of the day? We want you to have fun, to laugh, to experience a story that affects you. On whatever terms you want."

Perhaps expecting blowback from some quarters, Double Fine, uh, doubled down. "'uh, excuse me I beat Sword Guy Serious Time on a no hit hard mode and if [you] didn't do that I don't respect you. And like, can you even comment on things if you're not diamond six rank in shooty mcBlam? I don't think so.

"Cool bud. You're soooo cool! 🙃."

The difficulty in games conversation rears its head a lot, with the two chief combatants being those who advocate for accessibility at any cost, and those who think a studio's vision shouldn't be tampered with (the latter argument usually pops up in conversations about the Dark Souls games). 

Psychonauts 2 has been developed with "no crunch" so far, and it's expected to launch on August 25. 

Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

Read more
Doom: The Dark Ages art
After Doom Eternal's intense acrobatics, Doom: The Dark Ages will focus on simplified, ergonomic controls: 'You shouldn't be fighting the controls, you should be fighting the bad guys'
Revenge of the Savage Planet
Revenge of the Savage Planet adds a new perspective and deeper satire to the sequel's 'optimistic yet funny dystopia'
Assassin's Creed Shadows will have a 'Canon Mode' that will make all the correct RPG decisions for you
sci fi guy points a neon gun toward camera
Despite a 'teamwide oops, guess we made it too hard moment,' Hyper Light Breaker has 'no regrets' about its mixed-response early access launch, and now it's got a roadmap so everyone can 'git gud'
Split Fiction screenshot
I've played the new co-op game Josef Fares revealed at The Game Awards and the level of variety is unreal
Doom: The Dark Ages with original Doomguy's head Photoshopped on top
Doom: The Dark Ages' 'iron tank' gameplay takes things back to the very beginning: 'It feels more like classic Doom than any game we've made up to this point'
Latest in Action
Olivia scowls in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds feels easy at launch—but after a decade of fighting post-release elder dragons and Master Rank monsters, I'm not worried about the light warmup
Monster Hunter Wilds screen
Monster Hunter Wilds sells 8 million copies in 3 days, 'the fastest any game has done so in Capcom’s history'
Grand Theft Auto 5
How to transfer your GTA 5 save file to GTA 5 Enhanced and accept Rockstar's Online Policies if needed
Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced screen - Trevor setting fire to somebody's big dumb truck
Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced launch is going poorly or well depending on how you look at it: It's got a 'mixed' rating on Steam and is one of the most-played games
GTA 5 Enhanced Edition
What's the difference between Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced and Legacy?
Monster Hunter Wilds material farm - Kunafa villagers
How to farm materials in Monster Hunter Wilds
Latest in News
Image of Tecumseh in Civilization 7
Civilization 7's 'first major update' tweaks balance and fixes some UI issues, but don't expect an overhaul
Jeff Jarrett headshot
Legendary 1990s publisher Acclaim is back from the dead, and a pro wrestler famous for clobbering people with a guitar is on its advisory board
Monster Hunter Wilds screen
Monster Hunter Wilds sells 8 million copies in 3 days, 'the fastest any game has done so in Capcom’s history'
Tony Hawk doing a kickflip or whatever the hell it is in the cover art for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake is real, and it's coming in July with new skaters, parks, music, and more
The streamer Emiru gives the peace sign to camera.
Three women livestreaming on Twitch harassed by man who then goes for them while making repeated death threats: 'This happens off-camera to women all the time'
Marvel's Avengers screen
Will another Avengers game be assembled? 'We would definitely be open to it' says Joe Russo, co-director of Avengers: Doomsday