The International House of Mojo

Last year we brought some attention to the work of one @ScrungusCrungus, who has apparently devoted their time on Earth to reverse-engineering the Psychonauts source code, and more broadly to the discovery and collation of every fragment of esoterica related to the classic game. Certainly, Mixnmojo should be the very last to judge such an obsession.

The ongoing quest has included the search-and-seizure of rare pre-release media, which means the disreputable archives of certain fan sites and communities active in Double Fine’s earliest days are being plumbed, to the justifiable horror of us all. Mixnmojo, the Idle Thumb forums, and Thrik’s dedicated yet sadly unmaintained (Footnote: Not to get political, but I find this delinquency fairly reprehensible in light of the fact that CEOs are currently posting record profits.) fan site Razputin.net (which today redirects you to an Archive.org snapshot) are but a few of the resources that have fallen into the crosshairs of this Robert Caro-esque level of research:

ScrungusCrungus even politely noticed that The Grim Fandango Network (another milestone from Thrik’s executive training days) underwent a rather yawn-inducing theme change, leading to a bonding moment that international relations could stand to benefit from looking to as inspiration.

You can find some of ScrungusCrungus’ most notable findings collected on this blog dedicated to the purpose, but you’ll want to work up some loyalty toward the Twitter account if you want the minute-by-minute updates. And let’s not kid each other: you do.

It's time to put that kidney up for auction.

Limited Run is throwing together yet another boom of a collector’s edition, this time for Grim Fandango. We’re talking USB drives, posters, prints, Bone Wagon replicas, and postcards. All for a mere $99.99.

The sale goes live on November 4th and runs through December 18th. Platforms:

• PC
• Xbox
• PS

Oh! There’s also a triangle box for those who order Grim, DOTT, and Throttle. This is literally getting ridiculous.

Double Fine can’t stop, won’t stop with their Limited Run editions. This time: Full Throttle .

For a cool $85, you get . . . well, a bunch of stuff. Game, soundtrack, posters, bandana, a USB drive that hopefully isn’t corrupted, and more. Orders start October 7th and run through November 20th.

Like so many stories lately, this one comes from Twitter:

A very long thread of LUA voyeurism unfurls from there, including screenshots of amusingly candid comments in the code, hidden debug levels that were accidentally shipped, and some dialog lines that never get triggered due to bugs (Grim Fandango sympathizes). Even Psychonauts team members like Erik Robson (Lead Designer) and Kee Chi (Programmer) end up weighing in, so passionate fans of the game (and isn’t all of us?) might enjoy diging through.

It’s worth pointing out that @ScrungusCrungus seems to have been part of an effort to reverse-engineer Psychonauts for some time now, and past discoveries made along the way have also been documented for those who crave more.

Source: Twitter

Not content with you taking out a second mortgage for the a Psychonauts 2 collector’s edition, Double Fine has joined up with Limited Run to produce a boxed Day of the Tentacle. For a somewhat reasonable $85, the loot includes an OST CD, a poster, a tentacle flag, a hamster hand warmer, and fake barf.

And if you’re a cheapskate, there’s a standard box with just the game for $35, too. Hell, get both!

Orders open on the 22nd at 10 am Eastern. Once again, here is the link for the Double Fine completionist.

iam8bit has announced a bunch of Psychonauts 2 merchandise, all of which looks awesome. (And none of which is cheap.) Leading the pack is the “Psychonauts 2 Collector’s Edition,” which includes… well, everything, really. Sticker packs, art cards, discs, pin sets, and so on and so forth. The price? A cool $129.99.

Don’t put away that credit card yet, though: A super tempting six-LP set is waiting for you for (also) a mere $129.99. Or you can go for two discs for $49.99. A 250-page art book? Also $49.99.

And it all looks pretty sweet.

Of course, if you were a backer, some of these will be available gratis (for some). But you already read that email.

For the rest, go broke getting the aforementioned good.

Source: iam8bit

If you are a Mac and/or Linux user—and why wouldn’t you be?!—you can finally enjoy the glory that is Psychonauts 2. Go through your Humble link, use your existing game key, and kiss your next few weeks goodbye. Psychonauts 2 was named Mojo Game of the Year 2021 for a reason after all. (Also the only new Mojo-related game from what I can remember, remasters aside.)

Bonus news: If you have any interest in becoming a game composer, learn from the best: IGN has a video interview with Peter McConnell and some other guy about how to get into the industry. (All respect to the other guy who I’m not familiar with.)

We've come along way from this, now haven't we? Psychonauts 2 is well established to have been a critical darling, but it was no slouch in the sales department either -- at least if we're to believe this article from The Gamer. And we probably can, seeing as they're really just quoting a tweet from art director Lisette Titre-Montgomery, who refers to the sequel as the studio's "best-selling game to date."

Seeing as both the original Psychonauts and Brütal Legend sold over a million units over their lifespans, that would mean that Raz's latest adventure is in the seven figure range less than a year out. Now granted that's how many copies of Zak McKracken Germany sells in a day, but it's still pretty impressive if you ask me.

Source: The Gamer

Congratulations to Kimberly Brooks for winning a BAFTA for her role as Hollis Forsythe in Psychonauts 2. Double Fine had an incredible 6 nominations this year, including Artistic Achievement, Narrative, Game Beyond Entertainment, Technical Achievement, Music and Animation, but were cruelly pipped to the post in every category.

The original Psychonauts won the Best Screenplay BAFTA back in 2006, and its sequel recently won Best Narrative at the GDCA, so I bet Tim and company were hoping to take home another shiny face this year, but sadly it was not to be. Psychonauts 2 is still a modern day masterpiece though, and six nominations is nothing to feel bad about.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Return to Monkey Island news...

Source: Teh News

Behold, your Golden Train Ticket has arrived. No more wandering around for years as you pass through the land of the dead. Harkening back to the instant "Win Game" button of yesteryear comes this ticket, by way of iam8bit's Nintendo Switch version of Grim Fandango Remastered. But not just any release, but one that comes with feelies in the box, like the good old days. Now you can secure your very own Golden Train Ticket by bribing spending real money, just like characters in the game! And also, you can look as suave as Manny with your new Calavera Cafe matchbook -- but that is actually a notebook. Take down all of your game notes within it and soon you'll be remembering to dig through kitty litter with a magnet in no time.

Head on over to iam8bit's website to see what Manny has in store for you. I sure hope you've been a good person in your life. Otherwise... enjoy this walking stick.

Source: iam8bit

We didn’t do a “game of the year” for 2021, but I’m fairly certain Psychonauts 2 would have won had our laziness not prevented us from doing so. And what better way to celebrate that win-ish than by reading Alternative Magazine Online’s In Conversation With Peter McConnell? Questions are asked and promptly answered by the Psychonauts 2 composer, who amongst other things can share...

I can only agree. Now, read the whole thing!

We’re a day or two or three or so late on this one, but to quote Scummbuddy:

Well, hell! Resident Evil: Village looks to have won “Ultimate Game of the Year,” which… is what it is.

The real question is: Will Psychonauts 2 win Mojo’s coveted GOTY award? Stay tuned and see if we actually remember to hand it out.

Source: Scummbuddy

You love Double Fine and you love Psychonauts 2. Multiply that with your infatuation with new merch and you pretty much have no other option than to buy a bunch of new stuff from Fangamer. That “psychedelic cast” t-shirt isn’t going to wear itself after all. Run and shop!

Source: Jason ¬

On Tuesday, the passing of prolific voice actor Jack Angel was reported by multiple outlets. Among his many roles across film, television and video games, Angel contributed voice work to a number of LucasArts titles, including Star Wars: Dark Forces, Full Throttle, Outlaws, and most notably Grim Fandango, where he played the roles of Bruno Martinez, Seaman Naranja, and ol' Chepito, whose substandard sense of direction and undying love for the "Lil' Chipper" were legendary.

Happily, Angel's talent is eternalized via these classics. Now lift those knees, stay close to his light, and try to sing in key:

Source: Legacy

Psychonauts 2 – already a bona fide classic – is not about to go gentle into that good night. Springing into your Humble Bundle account right npw is a 29-track volume one of the soundtrack. Want even more? Greed is good, and you can stay tuned for future volumes.

Log into your Humble Bundle to get going.

While participating in an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit with forty-five other developers (among the tidbits: Wadjet Eye confirmed talking with Brian Moriarty about a Loom sequel years ago, but no legal headway could be made with Lucasfilm), Skunkape loosed a screenshot from Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space: Remastered:

I might also point out something we failed to report last month: a sweepstakes to win a specialized, Psychonauts 2-themed Xbox console. But we can at least get a look at it:

I guess we could have been quicker on the draw, but you don’t need that thing cluttering your house anyway.

Source: Reddit

When the Germans aren't serving as every other punchline for late comedian and human treasure Norm Macdonald, they're up to making gummy snacks tied in to your favorite Xbox games.

And so they were only doing what their biology insisted when they whipped up this tangy Psychonauts 2 candy. Buy a packet and have it bequeathed to your great grandchildren. It will taste exactly as good when they inherit it as it would now.

Hey, not deploying edible marketing didn't exactly do the original Psychonauts any favors at retail, so you can see the logic here.

Source: Twitter

These days, NME – née New Musical Express – is trying to regain its hip “street cred” with the kids, the type currently reserved for the Instagrams and the Mojos of the world. And what better way to do so than to have a chat with Peter McConnell about Psychonauts 2?

The interview is actually quite excellent, with small tidbits like this:

There’s also some stuff about the Grateful Dead in there which will make elTee question every aspect of his life that has led him to not play Psychonauts.

I also think we missed NME’s Tim Schafer interview, so go read that, too. NME, you might just have what it takes after all.

(But only Mojo has an MP3 of “Brain In A Jar,” from arguably the best level in Psychonauts 2.)

You've read the only review that matters. Now it's time to buy the game* and play it for yourself. Because you see, it's out.

That bears repeating. Psychonauts 2 is a thing now. It's released; it exists. Go ahead and pinch yourself, because this is really happening.

What's Mojo supposed to cover now? That's tomorrow's problem. Because, again: Psychonauts 2 is released.

*Unless of course you were a Fig backer at the appropriate level, in which case you got a key yesterday, but nobody likes a braggart.

It’s that rare time of year decade, where we put on our review boots in a timely manner and share our less than humble opinions. This time we skewer Psychonauts 2, at least if “skewer” means “love, hug, and cuddle with.”

Don’t get used to this type of timeliness, but today, go read our review. (Spoiler-free, too!)