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Censors

This is a Censor, an integral part of any sane person's mind. The Censors roam through your psyche, looking for thoughts that don't belong. Hallucinations, manias, waking dreams. The Censors hunt them down, and censor them out.

–Sasha Nein, explaining their purpose to Raz.

Censors are the most common type of enemy encountered in mental worlds in the Psychonauts series. They resemble tiny, long-armed men wearing business suits and glasses. The natural defense systems of any mind, doing their best to stamp out dangerous or harmful thoughts such as manias, depression, etc. Unfortunately, they also see foreign psychics as dangerous invaders. They typically do not see their host psychic as an invader.

Censors function like a mental immune system for a person's mind. Their prime objective is to keep order and get rid of intrusive thoughts by stamping them out. Since Razputin is a foreign entity when entering another person's mind, he is considered an unwanted intrusion and the Censors will attack him. A healthy number of Censors is a key factor in dictating whether or not someone is sane, as generally a low censor count is a symptom of an underlying mental issue. However, psychics experienced in altering their own mindscapes can suppress censors if needed.

Varieties of Censors[]

Psychonauts[]

There are five types of Censors: Stamping Censors, Little Censors, Shouting Censors, and Strongarm (Heavy) Censors, and the Mega Censor.

Stamping Censors[]

Stmping scrubbed

A stamping censor.

An important part of any sane person’s mind, the censors roam our psyches, stamping out any thoughts that don’t belong.Their job is hunting out manias, delusions, and waking dreams, then smashing them to bits. And since Raz is a foreign body in the minds he enters, he is fair game, and the censors will not rest until he is stamped out.

–Psychonauts Official Manual Guide

The most common variety of Censor. They will chase after Razputin, attempting to stamp him out from up close. Having only a basic stamping attack, they can be easily disposed of, and are good enemies to practice psychic powers on. Unlike the other censors, the stamping censors don't have eyebrows.

Little Censors[]

These Censors are much smaller than the ordinary stamping censors, but usually appear in larger numbers, and will try to surround Raz. The Palm Bomb is an effective method of dispatching them. Like the stamping Censors, they don't have eyebrows.

Shouting Censors[]

Shouting censor scrubbed

A shouting censor.

These censors are bigger and smarter than normal censors, and can fire a deadly blast of "NO!" at Raz from far away. Raz will have to master the fine art of Mental Focus Lock to nail these guys with his PSI Blast.

–blurb from the Psycho Manual

The shouthing Censors are larger Censors who carry clipboards covered in X's. They shout a deadly "No" blast at Raz, and take more hits to defeat. Simply hitting them with a few PSI Blasts can finish them off, but Raz can also use Invisibility to get up close while avoiding their shouts. Raz can additionally use Shield to protect himself from their blasts. The shouting Censors can use their clipboards as melee weapons, striking Raz if he gets too close.

Strongarm[]

Strongarm

A strongarm censor.

Just run away. That's all I'm saying. These guys are much tougher than your average censor if you see one you should just run. Or hide somehow. Probably should write a letter home to your mom and tell her you love her, and goodbye.

–- Description from the Psychonauts box pamphlet

Large, muscular Censors that have "NO" tattooed on their knuckles. They hit hard and can take it hard, attacking through punch barrages and slamming the ground, but they're quite slow and they don't have a whole lot of range. Raz can use Pyrokinesis on them to sap away their health, and finish them off with Marksmanship. Alternatively, Raz can make them use that strength against their fellow Censors with Confusion.

Mega Censor[]

Main article: Mega Censor

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The Mega Censor.

You are my own creation! I command you to stop!

–Sasha Nein

The Mega Censor is an enormous Censor wielding a massive stamp, accidentally fused from the many Censors in Sasha Nein's mind due to blocking off all Censor outlets. Fought only in Sasha's Shooting Gallery in Psychonauts.

Psychonauts 2[]

Censors[]

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A stamping censor.

Stamping Censors return in Psychonauts 2, although without a confirmed variant name. They are the most common variety of Censor. Like in Psychonauts, they will chase after Razputin, charge up a stamp attack, and attempt to stamp him out from up close. They also have a shouting blast attack, carried over from the Shouting Censors from the first game, where they fire a prohibition symbol at Raz. They can also use a spinning attack on Raz, which makes them dizzy and vulnerable afterwards. PSI-Punch is useful against them.

Little Censors[]

Little Censors return in Psychonauts 2. These Censors are much smaller than the ordinary stamping censors, but usually appear in larger numbers, and will try to surround Raz. They can be taken out with a single PSI-Punch or PSI-Blast. While these Censors are weaker than other enemies and doesn't have the ranged projectile attacks of their bigger cousins, they can lunge significantly farther than than any other Censors.

Heavy Censors[]

Heavy scrubbed

A heavy/Strongarm censor.

Heavy Censor: Crushes thoughts that don't belong.

–In-game description

In Psychonauts 2, Strongarm Censors make a return in the form of Heavy Censors. They retain their ripped clothing and muscular form, but have a few minor redesigns. They have notably hairier arms, and their tattooed knuckles have been replaced with brass knuckles with red "NO"s engraved on the front.

They're now faster, can take out much more punishment, can charge at Raz for an uppercut, and most of their attacks take out at least 1 entire unit of health, including their fast and large projectiles. They have also adopted the ranged attack of the Shouting Censors on account of their absence.

Minds censors do not appear in[]

  • Censors do not appear in the Milkman Conspiracy until the Den Mother's home is entered by Raz.
  • Censors do not appear in Loboto's mind until he recovers his moral compass.
  • Censors do not appear in Lungfishopolis because of Coach Oleander's mental interference.
  • Censors do not appear in the Meat Circus. This could be because of how Raz and Coach Oleander's brains got scrambled together.
  • Censors do not appear in Basic Braining. This could be due to Coach's bad mental state, or he could have them under control so they don't attack the campers.
  • Censors do not appear in Tomb of the Sharkophagus, likely because the level only exists for the plot. It is the only mental world in Psychonauts 2 with no Censors.

Trivia[]

  • "No", "Yes", "Ow", "Yup!", "Doh", "Geronimo!", "Where'd he go?", and "Where is he?" are the only words the Censors say.
  • In Waterloo World, They say "non" instead of "no".
  • While their default designs are that of obstructive bureaucrats, their outfits will sometimes change depending on which world Raz is in. For example, Waterloo World has them wearing Napoleon hats, Gloria's Theater has them wearing flower petal headdresses, and Milla's Dance Party has them dressed in purple suits and striped top hats.
  • The Strongarm Censors, surprisingly, don't appear in Sasha's Shooting Gallery. Instead, they first appear in the minds of the asylum patients.
  • In Psychonauts, upon death, Censors will be sent flying into the air and explode upon impact with the ground. However, the Shouting Censor will merely collapse rather than go flying, and will explode after a few seconds.
  • Using Clairvoyance on any Censor shows they see Raz as a virus to eradicate.
  • The beta design of the Censors depicted them as green-skinned beings with light green stripes and glowing orange eyes, far different from their human-like appearance used in the final product.
  • Censors are able to interact with other entities in mental worlds.
    • This is best displayed during The Milkman Conspiracy, where it is revealed that they are working alongside the G-Men to find and destroy the Rainbow Squirts, who are also a foreign presence in Boyd's mind.
    • In Psychonauts 2, the Enablers have the ability to support Censors and other enemies within their surroundings, granting them an offensive/defensive buff that makes them completely invulnerable and also gives them a damage and speed boost as a result.
  • Promotional art for Psychonauts 2 shows that censors are able to go on strike, which will apparently result in a total loss of inhibitions.
  • Although most censors break into positive mental health when killed, not all of them do. In the Milkman Conspiracy, If Raz returns to the level once it has been completed, the corpses of dead censors can be found littered around the Rainbow Squirt's hideout.
  • Three of the five variants of censors are known to make their appearance in Psychonauts 2, those being the Stamping censors, Little censors, and the repurposed Strongarm censors, having been renamed to "Heavy Censors".
  • The G-men aren't considered censors, but they serve the same role, that is to eliminate foreign mental presences.
  • The Personal Demons are called "suicide censors" inside Psychonauts game file names.
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