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So... this is it! The mental world...

Raz during Basic Braining

Mental worlds, or mindscapes, refer to both the realm in which peoples' minds are physically manifested as well as the minds themselves. Psychics are able to access a person's mental world (typically by using a Psycho-Portal) and manipulate it in order to affect a person's psyche or actions in the real world. Mental worlds can be greatly manipulated by psychics, whether intentionally or unintentionally[1].

Fabricated mental worlds[]

Basic braining2

Basic Braining, an example of a fabricated mental world.

Mental worlds can be controlled by the host if they have sufficient control over their own psyche, although control is easily lost and hard to regain. Some mindscapes may be manipulated or intentionally created by the host mind to assist, deceive, or entertain the visiting psychic(s).

Mental worlds can sometimes contain fabricated information created by the host mind or the visiting psychic(s) with (or without) help from a Brain Tumbler. Examples of false information inside a mental world would be in Basic Braining, where the host mind was deceiving the psychic visitors with false memories. Other examples are the beginning scene of Loboto's Mind in Psychonauts 2 (invading psychics deceiving the host mind with a false location), The Milkman in The Milkman Conspiracy and Kochamara in Lungfishopolis (new mental figures created by an invading psychic).

The characteristics of a true unaltered Mental World represent real parts of the character's personality and experiences, and true traits can often leak into a fabricated world by accident, ex: the military rabbits in Basic Braining.

Animal mental worlds[]

Mental worlds are not limited to humans alone. Animals such as Linda have shown to have complicated and large mindscapes just like humans, complete with their own mental figures, figments, and memory vaults.

Barriers[]

Mental barriers, mental cobwebs and Emotional Roadblocks block off parts of a mental world and must be cleared to continue. They restrict access to memories that don't want to be remembered, are intentionally hidden, or have been forgotten.

Memory vaults[]

Vault5

A memory vault.

Main article: Memory Vaults

Memory Vaults are creatures found in mental worlds. They contain the memories of the person whose mind it resides in. These memories can be truthful or fabricated. They look like sentient safes with four legs and dog-like ears. They slightly resemble running puppies, with their "mouths" being located directly behind their faces. Memory vaults will typically try to run away from the visiting psychic.

Mental Figures[]

Main article: Mental Figures

Mental figures are characters that appear in mental worlds. These entities originate in and exist solely in mental worlds. Mental figures are often extensions or personifications of the host mind's personality or recreations of people from their own life. They can be both friendly to the host mind or hostile. Most mental figures are unique to that person's mind with some exceptions being the censors, memory vaults, bad ideas, regrets, doubts, panic attacks, nightmares, and personal demons which can appear in multiple mental worlds.

Mental figments[]

Main article: Mental figments

Figments are physical manifestations of a mind's imagination which appear all throughout mental worlds. They are two-dimensional illustrations that appear in a person's psyche and differ in color and appearance. They represent aspects of the host mind's personality, including personal goals, fears, and memories.

Psychic Interaction[]

Astral scrubbed

Raz using astral projection to enter a mind.

Psychics can enter mental worlds using astral projection. While in the mental world, psychics can meet and interact with various mental figures - extensions or personifications of the host mind's personality or recreations of people from their own life. Mental worlds typically represent one individual's single mind, however, under abnormal (and often dangerous) circumstances can represent multiple minds fused together. Known mental worlds formed from more than one brain are the Meat Circus, and to an extent, the Brain Tumbler Experiment. Psychics can either harm or heal the mental health of the host mind depending on how they interact with the mental world. If the psychic's goal is to provide therapy to the receiving mind, they can do so by interacting with mental figures and/or fighting the manifested fears, regrets, doubts, or other harmful entities inside the mindscape. It is possible for a psychic to unlock someone's repressed memories by exploring their mental world[2]. Once a psychic has entered a mind, they can return anytime through the collective unconscious if that mind is left unprotected.

Censors[]

Main article: Censors

Censor2

A green censor.

An important part of any sane person’s mind, the censors roam psyches, stamping out any thoughts that don’t belong. Their job is hunting out manias, delusions, and waking dreams, then smashing them to bits. Censors also see psychics as intrusive thoughts and will try to stamp them out. A healthy number of Censors is a key factor in dictating whether or not someone is sane, as a generally low censor count is a symptom of an underlying mental issue. However, psychics experienced in altering their own mindscapes can suppress censors if needed.

Gameplay Overview[]

Mental worlds serve as levels in the Psychonauts series.

Psychonauts[]

Mindscapes are most commonly accessed using Psycho-Portals. Alternatively, the Brain Tumbler in Sasha's Underground Lab allows Raz to access the Collective Unconscious, which serves as the central hub from which he can access all available mindscapes in the game he's unlocked. During the events at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, Razputin must complete a series of courses built by the camp counselors within their mindscapes in order to receive Merit Badges and obtain psychic powers. In order to reach Dr. Loboto atop Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed and save everyone's brains, Raz must traverse the mindscapes of Linda and the asylum's residents to heal them from their traumas, so they can aid him in his mission to climb the tower. Later, Raz, through a series of events, fuses his mind with Oleander's, forming the Meat Circus. They then must traverse the meat mindscape together and confront their personal demons.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin[]

There is only one mental world accessible in Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin. Raz enters the mind of Dr. Caligosto Loboto using Coach Oleander's Psycho-Portal. Raz is able to recover Loboto's repressed memories with help from Loboto's own mental figures.

Psychonauts 2[]

In Psychonauts 2, Mindscapes are still accessed using Psycho-Portals and Brain Tumblers.

Mental worlds in Psychonauts[]

  1. Coach Oleander's Basic Braining
  2. Collective Unconscious
  3. Brain Tumbler Experiment
  4. Sasha's Shooting Gallery
  5. Milla's Dance Party
  6. Lungfishopolis
  7. Milkman Conspiracy
  8. Gloria's Theater
  9. Waterloo World
  10. Black Velvetopia
  11. Meat Circus 

Mental worlds in Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin[]

Mental worlds in Psychonauts 2[]

  1. Loboto's Labyrinth
  2. Hollis' Mind
    • Hollis' Classroom
    • Hollis' Hot Streak
  3. Collective Unconscious
  4. Compton's Cookoff
  5. PSI King's Sensorium
  6. Ford's Fractured Mind
  7. Cassie's Collection
  8. Bob's Bottles
  9. Lucrecia's Lament
  10. Fatherland Follies

References/Notes[]

  1. In Psychonauts 2, once Raz links Risk with Money inside Hollis Forsythe's mind, it dramatically changes her mindscape from a hospital to a massive casino.
  2. Razputin was able to recover Loboto's repressed childhood trauma by exploring his memories in Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin.
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