The events of Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin take place immediately after Raz graduates from psychic summer camp and becomes an official Psychonaut, or so he thinks. The first mission he tags along on after leaving Whispering Rock is to save his new girlfriend's dad and the head of the international league of crime-fighting psychics known as the Psychonauts. Originally released on the PSVR, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin allows players to get a look through Raz's goggles just as he used his clairvoyance ability to get a look through other character's eyes. Using this, Raz is able to find out that Truman Zanotto is being held in the Rhombus of Ruin, a play on the Bermuda Triangle.

After the jet crashes, the mixed team of amateur and professional Psychonauts have to work together to free themselves from the traps of the Rhombus as well as the evil forces that seek to do them harm. The gameplay in The Rhombus of Ruin consists of Raz transporting around the Rhombus using Clairvoyance, helping his teammates, and eventually finding and saving Zanotto. After discovering Loboto has kidnapped the Psychonauts' leader, Raz realizes there is no way that the amateur dentist could have pulled off this impressive feat alone.

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Into the Rhombus

psychonauts rhombus of ruin stage

As previously discussed, in the first Psychonauts Raz had defeated the big bad Coach Oleander before being awarded his final summer merit badge and becoming a Psychonaut. While on the way back to the Psychonauts HQ, Raz is able to use clairvoyance to see that the head of the crime-fighting psychics is being held underwater in an area called the Rhombus of Ruin. While en route, the jet crashes, and Raz wakes up tied to a chair by Loboto, who has captured the head of the Psychonauts for nefarious reasons. Raz has to use Clairvoyance to help his team escape the hallucinations being caused by the Psitanium deposit underneath the Rhombus.

Eventually, Raz must enter the mind of Loboto and challenge a giant version of the character to a fight for Zonotto. While he initially looks like he has had a change of heart, Loboto still opts to flood the base with Raz and the team still inside of it. It's shown at the beginning of Psychonauts 2 that Loboto might not be able to resist the person controlling the strings due to some influence, so he likely couldn't resist the urges telling him to try and kill the Psychonauts.

A Mysterious Force Controlling Loboto

psychonauts rhombus of ruin raz

Fans of the first game can attest that Dr. Loboto isn't always the sharpest dentist instrument in the set, and often makes simple mistakes. As such, it would be impressive if the wannabe dentist had somehow thought up and executed a plan that ended up with the Psychonauts' leader being captured and then put into a fugue state. It's much more likely that there is some bigger force at play, and fans can get a first look at that in the first brain of Psychonauts 2.

While it's been nearly 16 years since the first Psychonauts was released, it will only have been a couple of days in-universe between the first and second game. This makes catching up on the adventure Raz had in those three days important, as it gives background credibility to the new threat facing the player in the sequel. While Loboto is small potatoes, it seems like he may be working as a tool to someone who is much darker and has a lot more power. If even Loboto is afraid, then Raz should watch his every step.

Psychonauts 2 will launch on August 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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