Double Fine releases the launch trailer for Rhombus of Ruin, the standalone chapter of the Psychonauts saga where players step into the shoes of the hero Raz using VR.

While fans eagerly await their chance to dive back into the mind-bending, paranormal world of Psychonauts in its long-awaited sequel, a standalone chapter in the psychic saga is being released at the end of this month. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin will bridge the gap between the original and upcoming sequel, and Double Fine has just released its very cerebral launch trailer.

For those unaware, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin takes place directly after the original game. Furthermore, it is a PlayStation VR exclusive that allows players to jump into the mind of plucky psychic newbie Raz during a rescue mission to save Truman Zanotto, the grand head of the Psychonauts.

[embed width="800" height="450"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYkNKO9F28s[/embed]

The game's launch trailer says as much before using classic spy movie cliches to introduce its main cast with humorous effect. It even comes complete with its own James Bond-styled theme song.

The trailer tends to focus more on the visuals, the characters, and environments, as opposed to actual gameplay. Psychic powers, such as Clairvoyance to see through another person's eyes or Telekinesis to move objects, will play crucial roles in Rhombus of Ruin's puzzle-solving elements.

Anyone eager to get a glimpse of these mechanics, and how they're used in-game, will have to look back at the gameplay trailer released a while back. Keep in mind that the footage was captured from a pre-alpha build, so things could have changed quite a bit since then.

Psychonauts 2 is still deep in development, but Double Fine has recently released some new footage, referred to as the Quarry Art test, which is a fairly bare-bones gameplay demo that gives a good idea of how the finished game will appear. Additionally, the dev team recently added a former Bioshock 2 developer, and having the lead designer for a triple-A title on board should be a valuable asset. Currently, there is no set release date, but it's planned for some time in 2018.

All-in-all, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin looks like an interesting departure from the standard third-person perspective seen in the original game and planned for the sequel. Also, it's appropriate that players will be able to enter the mind of a character that is known for entering the minds of others to influence them in some way.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin will release for PlayStation VR on February 21, 2017.