Do I need to play the first one to play this one?

[<<IFæ>>Rickybobby.sL]

I know everyone is going to suggest playing 1, etc but just want to know if its needed.
Thanks

[SiJei]

It's not NEEDED to play the original and Rhombus Of Ruin, since you'll learn all the basics from intro. But I'll RECOMMEND you to play them, or at least watch on YouTube, since in the intro movie a lot of details were left out.

[CrumbleCat]

Yes, because it's an amazing game and there's 0 reason to pick 2 over 1. Just play the first first.

[Tripas]

You don't have to, but even though it's a bit janky by today's standards it's still a really clever game with some of the most unique levels you'll ever see.

But yeah, you can just go into this one blind and the game will give you all the basic background stuff, so you can enjoy the new story without feeling lost.

[halfmonkey]

All said above.

Can be played without, but you will miss the things that made the first game exceptional to other games from its time. The humor, the oddness, and above all the full experience of The Milkman Conspiracy. [Which is surprisingly NOT referenced in this game...even a little bit.]

[Just Vinny]

It's not necessary. The plot here is all self-contained. More or less. But there are a lot of characters who have no proper introduction or development because that was done in a previous game. However, the PLOT of the first game does not really factor in at all to the plot of this game. So as a story it stands on its own, but the characters and the world building all extend from the first game (and the VR game too)

[Noxxy]

Aside from a lot of jokes and references to the first game, it's fairly easy to jump into without knowledge of the first game.

[SiJei]

Well, I'm almost finished the main story and there are a lot more connehctions to the first game than jokes and references. Like the fact that events of the first game happened because of Maligula who gave Raz the Whispering Rock pamphlet which led him to decision to run away from his family. And the fact that Ford knew who Raz was from the beginning. Anyway, most important parts are covered in the intro so new players shouldn't have a lot of problems.
I would still recommend to play the first game. Graphics are outdated, of course, but gameplay is still pretty good. Psychonauts 2 is pretty similar to the first game in terms of gameplay, but with some improvements here and there.

[Mystry]

You don't HAVE to, no. But you'll miss out on quite a lot, seeing as how it's a sequel.

[PlebNC (UK)]

It's not required as the game does a great job getting you up to speed but the previous game are great in their own right and worth playing (unless you lack a VR headset then watch a let's play of Rhombus of Ruin), and there's alot of nods to them throughout.

[Gorlom[Swe]]

I mean the progression of powers is a bit weird in the sequel. I would recommend playing the first game just to get used to them. The first game kind of built the levels around learning them, this one dumps most of them on you in the beginning since you learned them in the first game.