The best video game documentary ever just got better

The best video game documentary of all time has just released a 90-minute prologue and a special edition Blu-ray (including an 80-page booklet for which I wrote the intro). That’s great for dedicated fans, but for newcomers I have some excellent news too: you can Double Fine PsychOdysseyin its entirety, for free on youtube right now.

There are two things you need to know about Double Fine PsychOdyssey.

First, the documentary series (released on YouTube in early 2023) is one of the most candid, thorough, and lovingly crafted accounts of the video game development process ever made. There are tears. There are laughs. There are extended conversations about how to finance a multimillion-dollar work of art that may never be finished. Though it’s made by Double Fine’s in-house video production team, 2 Player Productions, this is neither PR nor marketing. This is a “warts and all” behind-the-scenes television story of the long and sometimes troubled production of Psychonauts 2. It feels like you’re looking at it like reading the collective diaries of an entire creative team. A year after its release I still can’t believe the board not only approved it but funded it.

Secondly, this documentary is long. Very, very long. 32 parts, each episode lasting between 20 minutes and two hours. And with the final episode, the equivalent of an extra feature film has been added.

YouTube has become notorious for video essays that equate length with quality. Sometimes videos justify their four-hour analysis of a Star Wars-themed hotel. Other times, you’ll find yourself ten hours into the history of a retro video game, wondering why the host spent the last 30 minutes talking about the French Revolution. PsychoOdyssey falls into the former camp, earning its running time and making it all digestible thanks to its episodic format – most episodes work just as well on their own as they do as part of the whole.

It’s perfect weekend viewing material. And if you’re a mega fan like me, be sure to check out the special edition Blu-ray from Limited Run Games, featuring deleted scenes, additional interviews, and internal gameplay videos. You know, in case 20-some hours wasn’t enough.