Best answer: No, it's not necessary to play the original Psychonauts before you dive into Double Fine Production's latest game, Psychonauts 2. While Psychonauts 2's story does take place mere days after the first game (and immediately after Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the VR game), the game does a great job of recapping previous events and tutorializing characters, game mechanics, and lore. That being said, the first Psychonauts is still a great game that's well worth playing.