Psychonauts 2: Bob's Bottles Walkthrough | SPOILERS

[@cannon-kp1tr]

no one is talking about bob snapping out of the cocoon because the Helmut plant said something the real Helmut would never say and that's a really nice moment

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

That's usually how healing from mental illness, especially forms of depression and anxiety, starts: Catching them in a lie. I also loved how it was something "Helmut" said that clicked for Bob

[@dfrgnovalelapenamirar4450]

Almost made me cry, good stuff.

[@peterjaimes8776]

I didn't and don't follow.

[@Queen_LizzieUwU]

@@peterjaimes8776 What don’t you get?

[@DarkArtistKaiser]

@@magicrainbowkitties1023 No kidding. Depression tends to make things seem way worse than they are, like how Bob was fired from Psychonauts. You see Truman fuming mad at him, but when you see the memory vault he looked rather sad to even be doing it, implying that it was far less heated.

[@CmdrVoltaire]

WOW. There was a LOT to unpack in this one. Next to Lucrecia, Bob was the character I felt the most sympathy for out of all of them. He just sounded so completely...broken, right up until the end of his stage. Failing to stop one of his best friends, failing to save his lover, failing to keep his addiction under control...if Raz hadn't been there to pull him out, he'd likely have died there in the greenhouse just like his mother. They'd better put some DLC in later on where he and the team go back for Helmut's body. Those two need a happy ending.

[@froztgamergamesreactionsan6298]

I hope for the happy ending myself, either dlc or a series, or something

[@Oceanworker]

I need a dlc so bad i never cried so much because that level... was a masterpiece and made me cry so damn hard. Like every scene hit me so damn hard.

[@thehermit8618]

Tbh it would be nice to have some DLC where Raz goes back into the heads of the Psychic six to kinda dredge memories of that fated fight with Maligula to try and pinpoint the exact location Helmut's body may be and see how much they progressed after Raz's help: Ford's reformed mind, Compton running Ram it Down, Bob's barren island made into a bountiful garden, things like that

[@LawrenceJohnYoung]

@@thehermit8618 there is probably enough content content on the table for a third game. Id love to see what's going on in the other interns' minds

[@skjaldmr5388]

Absolutely! I really want to see them again, and I want to see Helmut in his old body once more.

[@psychromaniac3525]

There's a deep resonance in the contradiction between the two opening scenes. In the greenhouse, Bob wants nothing to do with Raz and violently kicks him out. But on the island, he begs Raz not to leave. There's a lot there to say.

[@KnoxCarbon]

The one we see in Bob's mind is the real Bob Zanotto, his real thoughts and feelings stranded on an island in an endless ocean of alcohol.

[@rmaster4784]

Also Bob is subconsciously controlling the vine like Cassie did to the bees however unlike her who controlled the brees to "protect" her Bob is controlling the vine to let Raz help him and keep him from leaving. Edit: Bob in the real world is clearly drunk or at least not 100% sober.

[@Rigelbloore]

The sight of bob, caught up in his own isolation (in the form of a literal island), kneeling inside a vase where nothing grows despite his specialty being plants (a great metaphor for depression), his hand outstretched towards raz, begging him not to go... I spent the first minutes of this world trying to hold back tears. However, at the end, my sadness turned into joy when I saw bob getting rid of his desire for avoidance and self-isolation (the moth) and staring at all those glowing lights floating gently in the water. I will keep the meaning of that scene in my heart: memories, no matter how painful, are seeds from which something can grow.

[@Nukeboy718]

That was beautiful. Thank you for such a wonderful comment!

[@TravistheGREAT03]

The moth represents alcoholism.

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

@@TravistheGREAT03 Can it not represent both?

[@mackielunkey2205]

This is basically if a Cartoon Network cartoon met Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

[@jesusrivera98]

I want to get that last mantra framed, with some flowers. Thank you for putting the lesson of this level in such beautiful words :)

[@nardopol0]

It's pretty sad how Bob doesn't even resist when the plant puts the door on his head. He's so miserable, he knows Rasputin couldn't make things worse.

[@gamerheart8148]

I think he was put in a trance when the psyco portal was put on his head.

[@Nehfarius]

"Worst case scenario...ugh, not like I got much to lose, anyway."

[@rmaster4784]

@@gamerheart8148 the trance only happens when Raz is going inside the portal.

[@TheGusst2Gamer]

Actually, if you notice, the vines were his subconscious. Outside of his mind, he kicks you out. Inside his mind, he pledge you to stay. He's probably not sober but subconsciously he wants help.

[@thehyeszman]

My favorite stage. So much symbolism. Bob literally hiding his painful memories in giant bottles of liquor. The wrecked ship in bottle 2 representing Helmut's death. The figments of liquor and drunken behavior in the Psychonauts HQ foreshadowing why Truman gave him the axe. The Bulb Bob breaking the Helmut statue showing how he blames himself for Helmut's death. Just amazing!

[@Circuitssmith]

The bottle symbolism and the fact that Maligula was imprisoned behind a literal wall of emotional baggage were crowning achievements of the developers.

[@supersnackbros2423]

That last part I didn't pick up on. DAMN

[@DK_Vandaryn]

@@Circuitssmith oh shit 👀I didn’t even notice that when I got to that part

[@shelbybayer200]

Helmut isn't dead His body is missing but his Brain is in the Motherlobe brain preserving machine

[@SlipMaker]

It’s a nice touch how some parts of the soundtrack incorporate the tune of “What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor?”

[@Alphapkmn]

I kept hearing bits of Broken Age

[@Nehfarius]

You sober him up and chase away the pesky mind moths trying to pull him back into the bottle, of course!

[@caseyhughes5313]

I like how they handled Bob and Helmut's relationship, a lot of media these days are scrambling to look more inclusive that they often come off as cringe and forced like "Look how gay they are! We're so inclusive! Praise us!" but they made it a natural part of there character with out it completely overshadowing there personality, there just people with there own problems and demons to deal with, the fact that they're gay is secondary to all of that, its not in-your-face and overbearing and makes the characters easy to relate to and connect with, were in other instances there so in-your-face and overbearing about it you wonder "Is this all there is to this character?" not sure if I'm getting my point across right but that's what I think about it also i just love Helmut as a character, he looks like he'd be the broist bro who ever bro'ed, like he'd sit down with you and listen to your problems give you his best advice and then take ya out for beers and sing a song to help cheer ya up.

[@d.j.sterling6694]

How to write a GOOD gay relationship: Step 1: write an interesting relationship as if it were straight Step 2: make it gay... Step 3: THERE IS NO STEP 3!

[@sloanemiller1833]

The two have one of the most genuine relationships I've seen sexuality excluding! They care about and value the other and the other is a big source of courage! ITS SO FRIGGING SWEET!

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

I LOVE Bob and Helmut in this game, especially because we don't often get older (like post-30) folks for LGBTQ representation. GAYS ARE NOT JUST 20-SOMETHING TWINKS, YO!

[@gamerheart8148]

It's nice because they act like a normal married couple (Male and Female)

[@BanishedSilentShadow3318]

I think that's what makes psychonauts 2 a great game, the game just keeps the story flowing neutrally without making it centered around it like Bob and Helmut are gay but it wasn't centered around them like "they are gay but people around them didn't accept it" like the media would portray gay relationships. Bob and Helmut's relationship just seems natural since we see it in Bob's memories that Helmut did made him feel happy.

[@TreeckoJedi9]

Even though this is probably one of the most frustrating levels, I really like how creative the platforming is in this mindscape. With the drunk spuds breathing on the water and you have to time your jumps.

[@donvoltonus8898]

Notably, the vines on the Astrolathe don't get removed by Bobby, but leave themselves when he's feeling better. Like, they're acting on his subconcious silently begging for help he can't bring himself to ask for. Forcing Raz to come to the source of them an help Bob.

[@ripco_virgo]

that line in the beginning when leaving the island "don't go" idk why but that hit me really hard.

[@piroshi3rd]

This level means a lot to me. I'm going through a similar situation with my mom. My sister passed away last year and my mom turned to alcoholism really hard. Unlike Bob though my mom's still alive, but trying to help her out of it has been extremely hard and emotionally taxing because of how frustrated I am that I can't seem to effectively help her no matter what I think to do. I keep reflexively warning myself how terrified I'd be if she passed away and I have the thought "I should've done more". But I realized with how Raz reacts to him and how a majority of let's players react to this level that even if I couldn't manage to save my mom from herself in the end, people would most likely look at me with pity and understanding instead of the resentment I feel when I look at myself thinking I'm not good enough. People like Raz would probably know I really did and am doing everything I am realistically capable of - I might not be a powerless child like Bob was when he lost his mom, but we know even an adult can't "fix" people or force them to do what they want which is what we learned from Hollis. This level teaches a lot about how we always tend to hurt ourselves more than others realistically would judge us. That's a really important message. The imagery of all the seeds floating in the ocean and Bob saying "I'll take care of these just one at a time" is something that will stick with me as extremely important as well. It's so much easier to live and keep living after letting go of the guilt that I'm not doing enough or I'm not good enough. I regularly get so stressed by those thoughts that I would shut down completely like a lot of the NPCs you have to help. What matters is that we keep trying at all, even if the victories are extremely little. We don't need to kick a huge bad habit in a day either, sometimes all we need to do is walk out of our little psycho isolation chamber and show up as support for a friend.

[@hithere911]

I'm sorry for your loss and what you and your family are going through. You seem like a pretty strong person. I hope you get more small victories, at the very least.

[@a.rustici1972]

I wish you the best of luck and the happiest of days, as well as good health for you and your family.

[@jjopification]

All the best from another stranger who's been touched by your story and how this level (or call it chapter) of the game seems to help you to come to peace! For some reason I didn't really get the point of this level until I dug into it afterwards. It's seriously one of the very best: Visually, music- and story-wise and not least because of its message.

[@Sithno]

the first bottle...i felt such heart break for bob "alcoholism feeds itself" was all i could see Bob was number 2 on the most tragic Mental Trauma Still ..the ending of this mental trip makes me smile seeing the PSI King and his Heart flower seeing each other again

[@caf3755]

Or at least... Having Bob's emotions all bottled up.

[@Sithno]

@@caf3755 true ..each Big bottle was a link to the Deeper emotion he was trying to keep away for those emotion held the seeds of doubt not the seeds of hope we see in the end good catch

[@Humbuggiez]

Those vows have been stuck in my head since I played , that was unbelievablely beautiful I teared up

[@ojmcmuffins8019]

its such a small detail but i still cant get over the water parting everytime bulb bob swings around. his alcoholism pushes everyone and everything away and he feels helpless to do anything but be carried away by his destructive habits.

[@plague3038]

Throughout The Wedding I kept thinking “No way, they wouldn’t make it gay.” But they did. Thankyou Tim and all the other Double Fine devs.

[@joeherrera8826]

Im just glad they made it part of the story and secondary instead of just making it the whole focus by making a point and actually made two great gay characters in a good story.

[@churro3205]

Based Double Fine Devs

[@thehermit8618]

@@joeherrera8826 and it feels real, when Helmut and Bob talk to eachother they *feel* like a married couple, they speak inna way that remind me of my own parents and the chemistry a married couple seem to develop once they live with eachother long enough

[@jatakeunade3832]

I was so surprised too, I was like in a game this old there was no way they were gay 🤣

[@MrTaylork1]

@@jatakeunade3832 what do you mean old. It just came out..

[@MusingsMuses]

Something no one seems to point out is you can see from the platforming areas, Bob's mind was once very peace and beautiful and has been broken and drown in alcohol. In other memory vaults Bob is almost always off to the side or in the background so he was probably very shy and not very social . A lot of introverts, myself included, can attest to having a very rich 'inner life' while not having much of one outside of themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if Bob was casually using booze to 'loosen up' around the others and only when Helmut started caring about him did Bob go sober.

[@ClockworkBear]

There were a lot of great things about this game, but Bob stands out for me as my favorite...I felt the most connection to him.... Wait.... Don't go! *sniff* ok Bob, I won't leave! And the wedding part..... just ... wow.

[@Nasubionna]

“Looks like another dead soldier” sends chills down my spine. Guess now we know what happened to Bob’s father, and at least part of why Tia probably started drinking.

[@centric3125]

Coming to this late. 'Dead Soldier' is also a saying/slang term for an empty bottle. That is, Tia, in her alcoholism, could only see an empty bottle and want another.

[@frohawkmaster]

Big ups to giant green plant tendril for being a true friend.

[@cynthiaedith4122]

Watching the kitchen get slowly consumed by plant's really just makes the metaphor hit even harder

[@dannytheman1313]

"Borrowed lips, wouldn't be right." When a video game teaches people about consent better then some super hero's

[@RobinPoggers]

I keep hearing people compare "Borrowed lips" to Wonder Woman 1984. What exactly happened in that movie if you dont mind me asking?

[@dannytheman1313]

@@RobinPoggers In the movie the character Steve Trevor who was killed in the first film is brought back inhabiting the body of another person. Basically the next scene after he reappears shows them in bed together, without any thought or consideration to if the other person is aware or is ok with this. Thats the problem a lot of people had with the film was this sinking feeling that technically Wonder Woman raped a man because the man who's body was being used could not consent.

[@RobinPoggers]

@@dannytheman1313 BIG YIKES MAN. Thank you for telling me.

[@dannytheman1313]

@@RobinPoggers No problem

[@crhistianragel418]

Gristol would be vomiting all day long if that had happened anyway

[@superdaveozy7863]

This was a very accurate way to show the mind of a depressed alcoholic. Bottles everywhere, i mean everywhere.

[@superdaveozy7863]

I had an alcoholic aunt and uncle in colorado i met years ago. Beer bottles on every shelf and table. Place was pretty clean, just bottles everywere. They constantly drink because it keeps them numb. Theyve been dead for years now, due to it.

[@caf3755]

@@superdaveozy7863 Or at least... Having Bob's emotion all bottled up.

[@yeeee859]

44:46 made me cry when I played this game so I had to come back and watch it again. The voice actor and devs did such a great job on this game

[@Oceanworker]

LIKE THIS LEVEL HAD me crying the whole time i was playing it.... I legit wish i was lying this was such a heartbreaking thing to see.. and i need a bob dlc where we get closure please please please.

[@danielplainview2584]

I can't unhear kid Oleander in the moth's voice. MY FACE!

[@spidey5558]

Probably intentional, considering how hate-able the moth is meant to be.

[@baxtinator2153]

You know what I love about this level no annoying things like the goats chanting “EAT EAT EAT EAT” repeatedly or that level with that non stop singing lah lahing. Chair bro.

[@christianwright7581]

@@liloutaw1 you also get an achievement if you manage to destroy all three.

[@lovinani7]

You gotta admit though, shoving food down those puppets' mouth until they exploded was really cathartic 😌

[@pichufan101]

Hope someone does an analysis on the stages for this game! I’m already intrigued :)

[@CyberusSuper]

Check out ThoughtBubble and Gaming University.

[@Iccecrm-c9k]

bro, I literally winced when Bob said "Especially that one! " Really shows you how he's gone so far he can't even express his own words. Alcohol can make you have a good time, but it can also be a curse.

[@jm221]

I knew this one was gonna be rough to watch when you found bob alone in his lab drinking himself to death. The original psychonauts minis maybe Otto all had a really rough 20 years

[@bellaswift2396]

Otto did the smart thing and got therapy

[@thaumielessa5051]

The road to mental healing is to acknowledge and face your inner demons and stop looking away.

[@crossoverproductions2395]

4:54 that’s kinda a touching moment

[@ch0colatec0ff33]

I played through this one, but I didnt really think about how packed it was. Its truely amazing how much they fit into this. A man drinking himself to feather after all hes been through. His mother drinking herself to death, his own son firing him for being drunk on the job. Loosing the love of his life. Its heart breaking

[@phineasfacingforward3460]

I agree with you, but Truman Zanotto (The man who fired Bob) is Bob's nephew, not his son.

[@TwoBees_or_Not_TwoBees]

@@phineasfacingforward3460 didn't he (figuratively) view him as a son?

[@Archerfan101]

32:41 Lilly's Voice

[@xtoadsannom6704]

We don't talk enough about that vine, it definitely knew that Raz's head was protected when it dropped those bottles on his head and the way it put the portal on Bob's forehead, so gently... I can't help but be reminded of how Boyd somewhat freaked out when it landed on his head in the first game, perhaps that the vine was worried the same could happen here and that's why it decided to do it itself ?

[@catinamask5019]

"Nice Vine" -Raz

[@HarmfulGiggles]

It took me a stupid amount of time to realize you could use the door as a boat. I kept thinking you had to use the campfire to glide to the other islands.

[@LemurDawid]

same haha

[@howlouttonight]

I literally gave up trying to figure it out after a couple dozen tries of using the fire and was so mad I hadn't considered the big obvious door

[@wmage619]

When he said dont go so sad i wanna just give him a hug 😭

[@paxcallow]

i love that ending cutscene of bob and helmut reuniting. raz just standing in the background like. these dudes gay!! good for them! good for them.

[@sakura368]

i like how the vine warmed up to raz

[@ghastlyghifin4029]

I just noticed the door-sailing theme is a Windwaker-esque remix of "What do you do with a drunken sailor".

[@TwoBees_or_Not_TwoBees]

OMG you're right!

[@jatakeunade3832]

Thank you poster for timing the wedding ceremony

[@michelecastellotti1884]

me when seeing bob shaking his head on the island: f*ck you, i am gonna hug job. i just love bob, love hos story, love his character arc, everything. where are the plushies?

[@starpokeheart664]

The vine is adorable with how much it cares for bob

[@drink.juice.]

this level was probably the most emotionally effective for so many reason

[@eliottdeletraz97]

4:07 i imagine the heavy said "dead" when the plant fell off instantly. This is funny how bad mood sees Raz as a psychologist. 44:03 oh god. Someone died in the wedding cake (i know it's about Helmut death).

[@paytonburrows2325]

I’m curious what the moth is supposed to represent. The childish voice and insistence on “protecting” Bob from the pain of loss/memories is all intentional, but I can’t really put it all together.

[@egbertmilton4003]

Apparently, it is supposed to represent the suppression of alcohol

[@bellaswift2396]

I was told by my uncle once that addiction is like a needy child or a overbearing mother you need to set boundaries or it will get out of control (my uncle has been clean for 4 years now this hit hard)

[@QuindianaJones]

Not me watching psychonauts 2 walkthroughs while I debate making a run for some little caesar's... again

[@experiment506]

Getting alcohol ads for this is great.

[@markdodson8570]

32:48 I wonder if that's Lili's actual voice actress doing Bob's Lili's voice.

[@HolyCross9]

Why does Bob's mental landscape remind me of Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker?

[@christianwright7581]

A vast ocean, various islands sprinkled throughout said waters. Yep, can definently see why you might think that.

[@anther3502]

And thats litterally zelda music

[@Asher_Tye]

So this was an inter-Vine-tion.

[@nigelwinslow]

Booooooo!😠

[@DarkArtistKaiser]

I may not get the whole thing with the moth outside it clearly trying to shelter Bob from his bad memories and feelings of that nature. But can anyone explain the deeper meaning of it? I wouldn't be surprised if I missed it somewhere or don't understand how moths factor into plants and such.

[@carameloisis57]

I think the moth represents his alcoholism, keeping away his Bad memories from his previous relationships, but also keeping him from forming new ones, and as for moths relationships with plants, I think I saw someone in a gameplay comment section say that it may do with some practice of soaking ropes in alcohol to atract moths and butterflies, but I haven't fact checked if that is or was a real practice

[@holycowrap]

Bob's Bottles really makes you FEEL like a depressed lonely alcoholic gay man

[@twistedwonderland9378]

Who would make a better boss the three plants or a moth?

[@calebphillips6474]

1:11 Stop it! RIGHT NOW. I don't wanna hear any of those names ever again, you hear me?

[@rottenroads1982]

11:28, Hand of gilochio strikes again.

[@mccollander748]

They’re “seeds of doubt”, right?

[@Popplio3323]

Y'know, people think that the plant caused Raz to enter Bob's mind without Bob knowing, but remember, Bob is able to psychicly control plants. This means that Bob was telling his plant to let Raz in to help him.

[@mkgaca8721]

Its hard for people to admit they need help.

[@thegoldenstation9723]

1:11 - The Moth 1:37 - The part of Bob that’s washed up on the island

[@namelessnekomata]

God, Bobs vows get me evey single time

[@xyrongonzalez3833]

Does ANYONE know what the moth represents?

[@thatonescarecrow4692]

Avoidance. Instead of facing his troubles and confronting his inner demons after those events, Bob just shut himself in, bottling his emotions either in booze or metaphorically.

[@bellaswift2396]

Denial

[@coffekat1519]

This whole level allways makes me sob

[@Ms-Honks]

"See you in hell!" Damn, raz is hard

[@bwah9481]

this game was such a trip

[@thirdcoinedge]

56:27 And in that moment, Psychonauts 2 was better than WW1984. Brilliant game.

[@joshuameyers7840]

Dude you need to make an vidoe about finding every single figment from both games please.

[@jeremytung1632]

56:28 someone should have had this talk with Diana.

[@caf3755]

Moth: For saving you from that time bomb. Wander: [Gasps] Miss moth, you shouldn't talk about Sylvia like that. Then again, her racer name *is* Time Bomb. I'll give credit to that. Moth: I mean this time bomb, you loon.

[@Zkeleton969]

Quietly my favorite dungeon - not only because of the actually good depiction of gay characters, but because just aesthetically there’s something… oddly comforting about a lot of this dungeon.

[@VGJoker]

Why is nobody talking about the stupid moth? Personally, I HATE that annoying little shit, defense mech or not!

[@salsathemonkey22]

I think Psychonauts 2 is my favorite piece of fiction

[@squiggle463]

a little detail i noticed about the cake area, but one of the flavours are the colours of the gay pride flag. just thought that it was a nice detail.

[@nigelwinslow]

What colors?

[@DahHourglass]

Bob Bortles is my least favorite level in this game because I dont like the first 2 parts the first ones too hard and second ones too boring and it has my least favorite boss and they made the moth a little too unlikeable

[@mcihay246]

I believe the Moth is supposed to be unlikeable considering that one tends to be self-destructive if they avoid their issues.

[@Commentman-43]

The Moth is one of the most annoying characters I’ve ever seen

[@محمد-ز8ل5ب]

24:07

[@RabbitHole20]

Oh well. It is better to move on and let go to the past. He's dead. You can't bring him back. Move on.

[@goodnightgoodnightgoodnight]

i mean clearly he was drinking to try to forget and move on but it wasnt working

[@RabbitHole20]

@@goodnightgoodnightgoodnight oh well.

[@RabbitHole20]

Drinking is not a good coping mechanism.

[@goodnightgoodnightgoodnight]

@@RabbitHole20 well duh thats the whole point of the level

[@RabbitHole20]

@@goodnightgoodnightgoodnight Ah well then, he's getting no sympathy from me then. Can't let go of the past and using alcohol as a coping method. Oh well, moving on.

[@homoxymoronomatura]

This brain would be good if Raz just removed homosexualism from Bob.

[@jatakeunade3832]

Thank you poster for timing the wedding ceremony