Ludography
Psybadek cover

1998 · SCE Studio Liverpool · Platformer

Psybadek

PlayStation exclusive

In Psybadek, you maneuver a hoverboard through jungle, desert, underworld and ice levels as Xako or Mia to save your friends trapped by an evil overlord. While more action oriented than racing, the game encourages you to pull off tricks and speed, all the while collecting stars and solving the odd puzzle.

Released
31 October 1998
Platforms
PlayStation
Genres
Platformer
Developers
SCE Studio Liverpool
Publishers
—
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
Action
Country
United Kingdom
Age ratings
ESRB EPEGI 3

About

Psybadek is a 1998 platform video game developed and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. The game was sponsored by shoe company Vans.

Keywords

  • snow
  • snowboarding

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player warps to different worlds, known as time zones from a hub area. Each world is broken down into levels which consist of courses that the player must travel through on their hoverboard. In order to properly complete each world, the player must collect a certain number of stars, obtained along the course or by stomping on the heads of enemies. At the end of each world, the player faces a guardian which lies in wait at the end of the level.

Some levels feature a shooting gallery format. Here the player character is positioned in the center and fires a weapon within a time limit.

Story

The evil Krakken has appeared and causes a rampage at the local "hoverdek" park, where "dekkers" Xako, Mia, and their friends practice their skillz. Using his powers, Krakken kidnaps the "dek kids" and magically transforms them into his minions all to make the place his new home. Now it is up to Xako and Mia to save their friends and stop Krakken's evil, sending him back to where he came from.

Development

Psybadek was developed by Psygnosis at its Liverpool Headquarters. The game was designed by Graham Sidwell, and Nick Burcombe was the project lead. Programmer Stephen Balmer came up with the game's original concept of the player free-roaming across landscapes on a board, while concept designer Mick Harrison drew images of characters on hoverboards. According to Sidwell, the game was in development for both the PlayStation and PC, but the latter was scrapped because it "diluted" the design team's focus.

Sidwell explained that creating Psybadek involved much trial-and-error, mainly due to the difficulty of melding traditional platform genre obstacles with sports-related "momentum". Sidwell emphasized the difference between Psybadek and other boarding games. "There's obviously the snowboarding feel to this game," he stated, "But unlike most games in which you're racing against the clock and performing tricks on the way down for points, in Psybadek, those tricks actually do something. The stunts themselves are weapons."

Reception

The game received unfavorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Next Generation said, "As a concept, Psybadek has been dangled in front of gamers for quite a while and created at least some excitement. It's a shame that because of bad designs, controls, and graphics, the potential was never realized." GamePro said that the game was "too annoying for novice gamers and just not entertaining for experts."

GameRevolution listed Psybadek as eighth on their list of the 50 Worst Game Names Ever.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
PlayStation31 October 1998North America · Europe 1 November 1998

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Collections2 collections

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.