Psychology of Psychonauts | Bob's Bottles 

One thing of note in the second mental vault. When Bob is getting fired, Truman doesn't have a face of pride or anger. He's sad that he has to fire a loved family member, someone he knows just went through something as horrible as the loss of a loved one. Truman is either crying, or on the verge of tears. Leading me to believe that Bob does know why Truman fired him and doesn't truly hold a grudge towards his nephew.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention that Bob’s ‘flooded mind’ might be a reference to a condition known as Wet Brain, a neurological condition commonly associated with chronic alcoholism. Additionally, in one of the earliest areas with the fruit and bottles sunken in a swamp to me always resembled the aftermath of a party. If you’ve ever thrown a party with cocktails, after the party is done and you’re cleaning up you’ll see glasses with melted ice and leftover garnishes, empty bottles, cocktail umbrellas and stirs all scattered about. We see party decorations in that area too. The image it conjures is that of the next day after a night of heavy drinking, the aftermath of a ‘party’ where now you have to clean up, but instead the ‘mess’ is just…left.

id put a joke here but honestly take your time you are COOKING these videos

Coming from a long line of alcoholics, this is pretty spot on. Great job, man.

the bit where bob says 'wait, don't go' before you take off in the door through the sea breaks my heart every time

An interesting tidbit I caught in the boss fight was a remark by the Tia plant: "Just another dead sailor!" I actually had to pause to make sure I heard it right, because that would partially explain the nautical themes of the mindscape, and also possibly explain what happened to Bob's father - and why his mother became so distant. Also, the song that plays while you're sailing around on the door is the famous sea shanty "What Do We Do With A Drunken Sailor", which doesn't really need an explanation given everything already discussed.

Honestly I still think it’s rather noticeable we don’t hear hide nor hair of Bob’s sibling that is Truman’s parent/Lily’s Grandparent. That would imply that Truman’s only blood family besides Lily *is* his Uncle. I can only imagine how depressed Truman was after having to fire his own uncle

So much symbolism, it really is a beautiful level. Really love your chapter cards here too! The music when surfing on the door is also a variation on 'Drunken Sailor' too which I thought was a great touch

I was waiting for this video, and you delivered. Bob's Bottles is such a tragically beautiful level that embodies both the game's amazing narrative and Double Fine's meticulous talent. It's such a work of art and I appreciate that you were able to delve into why it makes it as such. Thank you.

gosh the way he sees others is so relatable its not even funny, the way he thinks they barely tolerate him & that he thinks he is not only safer alone but also doing everyone else better by it too oh man i dont really play games but i love the writing & art in phsychonauts so so much!!

33:03 Anyone who denies a pupper steak is a monster.

Sometimes you give insights I hadn’t reached, giving me a better understanding and appreciation for the Psychonauts games. Thank-you! Sometimes it’s the names of the conditions.

37:26 I will say, a small detail on this slide here is, Truman's face is that of sadness or regret, so I do think Bob, at least subconsciously, understands that Truman is not firing him out of vindictiveness.

That "Home" aspect explains why many of the homeless suffer both substance addiction and mental health problems. However, many programs just providing a place to stay, unless rehab and recovery is included for those who are suffering is included and those in it work to through these problems then it is all too easy for them to fall back into the cycle of addiction, homelessness, and declining mental health.

I knew this video was gonna take a while, there's a lot to unpack here

One thing I love about Psychonauts 2 is how there isn't a neon sign above Helmut & Bob about their relationship. It makes it so normalizing 🙂🏳️‍🌈

This was nothing short of Beautifully written. I was so excited when youtube showed me this when uploaded. Bob’s Bottles is one of the very first video game instances that took Alcoholism very seriously and empathetically. Just want to say thank you for crafting such a poignant video for this, loved it so much and excited for the others💜🫶🏻

This is a fun fact I learned when I played the game but if you go here first there's only bad moods no enablers they only show up when you go to in the collection level and the opposite is true

Oh, I've been waiting for this one. Thank you for making this. The Milkman one is my favourite.

Such an absolutely beautiful video. I doubt there are many people in the world that can’t somehow relate to this topic. You and your team really put a lot of time and effort into making this as detailed as possible. Very, very good job 👌🏻

I literally gasped when i got the notification 😅

I wonder if you'll ever go into Otto, because I think fandom completely misses what his problem is.

Finally i ve been waiting for another episode for quite a while. Keep this series going bro. Its amazing

my favorite part is that Bob is named after the main guy from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, three months ago I started going because of a really bad thing that happened because of alcohol and it's super serendipitous that you're covering this topic, right now, for me to see.

40:40 Super quick note here. While “Reassignment to a less dangerous position” sounds like a good compromise, I know for a fact that (especially in an information based job) it will never be a fix. Let’s assume the Psychonauts mailroom is pretty standard in this world, there is heavy machinery, sensitive materials that need transportation, all of this is highly classified, etc. Even if he is out of the field, he very much would be endangering the entire organization in a different way. (I’m a professional security officer with DHS training if you are wondering my qualifications)

I love how educational these videos are that you break down with the Psychonauts. Thank you for creating these! I look forward to watching the next.

I have been looking forward to this one! It's was my favourite level!

Thinking about it now, in comparison to the first psychonauts game. It's interesting how most of the bosses here how the bosses get taken down by the host individual. The goats were just manifestations of Compton's anxiety and once he got his confidence back he simply took the goat puppet off his own hand. Cassie was interesting as you basically brought her together and she found peace once more with herself. Then with Bob after realizing that the fruits were projecting his own bad thoughts onto him, he was able to calm down and start over. The only one that I could think of in the first psychonauts game that was able to concur their trauma alongside Raz was Edgar. Who put buried his past into his subconscious. It's nice seeing Raz help the person grow, and the person being the one to overcome the trauma with Raz's help. Nice seeing self recovery.

I believe this stage to be the most powerfully written and emoionally significant one in both of the Psychonauts games, and I was looking forward to hear your review on it. Loved the video, great job on it!

I thought the moth represented more of Bob's childhood aspect. A creation he made as a child that in bob's mind brings him back to a simpler time. His inner child yurning for the safety of what was, but preventing him from moving forward into allowing Bob to actually move on from the pain. The symbolism of the alcohol itself doing it would be great, if we didn't show the arts and craft project of the moth. With what I assumed was Bob's younger voice. I would like to see like a alcohol mascot as something that was keeping him down. Maybe when Raz returned to the real world we see the mascot on one of the bottles that Bob decides to leave behind. (looking into it more with the false mask. The moth was Bob's false mask)

i got a PsychOdyssey ad before this video... y'know, the Psychonauts 2 making off documentary....

I watched every single your video of psychonauts and waited for this one ever since of the last video and now i saw this on my subsciption list, you have no idea what emotions instantly washed over me :) I love the way you present videos and how thoroughly you approach everything and explain every detail. Thanks for all the videos and all the work, you always doing great! Wish you all the best :)

ANOTHER 50 minute long psychology of psychonauts???? LET'S GOO

so excited for this episode. bob's bottles is one of my favourite levels in either game

Ive been waiting for this deep dive into Bob's mind thank you soooooooo much man for continuing this series. I look foward to every episode till the end 🧠🧠🧠

Listening to you makes me think about my personal stuff

After so long the next episode is here! finally yes!

I've been watching all these "psychology of Psychonauts" videos, and I have to say, I feel a lot of these can actually be used in psychology classes, I get that's probably the idea, but it's still fascinating when people use a more modern medium to teach a topic and I wish stuff like this was used more often as an aid in teaching topics like these

Question, did you choose that particular interpretation of the flowers representing Truman as a form of forshadowing? Also, the zonatos seem to have a almost genetic connection with plants/herbephony, but also pyrokinesis at the same time... (Lili hosting the pyrokinesis tutorial in the first stage, Truman's plant literally breathing fire, and Bob's irl plants that explode) do you think there's some sort of narrative significance here or am I just thinking too much along genetic lines because I'm just thinking about how addiction can kind of run in families, as we see with Bob's mother?

Amazing video as always. But I think you may have gotten one detail wrong about the Tia section of the video. The idea that Bob's father died. And the reason I think you may be wrong started when I first played the level myself and asked a pretty simple question: "Where the heck is Bob's brother in all this?" I mean, we know he has to have one. He, Truman & Lily all share the same last name, so we know there is a blood-related brother and Bob's not just an adopted uncle or something. Yet, there is no reference to him anywhere, which is weird if he experienced all the same stuff with their mother that Bob did. But then, that's where my interpretation of the details began to take shape. What if Bob's brother didn't experience what happened with their mother? Now, mind you, this could all just be me doing a bit of head-cannon, but I think my logic is sound. What scenario other than death would separate family members? Divorce. And it could be that Tia and her husband got a divorce with each of them getting custody of one child each, Tia gets Bob and Mr. Zanato gets the brother. Either that, or (and I just realized this as I'm typing) after the divorce, Mr. Zanato could've remarried and had a child with his new wife. But either way, the effect would be the same for Tia. To give a few more details, the Psychonauts games take place in the 1980s (there's a magazine in Cruller's Correspondence with the date 1962, presumably having to do with or done before the battle with Maligula. Hence the 80s), and we can probably assume that, at minimum, Bob is in his 50s at the time of the game, meaning he would've been a kid during the 1930s. And society didn't tend to be kind to divorced women in those times. That's what I think brought Tia to drink and , as you reminded me in this video, why Bob was the only one at her funeral. It doesn't really change anything for Bob. It's just a cool little detail of subtle storytelling if you pay close enough attention.

I was surprised when Psychonauts went into a world like this and it was a very interesting to see. I had an Alcoholic in the family and he was always so mean. Never psychical thankfully but he did get loud sometimes. There were only very few times when the real him would come through. It just made me want to stay away from Alcohol to not risk becoming like that. He ended up passing away from his liver failing quite a few years back. Never did give up the Alcohol even when he was dying.

I'm so glad to see this series still going. I'm really into Psychonaut because of yours and many other game analyse contents. Keep up the good work 😊

We are so back (seriously though, love the psychonauts content!)

Good to see this series back

⏰🗡 It's awesome your still doung these. Respect and keep up the epic work.

21:10 I always interpreted that scene as the plants trying to help Bob feel better as they always saw Tia drink and feel better so when they see Bob sad they try to help the only way they saw

Been suffering from porn addiction since I was 12, im 28 now. Ive been doing a lot to get it under control, but i have lapses here and there, and when I do, I feel like a different person for a week

I instantly tapped the moment I saw the thumbnail.

Two more minds left to be explored. Take your time with videos on them.

Were getting out the bar with this one!

It's here, it's finally here!

I played the game, loved the game yet I come here to truly understand the game. This has been one of my favorite channel in the past two years. I can't wait for you to dissect The Lake House DLC when it comes out. 🙂 Edit: I'm halfway through the video and I'm kinda triggered right now. I had no idea discussing neglect would hit me hard. Uff.

Thank you so much! That moth always confused me as to it’s symbolism.

I’ve been waiting for this!

Amazing work on this video GU!

I always had a love-hate relationship/opinion with this game as I relate to aspects of every mind in small ways, some more than others. In the case of bob, it’s almost all aspects(much like with Compton) I wasn’t neglected or had alcoholics in my life, I had an emotionally immature father who was out of the house half of the time until very recently as his previous job had him traveling across the country to check on whether different places were following industrial hygiene rules until he got a permanent stay job at a place about 1 hour away from home, and my mother was there for me more than most people. I had friends in grade school but post-high school graduation, I lost them all at once. I don’t drink because I know it’s bad and can/will make things worse but I do try everything to find connection with people but it always fails so I feel like not trying anymore because no matter what I do, something happens that causes it to fail and makes me feel worse about myself. I end up resorting to many habits of bob minus the alcohol of course.

6:26 I see what you did there veeeeeeeery clever

I don't know if that was the purpose of those videos, but this one really hit home. I'm in a pretty bad spot lately but part of it is my own fault. I'll look into those four components you've mentionned. I imagine it's not really the point of those videos. But thanks none the less.

I find it interesting that Cassie and Bob sort of parallel each other when they meet Raz. Cassie immediately wants to help, but the unconscious part of her brain is keeping her confined to her hive. Bob, on the other hand, wants to be left alone and kicks Raz out of his greenhouse. It's the unconscious part of his brain that reaches out and lets Raz back inside. 🐝🍃

Just in case it’s not provided-Trigger warning for alcoholism

Great lesson The Dean I always Believe Bob’s bottles To be one of the hardest levels in video game history to analyse Do to the theme’s of substance-abuse as a substitute to run away from pain and loss And I’ve only seen portrayals of this subject only with anger and no vulnerabilities.😰 Thank you for shining a more positive light and hope. If I ever encounter this in future days to come Thank you Dean 😊👏

Thanks for the birthday present!(it’s my birthday)🥳

I've mentioned it under other similar video: There's also another possibility why Bob's mask of addiction was the moth: In Polish there's similar term to 'barfly', which is literally translated to 'pub moth' (PL: "Ćma barowa"). Of course cocoon thing was the main reason why his addiction sprouting from desire to stop feeling pain was the moth than a fly (and fruit flies LOVE alcohol), but I give it as a nice trivia.

Something to note is that, depending on the order you play the levels, the enablers would not appear in Bob’s mind, but Bad Moods will appear in Cassie’s.

Even through there are a few more minds left I’d like to think of this as the climax of these analysis's. This is the mind that when people talk about this game this is what they discuss

19:16 hahah I wasn’t expecting personal attacks in this video (only sibling who fell out of sports in a big sports family, and my own interests kinda became second fiddle and “we need him out of the house” things)

The source of the Bad Mood in Bob's wedding is on the table where a figment of Lucy is. For obvious reasons.

Years ago a good family friend was drinking with my father outside, he wanted a hug, but because of my feelings about drunk people I refused! Later that night he got into a car wreck! He passed away not long after. It's sad I gave up that chance for a hug, and even the chance of seeing him in the hospital: because I didn't want to see him like that. It's sad, but we make due the best we can. Also as someone who grew up around a father who was a drinker for a time, and he was never abusive but more annoying, to the point I had a neighbor but a bolt lock on my door! Atleast this reinforces the idea to never drink alcohol!

Allllmost there people. ALMOST THERE

I want there to be a crossover of Psychonauts and Happy Tree Friends just so we can go into Flippy’s mental world and help him with his PTSD

one big plothole is the very fact that bob has a nephew, which means he hs a brother or sister that simply never shows up anywhere in any of his memories for whatever reason.

Man dean i didn't know that alcohol do this for people....it makes sense a little thanks for the insight Also for the regrets Dean they was HEAVY regrets that just shows off how he feels

15:15 Might have to fix the visuals, since the marigolds are for Helmut and black dahlias for Truman

There’s one thing I’ve always wondered about Bob. Throughout his memories we never see any siblings. So if Bob is an only child then how is he Truman’s uncle?

I said before and I’ll say they get when you get to Fatherland Foley’s I do believe that the first two parts represent how we can make something look better/worse than it really was in our memories

I would like to add that compare to the seed of his mom, bob and his nephew. Bob didn't bottle up any other seed. He simply hid them away under the surface. Just far away where he wouldn't have to interact with them, but close enough that they could esaly resurface to be planted once again

32:08 they most likely are celebrating the accomplishments of the defeat of mad maligula but that is mainly speculation

Could you please do a video on “fatherland folies”? I know what it is, but please do it anyway, no spoiler’s from me until then! 😄

Honestly the cover art reminds me of the intros to the new adventures of winnie the pooh, only with dark undertones.

26:28 I feel like this could also represent the homophobia he would no doubt be dealing with, including from people close to him like Ford. (There was a backer trailer where Ford looks at a cutout of Bob and says "Don't look at me that way, it was a different time!")

Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re now officially in the final stretch

love it

2 thing Bob’s dialogue when confronting his nephew mentions a number and talking to a strange. I think trumen was trying to get his uncle health help was too far gone to get it. and second about the mailroom image I don’t think that would’ve worked one. We don’t exactly know when that was that helmet and Bob’s dialogue implies that might’ve been added after he was fired and second I think Bob might people to keep him from drink on the job and look like no one go it there that much

im here!

If there was one aspect of this mental world that actually confused me slightly, it was the random potato(?) heads of Bob that were found throughout the various levels. It also seems like the water, or the alcohol, always stayed away from these constructs. Do you have any idea what that would represent?

I don't know what to say. but I'll leave a comment anyway just for the recommendations.

I thought the game was amazing and I love it to death, but I was really hoping for some DLC maybe just the ability to go back to the campsite and see all the kids again. See how they’re doing.

Great!

BOB’S BOTTLESPOSTING❗️❗️💯💯🔥🔥

Let's go!!

Can we just quickly appreciate that bob and helmet are in a gay relationship and no character in game really points it out and it's a completely healthy and loving relationship

I m in the picture but addicted to computer

While I suppose it's not important to the story strictly speaking, but I think the reason Bob got fired is because he accidentally flooded the Motherlobe while he was drunk.

6:26 i see what you did

THANK YOU! I was watching your videos (re-watching) on my 17 hour drive from Columbus Ohio & to Pittsfield Maine! ⛵️🦞🍁🎃👻❤️‍🔥 When I got to the end, I was so excited about this next episode! Thank you for the 12/10 Art! I know it takes a long time to Craft Above-&-Beyond Artwork! (Just ask Double-Fine themselves!!!) YOU'RE THE BEST! 💪🧠 👍