–Raz's notes
–Psychonauts 2 Designer Asif Siddiky
Panic Attacks are savage mental figures that can potentially be found in any mental world, serving the role of mid-bosses in Psychonauts 2. They are, as their name implies, physical manifestations of panic attacks (in other words; embodying stress associated with overstimulation and anxiety). Panic attacks are both highly aggressive and highly mobile (or agile) creatures that can appear and disappear at will to attack unexpectedly, can fire off literal fiery skulls for ranged attacks, and also have the ability to create illusory clones of themselves.
Appearance[]
Panic attacks are emaciated-looking humanoid creatures with dragon skulls for a head, charcoal black skin, and neon yellow-green eyes which lack pupils. Their skin is always surrounded by a bright rainbow aura. They have two large claws on their back feet, and three claws on their right hand; their left arm, meanwhile, ends in a large sickle used for slashing at foes, something near to a scythe but connected into its body basically. Its movement is blurred when it lunges.
The Panic Attack's arms are slightly longer than its legs, and it can run on both its back legs and on all fours. It has human-looking skulls on its back which the latter can also be spawned as burning projectiles or after defeating it, which will appear as the "Circling Birdies" trope.
In Psychonauts 2[]
The Panic Attacks' first appearance is in PSI King's Sensorium, a mind that's been left in a jar for 20 years and is suddenly reintroduced to having senses. Razputin enters the mental world to calm down its owner, who is suffering a severe sensory overload, but the boy is immediately ambushed by a Panic Attack. The creature is too fast for him to fight off at this point, and the mind's owner, the Mote of Light, tunes out the world around it, which temporarily gets rid of the Panic Attack. After learning Time Bubble, Razputin has several more rematches against Panic Attacks inside the Sensorium, though he can now slow them down and fight them more effectively, in said encounters he fights a duo of Panic Attacks and in another Raz first fights a horde of enemies just so a round of little censors start appearing along the Panic Attack.
Panic Attacks make further appearances in areas of other characters' minds that represent particularly overwhelming emotions: inside the Dead Letter Office in the Cruller's Correspondence part of Ford's Mind; near the Mental Dam in Lucrecia's Lament; and in an area of Fatherland Follies that represents the common people of Grulovia's anger towards the royal family.
Strategy[]
Despite its skelly appearance, Panic Attack has a decent durability and gives the impression of being super endurable to physical hits thanks to their constant mobility from a place to another. It can teleport very frequently like mentioned before; throughout the majority of the arena or even the area it spawn in, to quickly dodge PSI-Blasts, PSI-Punches, TK throws or even attempting to burn it with Pyrokinesis. Thanks to its high and quick speed there’s only one ability that can make this type of enemy vulnerable to most attacks: Time Bubble. Once it falls under this ability its speed decreases drastically and becomes a perfect target for barrages of fists and multi-shots.
using the grapple attack of Mental Connection does great damage and some of its pins can work against this enemy like stunning (Heavy Thoughts) or taking much more health and in return get heal in the process (Brain Drain). Alternatively when aiming at Raz with its flaming skulls, Raz can pick any of these and throw them right away at the panic attack to set it on fire. And parallel to that, There’s a glitch where if being set on fire by one of the skull projectiles and touching the panic attack in time, the past mentioned will be insta-killed.
Attacks and Health[]
- Doubled Scythe: If teleporting very close to Raz or having him already close after any performed attacks, the Panic Attack rises its left scythed arm and slashes two times in a row quickly. Even if Raz tries to move from the creature after receiving the first strike, it will keep track of his speed and still finish with its second strike. Both slashes have different damage points but together gives a total of 5 hit points (a brain with one bit for the mental health).
- Leap: When being not so far but neither close from a Panic Attack, this one will charge quickly and leap towards Razputin, finishing with a large swipe attack. To make said swipe movement it only requires to touch Razputin while performing this attack (this includes being on midair too). This leap can be from small to very large and it can also cancel PSI-Powers that are being used in the air like the PSI Float (Levitation). The mentioned attack only deals 3 hit points.
- Flaming Skulls: From long distance 5 flaming skulls floating in front of the Panic Attack will be spawned and depending whatever is the position of Raz, the Panic Attack will sent them at a considerably high speed, by touching them or getting injured by any it will cost Raz 2 hit points of his health. If any of the skulls touches another Panic Attack this one will be set on fire.
- Panicked Headbutt: A rare attack where, instead of using the 'Doubled Scythe' attack, the Panic Attack will perform a 'nearly impossible to see' headbutt towards Raz that can push him quite far. Being the weakest attack but still an effective one, dealing only 1 hit point.
- Phantom Mirage: Most brutal and powerful ability of the Panic Attack, the latter can duplicate itself into 4 variants which moves and follows the same move of the real one. All clones and the real Panic Attack will charge and have their focus into Raz just so when the real one is ready launches itself but also making the clones disappear yet the real one when reaching Raz finishes this attack by performing a double slash with both scythe-like arm and right claw, that, can knock out Raz for almost 3 seconds and push him back quite far away. If getting hurt this deals a maximum of 4 hit points in the process.
- Teleportation: The recurring and overused ability of the Panic Attack. It has a bigger usage to move from different points of the place to attack Razputin from the sides or behind his back, or simply using it to perform any of its past mentioned attacks with frankly null conflicts. Another variant called the "Tele-dodge" is also used oftenly but just in order to avoid ranged attacks and sometimes even PSI-Punch.
- Speed Run: When moving near a Panic Attack after teleporting on a specific point, it will chase razputin until catching him or stopping in order to perform any of its other attacks. Though there’s a rare probability with Levitation where by trying to outrun the Panic Attack the latter will increase their speed and if reaching Raz, performs at least one slash from the 'Doubled Scythe' attack.
Since the health system for enemies and bosses is much different from Psychonauts 2 to the one to Psychonauts 1 it is quite difficult to come up with an specific amount of health for this boss fight.
Trivia[]

Eye Shrine themed Panic Attack and early textured Panic Attack.
- The Panic Attack has an intentional chromatic aberration shader applied to make it look disorienting.
- Using Clairvoyance on Panic Attack shows Raz himself having a panic attack from sensory overload.
- Panic Attack's model name in game files called a Nightmare.
- Like most enemies of Psychonauts 2, the Panic Attack has a signature idle animation. In its case, positions in all fours and makes its head detached from its body, spinning it on a circular way.
- In book The Art of Psychonauts 2, at the page talking about the Panic Attack it shows some concept arts as well as renders of early textures for the enemy.
- One of the more interesting is a green colored Panic Attack with eyes instead of skulls, this means that initially this mini-boss intended to have different appearances at PSI King's Sensorium though only it was made for Eye Shrine before being scrapped.