Telltale Games is one of my favorite studios. Though the studio has gone through a lot in recent years, including closing and re-opening, their back catalog of games has some of the best narratives in all of gaming. Before The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Games of Thrones, however, Telltale was best known for their work on the Sam & Max series. I’ve always wanted to go back and play them, and now, with Sam & Max Save the World Remastered on PS4 from Skunkape Games, I can finally experience a modern version of this all-time classic. Does it hold up after all these years? Let’s find out! Laying the Foundation for an All-Time Classic Sam & Max Save the World Remastered combines all six episodes of the first season into a single package on PS4. Each episode has been faithfully restored and ported to console controllers for a modern audience. You’ll spend about two hours per episode, each of which tells a standalone story that subtly ties into a larger narrative over the course of the season. In this first episode of the season, we’re introduced to Sam and Max for the first time. We find out they’re “freelance police.” It’s been a while since they’ve had a new case. The story gets moving when they receive a call from the Commissioner asking them to look into strange reports regarding three washed-up child stars called the Soda Poppers. It turns out they’re peddling a new self-help video called “Eye-Bo,” and what’s worse, the videos seem to hypnotize anyone who watches them! It’s a whacky premise, but it immediately throws you into the life of these iconic duos. You’ll start in their office, and from the beginning, you’ll notice that there is much to see and do in any given environment. From investigating various trinkets and items around the office to dialogue options with Max and a rat named Jimmy Two-Teeth, who lives in your walls, the game never lacks options for interactivity and world-building. Like any classic point-and-click adventure, Sam & Max is a series that focuses on a combination of dialogue choices and puzzle-solving to progress. Many interactive items are optional, but certain ones can be added to your inventory and used with others. This first episode throws you into everything, and it’s here where you’ll need to get familiar with the overall logic of the puzzles and the whacky jokes the game will throw at you. You also get to meet some staple characters like Sybil and Bosco, who are both present in all six of the season’s episodes. From a story perspective, the first episode lays the groundwork, but you can tell it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting in introducing everyone and setting the stage for the rest of the season. It’s a strong first impression, but it can come across as a little scatterbrained due to covering all these bases in a two-hour span. The second episode of the season, “Situation: Comedy,” … Read More
Doodle Devil: 3volution Review – Is it Good to be Bad?
One of the games I played when I first got a smartphone was this simple app where you combined base elements to unlock more complex items. It was just a drag-and-drop interface with very little flourish. It even had a basic name like “chemistry” or something. Nevertheless, it was addicting, even if I ended up just trying combinations at a certain point. Doodle Devil: 3volution is the latest game in a series that follows a similar formula, but throws in the theme of being pure evil and coming up with things like the seven deadly sins in your various combinations. Does this darker side of the Doodle God games offer an evil evolution worthy of your time, or is this title about as fun as a vacation to hell? Let’s find out. A Fun Core Loop With Unnecessary Baggage Right off the bat, it’s worth noting that Doodle Devil: 3volution is not an expensive game at all. While games like this originate as smartphone apps fueled by microtransactions, the exchange here is a slightly higher price in exchange for having everything in-game. With a price of $8.99, I’m taking the cost into account as I discuss the ups and downs of the experience. That being said, Doodle Devil: 3volution offers the standard gameplay that those familiar with the series are used to, while also adding a few extra modes that we’ll discuss momentarily. For those not familiar with the series, Doodle Devil begins with some base elements and a single category for you to work with. Using a combination of trigger inputs and button presses, you’ll pair things together like fire, water, earth, and so forth to create more complex things like steam.and lava. As you explore combinations, you’ll unlock other categories to keep everything organized. The twist with Doodle Devil is that you’ll be unlocking things like the concept of torture, the river styx, the seven deadly sins, and yes, even sex. I raised my eyebrows when I saw the game’s icons for some of these things, but nothing is inherently offensive. An option for younger players is in the settings as well for those who may have younger gamers playing alongside them. Things happen fast, and combinations are almost always rewarding in the opening portion of the game. Once you hit about 50 or so unlocks though, things slow down and you’ll find yourself accidentally redoing combinations without realizing it. An in-game store allows you to purchase upgrades that prevent you from seeing the same animations or giving you the abiilty to spot which items have combinations, but these need to be purchased first. It’s not a big deal, because the game gives you 10K gold off the bat to grab these things, but at that point it would have made sense to just enable them by default. Gold is also spent on purchasing hints or outright suggestions on what to combine, which is nice when you just need a nudge to keep things going, but the game … Read More
The Pedestrian Review – Not Your Average Walk in The Park
There are no shortage of puzzle games out there, but the PS5 in particular has yet to receive a lot of games in general, so that market is very much ripe for new experiences. I’ve played plenty of games with portals, with color changing mechanics, with lasers, and even one that involved changing your perspective. The Pedestrian comes along for PS5 with yet another innovation in the crowded world of puzzle games, one that I’ve never personally seen. What if you were the person portrayed on traffic signs, bathroom doors, and other simple illustrations? What if you could move between them. What if they were all a unique puzzle? It’s an intriguing premise, but does this game strike out and present a fun and challenging new puzzle experience for PS5 owners, or is the writing on the wall from the beginning? Let’s find out. Sharp Design and Superb Mechanics Combine For a Breakout Puzzle Hit on PS5 When it comes to game design, I don’t think anyone can fault the genius minds at Nintendo. Listen, I’m a huge PlayStation fan, but there’s just a sort of “magic” that goes into first party games for Nintendo platforms. For me, it’s that constant sense of wonder. Sony has managed to capture that magic before of course, with titles like the excellent Astro’s Playroom included on all PS5 consoles. The same goes for the prior title in that series for PSVR: Astrobot Rescue Mission. So, why am I bringing this all up? Well, those games keep the magic alive by offering a polished, interesting, and beautiful world to explore. More than that, though, they are always introducing new and exciting mechanics or ways to interact with the world. The pacing is perfect, and the cadence of new ideas is enough to keep you glued to it all the way to end, with new ideas appearing even then. The Pedestrian, from Skookum Arts, captures this kind of magic from the moment you set foot into its world. The premise is deceptively simple, but the execution is superb. You begin by choosing your character’s appearance with both the male and female outlines you see in street signs and such. From there, you soon find yourself walking across various signs and flat surfaces throughout a bustling city. As you move from one sign (puzzle) to the next, the game seamlessly pans across beautifully rendered environments, guiding you to your next challenge without any loading whatsoever. It’s seamless in the way that games like Half Life 2 are, never breaking the immersion for a second, and treating the entire experience as one linear level. While there’s not a lot of story or explanation in the beginning, it’s also worth noting that The Pedestrian does have a plot, but I will saying nothing more on the matter. It’s excellent, and while you may not notice it from puzzle-to-puzzle, something I would have loved to see more of, it’s worth seeing through to the conclusion. So, you’re running through … Read More