Over the last several weeks, I have been experiencing the excellent Sam & Max Remasters from Skunkape Games. As a massive Telltale fan, it has been incredible to play these early works. As some of the most well-known point-and-click adventures of all time, these faithful remasters have kept everything intact. The first two seasons were fairly similar, but it’s clear from the beginning that Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered is a major leap forward for the series. Let’s find out how much it improves upon the formula established in the first two seasons and if you should see this adventure through to the end. Now This is an Upgrade! Playing through the first two seasons of the Sam & Max Remasters, I couldn’t help but feel like the gameplay and story didn’t evolve enough for my liking. The first season was odd and weird and wonderful. The second season improved upon the pacing, writing, and puzzles, but it didn’t really innovate in terms of scope or gameplay. It’s clear within the first hour, however, that Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered is the leap I was looking for. This third season is a proper formula evolution and a fitting finale for the dynamic duo. It retains the look and feel of the prior seasons, but it raises the narrative stakes, bridges the gaps between episodes, and expands the gameplay in new and exciting ways. This third season of Sam & Max was when Telltale Games came into their own and developed their unique approach to the narrative adventure genre. The first two seasons could walk, so the Devil’s Playhouse could run. It all starts with the first episode, which immediately throws you into the climax of a showdown between Sam, Max, and a new villain named Skunkape (now I understand where the developer’s name comes from). A new narrator also sets the stage for us, and he checks in throughout the season to provide some context and connectivity between the various episodes. This alone goes a long way toward making the season’s narrative feel cohesive and complete, which I felt the prior seasons lacked. I was actually convinced I had missed something between seasons two and three because of how quickly The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered throws you into the action, but it quickly became clear that the storytelling style has become more dynamic in this third season. For example, as part of the opening scene and tutorial, you find that Max has psychic powers given to him by special toys like a phone, a deck of cards, or a glob of putty. This immediately adds a new layer to the gameplay. In the prior seasons, puzzles were driven by dialogue and inventory items, but now, these powers add a new wrinkle to the mix. Another immediate difference that I noticed was the how dialogue is done through a wheel as opposed to the static text boxes of the first two seasons. You still have your inventory of … Read More
Sam & Max Save the World Remastered Review – Never Fear, the Freelance Police are Here!
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