Everyone’s favourite Freelance Police Sam and Max are back in an updated version of their first season of episodic games.
This long awaited remastered version of Sam and Max Save The World comes from a small group of the original developers who banded together to form Skunkape Games after the closure of Telltales Games in 2018.
Originally called Sam and Max Season One, this 3D graphic adventure was released in 2006 and was the first in their three part series.
Set in a satirical world that parodies American pop culture, the series follows the bizarre but astute six foot dog Sam and his impulsive partner Max- a rabbit.
The titular pair form the Freelance Police who take on strangest cases in New York City.
Loaded with unmatchable humour from writer Steve Purcell, far-fetched scenarios, and a smooth point-and-click interface, Sam and Max Save the World was a huge success and won over many fans hence the hype around this remaster.
Firstly Sam and Max Save the World Remastered looks amazing, the rejuvenated graphics are leaps and bounds above the original.
Not saying the original didn’t look good for it’s time, but with an updated resolution that adds dynamic lighting the game looks gorgeous.
The overhaul of almost every physical aspect of the game is fully welcomed, especially with character models that look and feel like their comic counterparts.
Super fans will notice the smallest tweaks like Max having a belly button or the new dazzling Eye-bo graffiti which now looks like a work of art.
The game also has an updated user interface which works the same as before but looks a lot slicker.
Fans will also notice the alterations to camera angles in certain shots which work a lot better than the original, like the reverse shot at Leftys which now shows Max’s fake emotions when reminiscing.There’s a ton of new additions such as new acting work, new exterior locations, an opening movie and more.
All these updates are much needed and have greatly improved the overall experience bringing the game’s aesthetics that much closer to Steve Purcell’s original work.
Jared Emerson-Johnson’s original soundtrack returns remastered and re-encoded from the original source files, with each sweet melody sounding crystal clear.
The music was a big part of the original adventure making each scene feel like an outlandish film noir, which makes having five new tracks all the better but no spoilers here where they appear.
Gameplay remains unchanged, players will still control Sam and interact with his surroundings.
Players will have access to all original six episodes which are divided into chapters and also have the freedom to start from wherever they want to.
But I advise starting from the beginning as players will be kicking themselves if they don’t.
The story and puzzles remain mostly unchanged, although there are a few little changes that only the hardcore fans will notice like the spray paint can Sam uses to ‘improve’ Specs work is not on the car but on the newspaper rack.
The game has appeared on a few different consoles and seen different methods of gameplay with the Wii Mote being the most unique out of them.
This remastered version works exactly as before on the PC with players using mouse and keyboard.
The Switch version has a few methods of play. Using the Joy-Con in docked or undocked mode will see players using the left analogue stick to control Sam and the right will allow you to choose the different interactive parts of your environment selecting them with the A button.
This method of play works great with no input lag and still feels like the original.
Players can also use the touchscreen option in undocked mode, where they can click various interactive elements and move Sam around by pressing the exact spot you want him to walk to.
This method of gameplay might be favourable with original fans as it is very reminiscent of the original point and click. However, I did find that it did slightly lag at times and was not as precise as the Joy-Con.
Verdict
Sam & Max Save the World Remastered is a great revival for the franchise and Skunkape Games have done an amazing job on implementing the much-needed updates without losing any of the original charm.
Die-hard fans will welcome all the obvious and subtle changes that have been made and releasing a new version on the Switch, was definitely a great choice to attract a new generation of fans.
Some people may find the humour is slightly dated and inappropriate, however I feel Steve Purcell’s stellar writing still makes me chuckle after all these years.
Sam and Max save the World is out for PC and the Nintendo Switch on December 2
