2020 is a year in which I’ve found myself branching out to genres I’ve never been very keen on prior, which has opened up an entirely new world of gaming to be explored, while exponentially increasing my ever-growing backlog of games. It is also a year in which I returned to some genres that have taken a backseat to first-person shooters and battle royales. One such genre is point-and-click adventures, which are games that I essentially grew up on. Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town was a new title that launched this year, and reminded me why I enjoy the genre as much as I do.
As such, I was delighted to have the opportunity to check out Sam & Max Save the World Remastered, which was a game that I missed when it originally released in 2007 by Telltale Games under the name of Sam & Max Season One. Sam & Max Save the World Remastered is a great addition to the Nintendo Switch, offering up the entire episodic package of the original game with remastered visuals and aesthetics, new music, and the same ol’ classic Sam & Max humor.
Although I missed out on the original release of the game, I am very familiar with Sam & Max from their Fox Kids animated series. There was something about the art style and dark humor (from Max specifically) that drew me into each episode. That same nostalgic appeal extends into Sam & Max Save the World Remastered with its smoothed out 3D textures and interactive world. The same dark humor is on display as well, with nearly every interaction Max has with another character having the chance to take some kind of twisted turn.
I’m along for the ride with the Freelance Police who - after going a while without any action - are thrust into a mind-control caper where they’ll need to rely on their wits, their surrounding environment (which involves everywhere from their neighborhood street to outer space), and each other in order to save the world.
The story is goofy, fun, and filled with a colorful cast of characters who play well during interactions with the detectives. The game’s various settings also offer up Saturday morning cartoon and comic-book style vibes. What makes Sam & Max Save the World Remastered stand out from traditional point-and-click games is Sam and Max’s movement. The Joy-Con joystick is used to move the characters around each area while looking for things to interact with. I enjoy the fluidity that the joystick movement allows, but there are moments where some interactable objects are tricky to focus on. Sometimes the touchiness of the joystick controls can over or undershoot the object I’m trying to look at, which can be a bit frustrating, especially if I’m in the middle of solving a puzzle.
Speaking of puzzles - it is a point-and-click adventure, after all - there are plenty to be solved throughout the adventure. Obviously, doing so progresses the story forward, with items collected along the way playing a big part in solving many of the puzzles. Ultimately, the puzzles strike a good balance of being intuitive while still requiring some out-of-the-box thoughtfulness to solve.
With the blessing of Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, Skunkape Games has done well to bring the original highly-praised title to modern platforms, offering up plenty of reasons for new players to check out the game, and former players to come back. In fact, if you happen to own Sam & Max Season One on Steam or GOG, you can pick up the remastered version for 50%-off through the end of the year by visiting this link.
The world of Sam & Max is a weird and wild one. It seems likely that Sam & Max Season Two and Three (also known as Beyond Time and Space, and The Devil’s Playhouse, respectively) will be making their way in the form of remasters as well. I’ll certainly be in for another ride in the DeSoto Adventurer if it happens.
A Switch copy of Sam & Max Save the World Remastered was provided to TheGamer for this review. Sam & Max Save the World Remastered is available now for Nintendo Switch and PC.
sam and max save the world