Sam and Max Save the World Remastered (PS4) Review
Release Date: September 29, 2022
Publisher/Developer: Skunkape Games
Platform: PlayStation 4/5 (reviewed), previously on Switch/PC/Xbox One
Price: $19.99
While Telltale Games went on to huge acclaim and many memorable games based on popular franchises, they cut their teeth as a developers for Sam and Max: Season One (also known as Save the World, which has been remastered here). “Cut their teeth” is used horribly loosely here, as most of the developers who started Telltale Games came from LucasArts, where a Sam and Max game had previously been canceled. The episodic format of Season One allowed them to do a lot with what they had, shipping out quick-return episodic format games with individual stories but an underlying arc that would become their staple over the following years.
Sam and Max Save the World revolves around the titular “Freelance Police,” Sam (a dog in a suit) and Max (a hyper rabbit-thing) as they, well, save the world. Telltale games, and traditional “point and click” games thrive on their story and humor, so it’s hard to go further than that to explain it to new people without ruining some of the charm that the game is all about playing. Needless to say, though, you go from investigating some strange random crimes being done by small-time celebrities that ends up foiling a plot of a master villain with a base on the moon. Most gamers who aren’t familiar with Sam and Max will be pleased to know that the humor is right up there with classic LucasArts games, and the puzzle solving is just as murky and humorous, though I find very few if any horridly obtuse puzzles that force you to remember something from two hours back in your playthrough.
This “remastered” edition adds new songs, widescreen support, and enhanced visuals that help the graphics pop and look a lot cleaner. Comparison videos show identical play, almost to where they could have had the “comparison button” that Monkey Island had when remastered for the Xbox 360 and it’s generation. Diehard fans of the original really can’t complain, as it’s not a reimagining of the look, but a clean update. It makes a classic game fit perfectly on modern hardware.
If you played the original game to death, there’s not much new to see here. Check YouTube for some audio clips of the new songs, and you’ve basically seen it all. This remaster is for the fans who want to revisit Sam and Max, or new players who have never heard of them before. Of course, adding new jokes to a classic adventure game series such as this would be a step into blasphemy, so it was smart to stop there.
Sam and Max Save the World Remastered is a master class in adventure gaming, and a great place to start. Puzzles are as obtuse as they ever are in games like this, and the difficulty level is solely based on how much you want to rely on a walkthrough. The episodic format of early Telltale fare makes them easy to digest whilst having an enjoyable overarching storyline. Sam and Max: Save the World Remastered offers plenty of excellent humor, and an easily recommendable good time.
Pros:
-Recreation of a classic point and click adventure
-Widescreen support, extra songs, and updated graphics
Cons:
-Not much new for people who have played the game to death
-The usual obtuse puzzle fare inherent to the genre
Special thanks to Skunkape Games for providing a code for review!