Sam & Max Save The World Review: A Hypnotic Good Time (PS4)

Ever since my Xbox 360 days, I’ve been curious about the crimestopping duo of Sam & Max. My interest in them increased with their roles in the poker night games but unfortunately, I never did take the initiative to give them a go. Now it’s 2024 and the third game based on the duo from Telltale is getting a remaster in August making it the perfect time to give these Telltale legends a shot. I’ll be going through each of the games starting with Sam & Max Save The World.

Sam & Max Save The World is a point-and-click adventure game originally developed by Telltale Games in 2006 and has now been remastered by Skunkape Games. In this six-episodic adventure, Sam & Max investigate separate cases that may lead to a bigger conspiracy afoot. Witness crazy washed-up child stars, a toy-based mafia, and much more in a zany adventure to save the world. As I said before, I’ve never played any of the games so this remaster will be my first playthrough. Will this game be any good or was it a waste to remaster? Find out down below in our review for Sam & Max Save The World. 

Interested in the other reviews in the trilogy? Have a gander down below:

• Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space Review: Another Comedic Triumph (PS4)

Sam & Max Save The World is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One for $19.99. 

Story – Zany Adventures in Hypnotism 

In Sam & Max Save The World, you play as the titular characters in bizarre cases. Each of the six episodes you play through features an outlandish case for Sam & Max to solve. From investigating a child star cult, stopping a deranged TV host, dealing with a toy-themed mafia, Abraham Lincoln, and exploring cyberspace, Sam & Max have their work cut out for them. These may sound like random events, however, they’re all part of a grand plan, overarching the game’s story. 

What wacky adventures will Sam & Max go on in this exciting episode?

I generally was taken aback by how much I enjoyed the story of Sam & Max Save The World. Considering it was a longer experience than future Telltale titles, I thought I’d eventually hit a roadblock regarding my overall entertainment. However, with its masterfully crafted comedic writing and the sense of unpredictability within the plot, they had me eating out of my hand the whole time. For anyone interested in diving into the zany world of Sam & Max, I recommend going completely blind, so that you can enjoy everything it throws at you. 

Characters & Dialogue – The Unusual Suspects

Sam and Max are exceptionably well-written comedic gems that never failed to amuse me. Sam portrays the witty deadpan detective while Max is the chaotic partner in crime. During the story, there’s not much character development since it’s not that kind of story. Instead, it’s focused on laughs rather than telling a thrilling mystery, which doesn’t mean it won’t have twists and turns. Now, I would say not every joke is a hit, sometimes Sam and Max can be too much. However, that’s when they surprise you with absolute laugh-out-loud hilarity. It’s a nice change to today’s more serious protagonists. During the six-episodic adventure, you’ll meet an interesting group of characters. Some solely for one episode while others make their presence known throughout the story.

Bosco being one of the most involved side characters is the local shopkeeper, inventor, and conspiracy nut. Each episode we have to visit his shop and purchase an item to progress. He provided some great laughs and was probably the most interesting character to interact with. Another character we see is Sybil, a woman who is known for changing jobs pretty casually. In each episode, her new role will assist you in some way while like most situations bringing plenty of comedy. Other side characters like the secret service agent Superball and the colourful Hugh Bliss were also stand-out characters.

Sadly there was a set of characters that kept appearing that were super irritating, that being the Soda Poppers. Each member had a very grating voice and pretty much nothing they said was funny. They originally take center stage in the first episode where they’ve been hypnotized. They then return in each episode for some form of cameo or to block your progression with a puzzle. Their involvement always caused me to tune out making me most likely miss a funny one-liner from Sam & Max. 

Gameplay – Wacky Hijinks

Now, if you know what kind of games Telltale makes, you won’t be surprised to hear that Sam & Max Save The World is a point-and-click adventure game. However, you do use analogue sticks for traversal and navigation alongside L2 to sprint, R2 to use some items and triangle to look in your inventory. Each episode has Sam & Max visit a few locations with the neighbourhood being the only revisited local between episodes. You’ll talk to characters, collect items, and solve puzzles to advance the episode’s plot. Occasionally you’ll get to play a small minigame like a shooting gallery or driving around in Sam and Max’s car. 

The core loop doesn’t differ between episodes, you usually have a starting problem to investigate which begins the main case. Then you’ll need to look for items to solve puzzles, usually three items will solve one of the main objectives in the episode. Then you’ll sometimes have dialogue that you’ll need to get right to proceed. Of course, while this is all happening, hilarity is found everywhere while interacting with items and characters. This form of exploration that point-and-click adventures are known for is the main bulk of what you’ll be doing throughout the game. 

Puzzles – Mostly Hits but Not Perfect

So like what I said above, you’ll be going through each episode solving puzzles to progress the plot. The main types of puzzles you’ll come across involve finding and using items. These items can be found in the explorable areas, from characters, and sometimes from other puzzles. You can use items for unique dialogue exchanges that give out humorous dialogue or the answer to puzzles. Other puzzles in the game are related to dialogue where a specific sequence must be said to pass. These can be troublesome but not impossible to figure out. 

I will say some puzzles tend to be frustrating because of how you solve them. Mainly with the location of some items and on other occasions what to do with them. I found a puzzle that was impossible to solve on my own without help from a guide in episode 6. It was for the usual Bosco money puzzle where I had to get something to purchase the important item I needed for another puzzle. I couldn’t find anything from talking to characters or looking around, so when I discovered what to do, I felt cheated. Most puzzles were relatively simple to solve though each episode had at least one puzzle that was a headscratcher. These puzzles made me reflect on how much Telltale changed its focus from creating puzzles to telling a story. 

Graphics & Audio – A Saturday Morning Cartoon

The game’s look was my best guess regarding what the remaster of Sam & Max Save The World could bring. From the character designs to the environments, all aspects of the art have a lovely fresh coat of paint. The art style in question puts you in a fully interactable Saturday morning cartoon. I did wonder if Sam & Max was based on anything or an original piece from Telltale. Turns out they were originally from a comic book series and a short-lived animated series. With that said, they smashed each of the environments, expressing each tone alongside placing clever background jokes. 

Regarding audio, the soundtrack of the game is a blast to listen to. With the jazzy themes that reminded me of cop shows from the 80s mixed with cartoon sound effects. There’s a great part in episode 4 where a sudden dance and song number occurs which was both funny and entertaining. Voice acting is superb, especially from the two leads and most side characters. All of them bring their A-Game to produce great comedic moments and an unforgettable experience. However, there were some issues with dialogue at times. I would come across some scenes where one piece of dialogue would end and then repeat alongside the next. This would occur only at rare moments and didn’t jeopardise the overall experience. 

Sam & Max Save The World was reviewed on PS4 with a review code provided by Skunkapegames.