Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse is a remastered edition of the third Sam & Max game, which debuted as Sam & Max: Season 3 - The Devil's Playhouse, later renamed to Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse. This adventure game was developed by Skunkape Games, responsible for remastering the two previous instalments of the series.

Plot

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse once again features the titular protagonists known from Steve Purcell's comic books - Sam the dog and his faithful companion, Max the rabbit. This time, our brave independent investigators must face villains from all across the galaxy, led by the sinister gorilla Skun-ka'pe, who intend to take advantage of Max's freshly acquired supernatural abilities. Though the story sounds quite serious (with this impression being further enhanced by the cutscenes inspired by The Twilight Zone, along with a narrator recounting the titular duo's adventures), the game is full of absurd humor, as expected from the series.

Mechanics

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse consists of five chapters. The gameplay is very similar to the previous instalments of the series. The player explores various locations, talks to NPCs, solves puzzles and completes mini-games. Progressing through the game unlocks special gadgets which affect Max's powers, letting the player implement them during puzzles; those include seeing the future, teleportation, mind-reading or metamorphosis. The game has a built-in hint system in case you get stuck.

As was the case with the remasters of previous instalments, the devs have implemented some quality-of-life changes to the gameplay. As an example, it is now possible to replay already finished chapters, letting you search for optional secrets. The remaster also features improved controls and additional easter eggs.

Technical aspects

The visuals of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse have been vastly improved; textures, lighting and character models have all received a significant overhaul compared to the original.