Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting lagomorph and canine duo are back! Originally released in 2010 by Telltale Games, this remaster brings the graphic adventure to the latest generation of consoles/PCs. This release by Skunkape Games features the five original episodes of season 3 in one convenient 4k package - perfect for gamers who missed out on the opportunity to play the original releases or just want to re-experience the classic in its entirety with its improved graphics and loading times.

As someone who missed out on playing these classics back when they were first released, I found this package to be a fantastic way to experience the overarching storyline of the Devil’s Playhouse. Akin to binging on a packaged television streaming release, I didn’t find any pacing issues between the five episodes that may have been present during the original episodic release schedule. 

Starting with the introduction to the new characters such as General Skunkape and Papierwaite in the first two episodes, I found each of the episodes succinctly paced with the comedy and over-the-top action that the brand has become associated with over the years. Each episode runs for 3-4 hours and  I was impressed with how much sharper that writing was over the previous season. Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space had a much more disjointed feel throughout the season as it took players from one exotic locale to another. 

This time, the story felt a lot more small-scale in nature, allowing both Sam and Max to be fleshed out as characters culminating in what I would describe as a high point for the series in Episode 5, “The City that Does Not Sleep.” Without wanting to spoil anything for those of us like me who missed out on playing the original release, I felt that with the return of both characters and elements from the series two previous seasons, this was the ultimate conclusion to the Sam and Max Telltale trilogy.   It left me with a fantastic Chekov’s gun moment after the last bit of credits rolled. 

Of particular note, I loved the Easter eggs that the team incorporated, calling back to the original point-and-click adventure Sam and Max: Hit the Road that started it all. This callback lent itself to an almost Marvel Cinematic Universe-like feeling, where all their adventures felt canon, despite the series switching hands a few times. It reminded me of the joy I felt as a child playing these games and how, as an adult, I now have a deeper appreciation for these characters and their enduring humor.

Additionally, whereas I felt that the previous season was focused on artificially inflating its runtime through mini-games and harder moon logic puzzles, the team’s decision to focus on introducing newer gameplay elements such as Max’s psychic powers added to a much tighter and faster-paced season allowing for a better story. 

Unlike the previous season, the combination of both hints and Max’s powers, such as future vision, helped streamline a lot of the season’s puzzles and minimized a lot of the time I used to spend quandering how random object X would fit with object Y in order to drive the plot forward. While I could argue that it made the game too easy at times, having looked minimally at walkthroughs only once or twice, I still felt accomplished after having figured out some out-of-the-box solutions to some of the game's puzzles.

Although having not played the original, I can’t write about whether or not any changes to the script were made, I can say that from a fresh point of view, this remaster of The Devil’s Playhouse gave me what I was looking for in a fresh romp with two characters that I grew up with and a fitting conclusion to their storylines if there aren’t any additional entries to the series; Oculus releases notwithstanding.

 SCORE: 8.5

Review copy courtesy of Skunkape