History VideoGame / SamAndMaxFreelancePolice

* ArtificialStupidity: Parodied with ''Tic Tac Doom'' in ''Bright Side of the Moon''. It's a Tic-Tac-Toe game by the C.O.P.S, but the AI is so braindead that the challenge of the puzzle is trying to ''lose.''

* AccidentalMurder: The deaths of both [[spoiler: Momma Bosco and Grandpa Stinky]] are unintentional collateral from ''Chariot of the Dogs'', and neither is revealed to be the case until the following episode - the former is because they blew open the roof of a building while having no idea that she was upstairs, and the latter is because their TimeTravel antics caused an invention that would have saved his life to disappear from the timeline.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Indian Poker [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_man%27s_bluff_(poker) does indeed exist]].

** In "Abe Lincoln Must Die!", Sam describes [[spoiler: the fake President of the United States]] as "a damned ugly puppet", much like how the MadScientist from the intro to ''Sam and Max Hit the Road'' turned out to be a robot whose head was "a damned ugly time bomb".

* ShoutOut: Literally too many to list here. For just one example, Episode 104 begins with Sam and Max [[VideoGame/{{Zork}} standing in an open field west of the White House]]. (And if you examine the nearest object, Sam remarks "There is a small mailbox here.")

** In 104, the amount of money that Bosco wants for his truth serum is [[JennysNumber 867.5309]] rubles.
** In 202, the famous "Snake? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" line from the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series can be heard on one of the radio stations.
** In 203, when you meet Superball at Stuttgart, saying his name [[Film/YoungFrankenstein prompts the whinnying of horses]].
*** And, once inside, you find a DJ's table (playing techno) which has buttons that cue a man's voice - one of which is [[Franchise/MortalKombat Sub-Zero]].
*** [[Franchise/ResidentEvil The ink ribbon found in Stuttgart, Max will also comment about needing healing herbs after taking it, and the YOU ARE DEAD message after being turned into zombies]].
** In 204, Flint Paper says to Max "That may be, but [[VideoGame/BadDudes are you a bad enough President to rescue that Dude?]]"

** Also in 106, when [[spoiler: Harry Moleman ]] talks about the spoon-bending talisman on display in the gift shop, Max asks if it will also work on wrenches, a reference to a character in ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad'' who bends a wrench and gives it to you as a sample.
** In 105, The [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Save Point]] outside of Bosco's E Convenience.
*** [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros "It'sa me Sam!"]]
---->'''Max:''' Sellout.
*** Also in that one, Bosco's bank password turns out to be Bosco. [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} This is not the only time Bosco was a bank password.]]
*** In the same episode, the AI representing the internet is a clear homage to [[VideoGame/SystemShock SHODAN]].

** One of the lyric options in ''The Friendly Demon'' song from 201 has Sam call the demon [[Creator/HPLovecraft Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos]].
** The boxing minigame in 201 is a full reference to VideoGame/PunchOut from the similar play style, the hard as all hell final opponent, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDkT3Rng9a0 the theme music track "TKO""]] deliberately sounds similar to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE8vKLEK6A8 the main fight tune.]]
** At the end of Reality 2.0 the game starts parodying interactive fiction games, such as Zork.

Following the closure of Creator/TelltaleGames, the rights to the episodic series has been acquired by members of the development team, now Skunkape Games. The first season, ''Sam & Max Save the World'', received a remastered release for PC and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in December 2020, with ''Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space'' in December 2021, and ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' coming sometime in 2022.

-->'''Max:''' I always thought Music/{{Rush}} was the Music/{{Queen}} of Canada.

Check out the recap page [[Recap/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice here]], now under construction.

Now has its very own [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Best Episode Crowner!]]

** Hugh Bliss: Hi! I'm Hugh Bliss! (Taken UpToEleven when [[spoiler: the entire world is brainwashed into being like him, to the point where Sybil and Bosco say that every time you talk to them]].)

** Players' reactions to Max in this state varied. Some found him annoying and unfunny, while others giggled like a maniac at [[TastesLikeDiabetes blissed-out Max.]]

* UnexplainedRecovery[=/=]DisneyDeath: In episode 101, Max drops Jimmy out the window to his (presumed) death. He later re-appears in their office unharmed. However, despite being able to survive falling out a window, Jimmy thinks he can attempt suicide by jumping off their office building (from about the same height, slightly less in fact) in 201.

* EasterEgg: In the remastered version of "Night of the Raving Dead", you have a random chance of passing by Clementine's house from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' while doing the driving minigame. If you shoot a CD at the house, you'll get a vocal cameo from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18JeBZ7V57Y Clementine herself]], who seems to be a fan of theirs.

* EasterEgg: In the remastered version of "Night of the Raving Dead", you have a random chance of passing by Clementine's house from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' while doing the driving minigame. If you shoot a CD at the house, you'll get a vocal cameo from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18JeBZ7V57Y Clementine herself]].

* EenieMeenieMinyMoai: "Moai Better Blues", naturally.

** Examining the Drum in the office in ''Chariots of the Dogs'' will have Sam remark "Remember Easter Island? Yeah, me either.". This would be innocuous, if not for the fans of the series receiving Moai Better Blues (the episode the Drum originated from) less warmly than the critics.

* StealthPun: In Moai Better Blues, Lincoln's head, who is dating Sybil, is attracted to one of the Moai heads once he crosses the Bermuda triangle. LoveTriangle?

** In "What's New, Beelzebub?", it's revealed that the [=DeSoto=] has a soul, and is forced to drive slowly for the rest of eternity. The only comments made are based around how the punishment is so torturous.[[spoiler: [[GhostInTheMachine A ghost]] resides in this here machine.]]

* StealthPun: In Moai Better Blues, Lincoln's head, who is dating Sybil, is attracted to one of the Moai head once he crossed the Bermuda triangle. LoveTriangle?

** The Devil, too. He's kind of a boring guy...[[PunchClockVillain too focused on running his company]] to be evil.

* OverlyLongGag: Max's ComicalOverreacting when he's pretending to die during the climax of "The Mole, The Mob and The Meatball". Hammered in by the villain of the story attempting to speak several times only to get interrupted by the fact that Max isn't even finished. It ends with the villains lamenting that he should've told the supposedly hypnotized Sam to shoot Max again due to him not stopping.

Following the closure of Creator/TelltaleGames, the rights to the episodic series has been acquired by members of the development team, now Skunkape Games. The first season, ''Sam & Max Save the World'', received a remastered release for PC and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in December 2020, with ''Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space'' coming in December 2021, and ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' coming sometime in 2022.

** If you try to use a computer in ''What's new, beelzebub:''
-->'''Sam:''' I don't know how to work it. Computers in hell all run...linux.

* ReplacementGoldfish At least one interaction with Mr. Spatula's water cooler refers to him as being literally this trope.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Even though a number of characters does die for real over the course of the series, a lot of casualties get better somehow. It helps that Sam and Max [[spoiler:live right above the gates of hell]] and [[spoiler:Momma Bosco has an advanced cloning machine]]. The list of deaths that didn't count: [[spoiler:Animatronic Abe Lincoln (his head survived), Santa Claus and one of his elves, Grandpa Stinky, the [=DeSoto=], Bosco, Timmy Two-Teeth, Sam (all brought back from hell), Momma Bosco (lived on as a ghost, later cloned a new body for herself) and Max (replaced by himself from an alternate timeline.) In addition, Brady Culture, Hugh Bliss and Jürgen have found steady employment in hell and seem happy enough.]]

* FanDisservice: Turns out the stripper at her husband's bachelor party is [[spoiler:Jurgen's Monster]].

* DeathByDeaging: In "Moai Better Blues", Sam & Max encounter various people who had gone missing years ago that have turned into babies from drinking the fountain of youth. Among them is Jimmy Hoffa, who blocks the way into a cave the need to access. In order to get rid of him, Sam & Max have to trick him into drinking more of the fountain of youth, causing him to vanish.

** Sam's revolver and a combo of Max's Luger and supposed head severed at the upper jaw (used as the obligatory hat of the set) were given as gifts to players of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' who bought ''The Devil's Playhouse'' season the first 2 weeks, or pre-ordered. In exchange, a Blue Engineer Dispenser appears in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" and the RED Heavy Weapons Guy is one of the opponents in ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' (which features Max). Max's buy-in item is his gun and badge (which is really Sam's badge).

Following the closure of Creator/TelltaleGames, the rights to the episodic series has been acquired by members of the development team, now Skunkape Games. The first season, ''Sam & Max Save The World'', received a remastered release for PC and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in December 2020, with ''Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space'' coming in December 2021, and ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' coming sometime in 2022.

* ChristmasEpisode: Season 2 opener "Ice Station Santa", as well as the {{Machinima}} version of it produced by Telltale, ''Sam & Max Nearly Save Christmas''. Played with in that the Christmas Past they have to save was in fact initially destroyed by that very attempt to save it.