YMMV / Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual!

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • It's pretty much agreed upon by the fanbase that the reason Max doesn't like the player character for the majority of the game is because he doesn't want to share Sam with anyone and dislikes how friendly Sam is with the player.
  • Exactly why Sam is so adamant about recruiting new members into the Freelance Police despite Max's obvious distaste of the idea has been heavily debated by fans.
• Angst? What Angst?: Considering the last time Max was possessed and also became unnaturally huge was pretty traumatic for the duo you'd think some gravity would be given to these situations. Instead, the former is used as a joke and the latter is only briefly commented on. ^note That said, a Mythology Gag in the opening suggests it has been eleven years in-universe since those events, so it's not unlikely both had made their peace on the matter by the time of this game.
• Broken Base: The use of a Featureless Protagonist rather than playing as Sam was met with some fandom debate. Some prefer the change of pace as it allows Sam to be goofier and a bit more involved with the jokes. Others feel it removes too much of his agency and diminishes his role as The Straight Man who is Only Sane by Comparison in regards to his relationship with Max.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Sam and Max are everyone's dads now. ^note  A running joke among the fanbase is the boys' tendency to adopt young kids (such as Darla/the Greek) or creatures (such as Jeff the monster) as their children. This time they've effectively adopted the player.
  • Max's line about how he likes his corn dogs quickly blew up among the fanbase.
  • Sam and Max are old. ^note  Whereas other Sam and Max media is typically ambiguous about their ages (aside from the fact that they're adults) this game openly comments that they're getting on in age.
• Paranoia Fuel: The Aquabears' song not only sounds distorted and freaky by itself, but basically consists of them bragging about how they're literally everywhere and how you can't kill them no matter what. Try thinking about that the next time you put your hands on anything!
  We live everywhere and we cannot die
  You can't observe us with the naked eye
  We're attached to your hair and in your underwear
  So let's meet, the Aquabeeears!