As of August 31st, season three of Telltale's Sam and Max is over. After a two-year hiatus between seasons, was it worth the wait? In a word, yes. The Devil's Playhouse stands out as the single best season of Sam and Max yet, albeit not without its flaws.
The season tinkered with the game design present in all the other episodes. Gone are the frequent trips to the office; it never shows up once. Most of the mainstays are Put On A Bus, with only a handful returning towards the end. There are far fewer (direct) inventory puzzles; instead, most of the brainwork revolves around using Max's new psychic powers rather than asking people to rub your unicorn. Indeed, the psychic powers are worked wonderfully into the story, and many of the puzzles subsequently require ingenious solutions. The story is also a lot of fun, involving space-travelling psychic gorillas, a mad sorcerer, Eldritch Abominations, and their attempts to seize an all-powerful toybox. The writing is as funny as ever, while also going down a much darker road than the previous seasons.
That being said, there are some definite issues. First and foremost, most of the puzzles are a tad too easy, mostly because of the Future Vision power. 301 and 304 are the worst culprits; I was able to clear both with absolutely no hangups. The games are also much more linear, and while this helps the story move more briskly, it also takes away much of the challenge of the previous games. And then there's the last episode. The first half is hilarious, but after that, more than a few Wall Bangers start popping up. They retcon a character's backstory so much it turns into a Plot Black Hole, the most endearing new character in the season is arbitrarily killed off, and then there's the ending, which manages to be a Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming, Diabolus Ex Machina, a Tear Jerker, AND an Ass Pull, all within five minutes.
Overall, though, this was a fantastic season. Let's just hope the next one doesn't take two more years.
Favorite Episode: 302 (The Tomb of Sammun-Mak)
Least Favorite Episode: 304 (Beyond the Alley of the Dolls)
WesternAnimation The Devil's Playhouse Review
As of August 31st, season three of Telltale's Sam and Max is over. After a two-year hiatus between seasons, was it worth the wait? In a word, yes. The Devil's Playhouse stands out as the single best season of Sam and Max yet, albeit not without its flaws.
The season tinkered with the game design present in all the other episodes. Gone are the frequent trips to the office; it never shows up once. Most of the mainstays are Put On A Bus, with only a handful returning towards the end. There are far fewer (direct) inventory puzzles; instead, most of the brainwork revolves around using Max's new psychic powers rather than asking people to rub your unicorn. Indeed, the psychic powers are worked wonderfully into the story, and many of the puzzles subsequently require ingenious solutions. The story is also a lot of fun, involving space-travelling psychic gorillas, a mad sorcerer, Eldritch Abominations, and their attempts to seize an all-powerful toybox. The writing is as funny as ever, while also going down a much darker road than the previous seasons.
That being said, there are some definite issues. First and foremost, most of the puzzles are a tad too easy, mostly because of the Future Vision power. 301 and 304 are the worst culprits; I was able to clear both with absolutely no hangups. The games are also much more linear, and while this helps the story move more briskly, it also takes away much of the challenge of the previous games. And then there's the last episode. The first half is hilarious, but after that, more than a few Wall Bangers start popping up. They retcon a character's backstory so much it turns into a Plot Black Hole, the most endearing new character in the season is arbitrarily killed off, and then there's the ending, which manages to be a Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming, Diabolus Ex Machina, a Tear Jerker, AND an Ass Pull, all within five minutes.
Overall, though, this was a fantastic season. Let's just hope the next one doesn't take two more years.
Favorite Episode: 302 (The Tomb of Sammun-Mak)
Least Favorite Episode: 304 (Beyond the Alley of the Dolls)