YMMV / Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse

• Even Better Sequel: The first two seasons of Freelance Police were solid endeavors, but Devil's Playhouse sends things into overdrive. More complex mechanics, wackier locales, funnier jokes, an engaging mystery, and more add up to a story that many herald as one of Sam and Max's best.
• Fan Fic Fuel: The adventures of Past Sam & Max from the moment they stole the time-travelling elevator, right up to when Sam got turned into a giant monster with electromagnetic powers.
• Fan Nickname: After his Dirty Harry style makeover, Sam became Noir Sam. It's starting to verge on Memetic Mutation.
  • Maxthulu or Stitch Max for Max's Transformation into an Eldritch Abomination in the final episode.
• Genius Bonus: Right before she attempts to assassinate Sammun-Mak, Nefertiti cries "Sic semper tyrannis, junior!" "Sic semper tyrannis" is Latin, and can be translated to "Thus always to tyrants." It's a phrase typically attributed to Marcus Junius Brutus, the most prominent figure in the assassination of Julius Caesar.
• It's Easy, So It Sucks!: The puzzles in "The City That Dares Not Sleep" when compared to the rest of the series. Most of the chapter takes place in limited areas with a limited set of items to interact with, and even fewer items you can actually pick up^* For instance: Once inside Max, you need a grand total of one thing to solve the puzzles that give you control of him., making most of the puzzles a simple matter of clicking scenery or talking to someone until something happens.
• Magnificent Bastard: Sam.
• Moe: Baby Amelia Earhart
• Nightmare Fuel: In "The Penal Zone", the first time you use the Teleportation power outside of the prologue, Sam finds himself in a twisted alternate dimension, with a creepy skeletal version of Max whose head bursts into flame.
  Max: ENJOYING THE RIDE, SAM? HA HA HA HA!
  Sam: Note to self: when traveling through Max's brain, keep your eyes shut!
• Special Effect Failure: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" the cutscene which plays when the duo first take the tunnel to BoscoTech has Sam lighting the way with a match, held in his right hand. While the light on the character models reflects this, their shadows are projected as though the light is coming from the left of Max, creating the physics-bending image of Sam holding the light that's casting his shadow up next to his shadow.
• Squick:
  • The way Sybil's baby bump bounces when she gets on the treadmill that controls Max's legs just looks wrong. To make it worse, the scene is framed so we get a nice looong close-up of it.
  • "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" gives us Girl Stinky's uncomfortably-long kiss with Sam, and later Sal.
• Ugly Cute:
  • Dr. Norrington.
  • The way Giant Max smiles when he remembers the various places Sam leads him pushes him into this, as well.

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