Let it be known that despite Max seeming psychotically indifferent to blowing up a different version of Sam, he still almost immediately went to the elevator to find another version of Sam He’s literally proving the point of this essay that Max just can’t admit Sam is the most important part of his life
That is evident whether Max admits it or not. What wasn't evident up until that point, was that Sam was actually important _to_ Max, that Max actually cared for someone.
Something I'm noticing about the devil's playhouse is that the settings and puzzles now actually serve the purpose of establishing a 3 act structure as opposed to previously, where it was pretty much just a string of problem solving events that eventually amounted to something. For example, "They Stole Max's Brain!" has a clear beginning, middle, and end, each clearly defined by a specific challenge and "location", each a natural progression from the previous: find out what happened to max in noir mode, break up skunkape and paperwaite in the museum, set everything back to normal in the Samunmak word. I love how it keeps things moving and feels like a real story with actual stakes and a well thought out plan the whole time as opposed to just at the end.
I had to stop watching this video for a moment just to say this. Sam & Max now makes sense: there is now LOGIC in f@#king Sam & Max! The random settings and situations, the hit or miss humor, the main characters who accepts or outright encourages the chaos brought to them: this was all conjured up by a kid who just wanted to make fun of his brother’s artistic merit! The comics, the show and even the games were all made as if a 10 year old got a hold of a media studio out of sheer luck!...It’s almost beautiful in hindsight! ADDENDUM: Animated Series Sam is best Sam!
This the first Sam and Max game that I played. I was on CD in my local eb games, so glad I bought it, that was like 5 years ago. Too bad, Tell Tale died after making the walking dead game... Sigh.... They flew too close to the brain dead sun.
The fact that Max, after having to blow up Sam, feels so god awful that he goes through timelines just to be with him again sums up all we need to know. In the end, it's not Sam or Max. It's Sam AND Max.
@chips-a-hoy7612 he isn't comically exaggerated like Max, but he still puts up with Max's stuff like it's an everyday routine and makes some really questionable things and decisions that could not come from someone with at least some empathy
Sam: "Max! What do you see in there?" *pulls Max out of the freezer* Max: *with a snow mustache and a little bowler hat out of nowhere* "It was at that point they met Yukon Cornelius: Scallywag of the North" Sam: "Max! Snap out of it, little buddy! What did you see?" Max: "I saw...what can only be described as...a gateway...to an uncharted...dimension." Sam: "Interesting, but did you see the Fudgy Freeze bars? Look way in the back!" *shoves him back in*
In Poker Night 2, Sam & Max occasionally have dialogues where they talk about an ongoing case, and each conversation changes depending on how many tournaments you've won. They are all referencing the plot of The Devil's Playhouse and making fun of each other while the rest of the Poker Night cast looks on in fear and confusion.
Ah Sam and Max. 'Tis better to burn twice as brightly for half as long. "But really, it's better to burn your house down and collect the insurance money" "You crack me up, little buddy."
I legitimately squealed like a fangirl when I first found this video. Not only have I been waiting literal YEARS for someone to talk about the brilliance of the devil's playhouse in a concise manner, but it comes from my favourite content creator! Kudos, B-mask, Kudos
I had no idea that's how Sam and Max started, but it fits their characters so well. They do sometimes kinda seem like the story line that an older, tired, annoyed sibling would make when being forced to play with the younger, with just the right amount of mocking and imagination that only comes from someone genuinely trying to entertain themselves in a not very entertaining situation.
B-Mask, be honest - When you released this video a month ago, was it because you used *FUTURE VISION* and knew they would announce a new Sam & Max VR game??
So it turns out like 2 weeks after I first watched this video, I saw the remake version of the first season (I assume) in the Nintendo eshop. Now it’s a day away from coming out
Sam and max are kinda like rocky and bullwinkle. Both duos are products of their time that can still be incredibly funny today. It all depends on the studio's ability to understand what makes them funny In the first place. That being said, Sam and Max are waaay more relatable to today's humor and probably could make a huge comeback in the right hands.
They’re like animaniacs. Only thing is the whole world is just as insane as they are, it’s the dry/ nonsensical/ dark humor that makes them pop out and lovable
Sam and Max is the pinnacle of what I myself hope to achieve as a creative one day; Wonderfully weird yet down earth, completely nonsensical yet logical with its through line, devilishly witty with a sometimes juvenile touch, and incredibly absurd characters with a surprising amount of heart. No matter what the iteration whether, its the cartoon, the comics or the games, it a personal favorite franchise of mine and I'm glad to see it being celebrated by fellow fans and hopefully introduced to new ones as well.
Before Sam & Max I had never played a point & click adventure game. I had zero interest in point & click adventure games. I then went on to binge play all 3 seasons, I couldn't help myself. These games are true gems.
@@thrice42 store.steampowered.com/search/?publisher=Skunkape%20Games They're the new publishers of Sam and Max on Steam. It's owned by Dan Connors, who was one of the co-founders of Telltale.
When I finished the final season I bawled my eyes out when Sam walked next to the credits looking all sad. The same fucking game where I was laughing my ass off through all those seasons.
THIS before i played it i was like “hah! ppl are crying over a sam and max game. im sure its a little sad but not that s-“ i then sobbed for over an hour. 1000/10 game
You call the Devil's Playhouse their to date final game. Then the next month rolls around and Sam & Max This Time it's Virtual is unveiled at Gamescom. I'm so happy.
YES finally someone judging the telltale version on it's own merits and not just comparing it negatively to hit the road. I think the second season will always be my favorite, if only for introducing me to the franchise, but I agree with most of what you said about the 3rd season.
The biggest crime is season 3 not getting an ost. It seriously had the best music of the telltale sam and max games and it sucks you can't support the artist who made it.
"One way, dead end. Street signs are such wonderful metaphors for the human condition!" Thanks for making this B, I'm glad people still love Sam & Max.
i don't mean to overhype this game to anyone else, but to me, it really is the best point 'n click adventure i've ever played, maybe possibly my favorite story as well. one of the things in particular i always liked about devil's playhouse is its subtle but constant sense of foreboding. like for example, literally the moment you press start and see that flaming max loading screen, you think to yourself, "oh that looks cool", but then after you beat the game and you see that loading screen again, you realize, "OH. from the very beginning, it's been trying to tell me ALL ALONG." and then again and again, the game constantly waves all the stuff that's going to happen right under your nose, and that makes playing it a second time even stronger than the first. this game's just a really brilliant combination of comedy & these surprisingly dark moments that you would never get in the previous seasons. we're probably never gonna get something like this again, and that makes me sad
Same, this is what got me into telltale and strongbad game, before all the commercial games they did, sadly telltale became too big for their shoes and it was their demise
This was the first game that made me cry. I played it before I was a teen in 2011, yet despite all the mature jokes etc I still laughed often and also felt these characters. The ending was so hard hitting its crazy. It takes talent to take such silly characters and create something so deep
My life is an endless spiral of wishing for more Sam & Max content since the fan base appears to be dying and no new installments in the future and then I see this 40 minutes video in my feed!!! Gonna dive right into it! It will ease the pain for a short amount of time until I'll get back to my life without Sam & Max.
I miss these boys 😭 Noir Sam is awesome, it makes me wonder what the Max at the end went through in his universe. I would love another series with them ♥️
I imagine that he’d become even more unstable than he already is. There’s some pretty cool headcanon fanart by DeviantArtist Celestial Symphony, where Max essentially has a mental breakdown after Sam falls into a trap that fries his brain and puts him in a coma. Completely lost on what to do without his partner’s calculated strategy, Max starts wearing Sam’s necktie around one of his ears in a desperate attempt to help him focus. Here’s a link: www.deviantart.com/celestialsymphony/art/SaM-Past-Present-Noir-198889442
Just saying this, but the story of the cancelled Sam and Max game would end up being used as an ongoing story in Poker Night 2. So we at least know how the games plot would have progressed... it's as crazy as you can imagine.
@@FloofPuppy I'm not sure where it was confirmed that the story from Poker Night 2 was the Sam and Max: Freelance Police story came from. I just read up on it from the Wiki. However, concept art of the game has surfaced that seems to suggest the case, so I find it believable. Anyway, if you're interested to know what the story was originally going to be, I have a video of the on-going story from Poker ight 2 on my channel. I'll link it for you: ua-cam.com/video/yu3MzQVa7PI/v-deo.html
5:35 Sam's a good guy, i swear Seriously though, this series is incredibly important to me. Saying it's made an impact on how I consume and view media would be a massive understatement. Very few video games, movies, tv shows, comics, etc. have been able to capture my attention and appreciation quite like this. It's so unique. Nothing can quite match it. The only things I could come up with that'd be of similar calibre would be TF2 and the Venture Bros. Coincidentally, they've all been featured in Poker Night. Huh.
I just love Sam and Max. And to me, I’m glad that Sam and Max is being exposed to more and more people are being exposed to it, and that they’re enjoying it. I love it. And I’m glad that Telltale took something so beloved, and expanded upon it. Gutting us, making us laugh, making us cry, and overall, making us think. Complacency is a thing both the characters and the company were going through, and by taking something so risky, and so utterly real, they got out of their rut twofold, and bringing a story that hits so hard… and honestly, it was enough to make me pause. Pause, and reflect, and internalize. And I think that’s what made this game, the Devil’s Playhouse, my favorite. It was complex, with different takes and doses of realism and comedy, and made it into something better than any “make it *real* “ take ever could. Not cynical for the heck of it, not funny with no feeling, it went the opposite route, and put everything together, and it worked. It bloody worked, and it’s incredible. This is why I love Sam and Max, in all their iterations, and why I really respect Telltale in that; it makes me feel so many things, and I just can’t help but be in awe. As a consumer, as a writer, it’s just inspiring for me, and I hope someday I can come to being half as reflective, half as clever, and half as daring. It’s just amazing.
Experiencing this game as it came out in 2010 was a wonderful experience. The speculation on the forums was wild - the Future Vision especially was such a great way to fuel those fires. As much as I would love another Sam & Max game, The Devil's Playhouse is an excellent send-off, and I'll always adore it. Thanks for this video - between this and the Monkey Island video, they've given me a lot to think about in regards to games I've loved for years.
Great vid sorry I had to dip out at the spoilers but you convinced me to buy the game. I saw you talked about the comics and other games but not the TV show. Its a good place to get more of the sam and max fix.
I love that @ 36:50 the ending uses the “Cruisin”/“Soda Poppers” music from season 1, easily the best composition from the series (save for maybe the office theme, which is also there).
This is the first time that I actually heeded a spoiler warning in a video, since your delivery and display of the games makes me genuinely want to go and play the games myself. That's gotta say something about the quality of the video. Great stuff!
I love this analysis. The Devil's Playhouse was actually my first encounter with Sam and Max and it gave me an incredible first impression that all the other pieces of the franchise lived up to. TDP is probably my favorite entry, or at least close, for that emotional hook you elaborated on, and it's what hooked me on these characters forever. Fantastic work.
I like how there was some foreshadowing in the older seasons. Like, for example, Max was immune to all of the hypnosis, while Sam wasn’t. Hugh Bliss said that the only being that could stop was Max. They obviously planned for season three to be about magic from the beginning. It wasn’t like they came up with it as they went. Did they plan to rip our hearts out at the end, only to sloppily shove it back in? Maybe! After all, the loading symbol is Max on fire! (At least, in the remake of season one. I haven’t played the original season one, and I can’t force myself to play season two due to the fact that it doesn’t have my monitor resolution as an option, and everything looks weird. Also I can’t pause in the middle of a cutscene. I hope they remake it) Little side note, “Looks like it’s time to boil the haggis” is so extremely bad•ss _Skun’ka’pe_
Thank you so much for this, I've always had trouble articulating how much i love these characters and especially the third season. This is easily the most in depth discussion of their appeal I've ever seen. You've earned yourself a subscriber for life man, well done.
In all the universe, the only power beyond the mind’s comprehension, is the power to comprehend, THE POWER OF THE MIND. If any one of us could unlock this terrible power would we use it to Explore the Mysteries of the Infinite, or would we use it...to Destroy? - The Narrator.
"I don't know man it's doing things to him, it's making things... *canonical* " idk why but that was probably the funniest way you could've phrased that
Thank you! I'm not generally a fan of remasters but I think the Skunkape team have made one of the best, the stylistic tweaks and fixes all making sense and feeling right. They also went ahead and kept the original versions included too, so it doesn't feel like how they first appeared and were experienced at the time is lost forever. Very strong stuff.
I think Sal sounds better as the immitation of Warburton than actual Warburton. Not because I don't like Patrick's voice, or that Patrick's voice wouldn't fit the character at all. It's because the imitation provides a unique charm that is very Sam and Max to me. The fact that his voice is hearty, yet buglike, which is quite fitting, since he is a bug...guy.
When I heard max saying that past Sam had electromagnetic powers I somehow thought that Sam had to suffer becoming Tetsuo Shima overpowering himself to the point to turn into a flesh monster that max tried everything in his power to save his beloved friend
I think you make an excellent point with the whole "dissecting the frog" metaphor. How do we treat these characters with reverence when, from the very beginning, they've been explicit commentary on the irreverent nature of their medium? Meta narratives have become a sort of "trend" in the late 2010s in an attempt to imitate deep writing, but The Devil's Playhouse did it years before it was popular - directly acknowledging that, yeah, this is all rather ridiculous, but it was always real. It always mattered. It's always Sam & Max. Fantastic video about a fantastic game - hopefully it comes to gamepass someday. You've earned a subscriber!
This is the kind of video I could rewatch many times! Thank you for giving old Sam & Max the attention. I should replay the series for old times sake soon... "Well, here we are in the Phillipines!" "Drawn without reference material, apparently!"
It’s been almost a decade since I played the Sam and Max games so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I was really put off at the time by Max’s decision in the end to “save Sybil” and sacrifice his life to do so. I thought it was incredibly out of character at the time for Max to sacrifice himself for anyone other than Sam. What did you think about that part? You didn’t really touch on it but I’m assuming you didn’t feel it was as out of character as I did.
I mean it's supposed to be out of character- that's kind of the entire point of the video and season 3. max having any kind of conscience for anything is so antithetical to what we know, but the Devil's Playhouse is about putting the characters through emotions and ideas we're not used to, and the Sybil moment is literally an act so outside of his wheelhouse that it leads to this version of Max being destroyed forever. Every time they go out of character there's a concequence, the whole thing's a big experiment to see if any of its possible. And it's fine because in the end they go right back to being the same as ever. So it's all good.
Very excited for the VR game that was announced recently, but you’ve hit the nail on the head with this video. The Devil’s Playhouse was by far my favourite Sam & Max adventure, one of my favourites of all time too. Having a review copy for this series, and experiencing the ending a few days early, and anticipating the reaction the Telltale forums would have to it was one of my favourite memories from that year.
Looking back at my steam library, I've got 2 hours of playtime logged in each episode of season 1. I have 10 hours of playtime in each episode of season 3. It was very good and fun to experience, and I played it over and over again. It's my favorite of Telltale's works; I wasn't really a fan of the Walking Dead style of game. So far as I know, the main downfall of Telltale was that they got overambitious with cranking out games and expanding and didn't check to see that the games were making enough profit to justify the company's expansion, and then it turned out it didn't and the whole thing fell to pieces. Sad, but at least they did manage to inspire others to continue the revival of adventure games.
Another reason, me thinks, is that with the bigger and bigger IPs, they had less freedom to add their own ideas to the games. By the time they imploded, Telltale were ironically also in the same trap LucasArts was in.
@@Toonrick12 I'm not sure that's completely accurate. While they did make stories for existing IPs, they usually were able to have a lot of freedom with the cast and setting, and with the general story beats. Of course, some IPs gave more freedom than others. With Batman, they made many unique changes to the mythos, making TellTale's Batman truly their own version.
I don't know if ambitious is the right word. To me it's the other way around. They thought they had a magic formula after the success of TWD and they just kept making the same game over and over with different IP's to the point that near the end Telltale games were kind of a running joke on how samey they were.
Me too man- I've read a lot online but finding physical copies is a real bummer. A shame because back in the day telltale was selling reprints of surfin the highway for like 20 bucks on their store. Kick myself all the time for passing that up.
You know, once I get my big computer set up, I might very well stream the whole Sam and Max series... I mean, I've seen them played, sure, but I've never actually completed them, myself.
Not so long ago I did a full playthrough of this game with my friends as a way to show them this story. We had laughs, we had fun, they were on the edge of their feet. While I can understand why some would rank season 2 as the highlight, in my opinion theres really someth9ng S3 that makes this something special and an amazing sendoff to one of my fav niche IPs of all time. ALSO WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DEVELOPER COMMENTARY? I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS ONE
Thank you for this video. I’ve been a Sam & Max fan ever since I stumbled on Hit the Road at a Goodwill in the early 90s (it was my first exposure to Lucasarts adventures, before I’d only exclusively played Sierra On-Line). The TellTale Games were a godsend to everyone who wanted a proper sequel, especially after the cancellation of Lucasarts’s adventure department. I found the first two games very fun/funny and serviceable, but Season 3 definitely elevated the series and made me realize that this was the height of the TellTale Games; while The Walking Dead may have had more emotional stakes and I do enjoy The Wolf Among Us (being a Fables fan), Sam & Max is still the best.
This reminds me of Scott pilgrim in the way that things kinda just exist and everyone doesn’t bother wasting time questioning it. Scott pilgrim: I sure do love Canada. What’s that? Ninjas psychics and sub dimensions exist? Doesn’t matter as long as I beat them Sam and max: hell is real, mole men dug the New York tunnels, giant humanoid cockroaches, space gorillas, sentient bacteria and talking statues? Thats pretty normal considering we live in New York
I actually never completed the third season despite enjoying the previous two seasons. I think i was just burned out to be honest. I should probably give it another go.
You definitely should. I found it a little hard to stomach initially because of the huge scale in comparison to the two previous games, but it was so worth it once I got into it.
This is my favourite point and click adventure game and finally someone did it justice:) when the ending showed up i cried a bit!!! thank u so much for putting into words why this series is so wonderful
While I haven't played any Sam and Max games you've really interested me. Thanks B. Also if you're interested it would be cool if you talked about more comics
Let it be known that despite Max seeming psychotically indifferent to blowing up a different version of Sam, he still almost immediately went to the elevator to find another version of Sam
He’s literally proving the point of this essay that Max just can’t admit Sam is the most important part of his life
That is evident whether Max admits it or not. What wasn't evident up until that point, was that Sam was actually important _to_ Max, that Max actually cared for someone.
Maybe the dark humor is a way to hide his feelings.
Also keep in mind that the only time Sam or max drop their shtick is when the other is in trouble
Something I'm noticing about the devil's playhouse is that the settings and puzzles now actually serve the purpose of establishing a 3 act structure as opposed to previously, where it was pretty much just a string of problem solving events that eventually amounted to something. For example, "They Stole Max's Brain!" has a clear beginning, middle, and end, each clearly defined by a specific challenge and "location", each a natural progression from the previous: find out what happened to max in noir mode, break up skunkape and paperwaite in the museum, set everything back to normal in the Samunmak word. I love how it keeps things moving and feels like a real story with actual stakes and a well thought out plan the whole time as opposed to just at the end.
I'm totally new to Sam & Max, but if someone can sell a series it's B-mask
all i can think of is tf2 dispenser with banana
I had to stop watching this video for a moment just to say this. Sam & Max now makes sense: there is now LOGIC in f@#king Sam & Max! The random settings and situations, the hit or miss humor, the main characters who accepts or outright encourages the chaos brought to them: this was all conjured up by a kid who just wanted to make fun of his brother’s artistic merit! The comics, the show and even the games were all made as if a 10 year old got a hold of a media studio out of sheer luck!...It’s almost beautiful in hindsight!
ADDENDUM: Animated Series Sam is best Sam!
This the first Sam and Max game that I played. I was on CD in my local eb games, so glad I bought it, that was like 5 years ago. Too bad, Tell Tale died after making the walking dead game... Sigh.... They flew too close to the brain dead sun.
Also because if you pre-ordered it, you got an in game revolver that is way too expensive for it’s own good.
The fact that Max, after having to blow up Sam, feels so god awful that he goes through timelines just to be with him again sums up all we need to know. In the end, it's not Sam or Max. It's Sam AND Max.
"They say that idle hands are the devil's playthings, but an idle mind is the devil's playhouse."
Unironically one of my favorite quotes ever.
i feel ya
See, they worked the title in!
@Karson Jesus you are right! no one does care!
“Demonic possession is the gift that keeps on giving” is also a good one
@Karson Jesus that is actually a fucking crime,have fun dealing with the government party van at your door
"I got a COLD"
"In heaven??"
"WHO SAID I WAS IN HEAVEN?!?!"
17:37 The way Sam says “What the hell are you talking about Max” is immaculate
You’re immaculate
@@yes.6892 what
@@sorentothesky It's spelled "thanks".
@@fernandosegovia8806 sorry my bad I didn't know wtf immaculate meant and had to legit google search it cuz I'm stupid-
@@sorentothesky what does it mean-
Telltale's dynamic is that they made Sam a FUNCTIONING psychopath. He can interact with society, hold a job.
So true
I would say he is a sociopath, but uh
Most of em can’t even hold one stable rekationship
How is Sam a psychopath do you mean Max?
@chips-a-hoy7612 he isn't comically exaggerated like Max, but he still puts up with Max's stuff like it's an everyday routine and makes some really questionable things and decisions that could not come from someone with at least some empathy
Oh man, I see I've stumbled into annual youtube armchair psychologists convention
Max: “We’re Sam and Max! Freelance-“
Rat: “ASSASSINS!!”
Max: “Well, if you insist.”
Sam: Then let the stars be our roadmap!
Max: And the inside of this car OUR STOMACH DISTRESS BAG!!!
"Tell you what, everytime you say 'man'. I get to remove one of your ribs"
Sam: "Max! What do you see in there?" *pulls Max out of the freezer*
Max: *with a snow mustache and a little bowler hat out of nowhere* "It was at that point they met Yukon Cornelius: Scallywag of the North"
Sam: "Max! Snap out of it, little buddy! What did you see?"
Max: "I saw...what can only be described as...a gateway...to an uncharted...dimension."
Sam: "Interesting, but did you see the Fudgy Freeze bars? Look way in the back!" *shoves him back in*
I am the 666 like..... I am the devil himself 😈
holy shit
In Poker Night 2, Sam & Max occasionally have dialogues where they talk about an ongoing case, and each conversation changes depending on how many tournaments you've won. They are all referencing the plot of The Devil's Playhouse and making fun of each other while the rest of the Poker Night cast looks on in fear and confusion.
"I still believe you, Sam"
IIRC, the case they are talking about is the canceled Freelance Police game.
RF Ataraxia is that the one with Brock Samson
@@ZigealFaust is it based of wins? To trigger theses otherwise locked audio triggers
hi
"Even though we'd be happier If you were dead" JESUS the delivery.
Ah Sam and Max.
'Tis better to burn twice as brightly for half as long.
"But really, it's better to burn your house down and collect the insurance money"
"You crack me up, little buddy."
I legitimately squealed like a fangirl when I first found this video. Not only have I been waiting literal YEARS for someone to talk about the brilliance of the devil's playhouse in a concise manner, but it comes from my favourite content creator! Kudos, B-mask, Kudos
I had no idea that's how Sam and Max started, but it fits their characters so well. They do sometimes kinda seem like the story line that an older, tired, annoyed sibling would make when being forced to play with the younger, with just the right amount of mocking and imagination that only comes from someone genuinely trying to entertain themselves in a not very entertaining situation.
Sam and Max are consistently bored with themselves
@@BestBetterBestest There almost like Bayonetta in that regard
I mean, Sam and Max started from Steve Purcell finishing his brother’s comics with humorous twists to them.
B-Mask, be honest - When you released this video a month ago, was it because you used *FUTURE VISION* and knew they would announce a new Sam & Max VR game??
I just figured out that video now and I got this video the reactions like why is my UA-cam recommendation thing I'm month late
So it turns out like 2 weeks after I first watched this video, I saw the remake version of the first season (I assume) in the Nintendo eshop. Now it’s a day away from coming out
@@void1824 and the 2nd and the 3rd
@@googa9965 ok good to know
Sam and max are kinda like rocky and bullwinkle.
Both duos are products of their time that can still be incredibly funny today. It all depends on the studio's ability to understand what makes them funny In the first place.
That being said, Sam and Max are waaay more relatable to today's humor and probably could make a huge comeback in the right hands.
They’re like animaniacs. Only thing is the whole world is just as insane as they are, it’s the dry/ nonsensical/ dark humor that makes them pop out and lovable
Skunkape didn't do them too right sadly
@@quinnholloway5400 eh i like the remake and the vr game doesn't look that bad, it just kind of seems bland design wise.
....now I need to see if I can find queer subtext in Rocky and Bullwinkle.
@@paradactyl3729 lmao thats what i was thinking
Max: grab me by the ears Sam!
Sam: you are aware there are children watching?
Max: JUST DO IT!!
i dont get this joke can someone dissect it for me?
@@Teng3Cheese it’s from the Sam and Max cartoon
Watch Max Being Max when you type sam and max on your search bar on UA-cam
@@ryanbedoya8848 i know its from max being max i just dont understand why its funny
17:45 Jesus Christ, the joke is so simple and it still gets me EVERY FREAKING TIME!
Hence the mastery of the writing, making these work.
We really do not deserve these gems.
Sam and Max is the pinnacle of what I myself hope to achieve as a creative one day; Wonderfully weird yet down earth, completely nonsensical yet logical with its through line, devilishly witty with a sometimes juvenile touch, and incredibly absurd characters with a surprising amount of heart. No matter what the iteration whether, its the cartoon, the comics or the games, it a personal favorite franchise of mine and I'm glad to see it being celebrated by fellow fans and hopefully introduced to new ones as well.
Never played a Sam & Max game. I feel like I have been missing out bad
Before Sam & Max I had never played a point & click adventure game. I had zero interest in point & click adventure games. I then went on to binge play all 3 seasons, I couldn't help myself. These games are true gems.
the first seasons has a secret service agent sing gleefully about the goodness of war
yes, you've been missing out
I’ve just been watching walkthroughs on UA-cam
Same, and I absolutely agree with your sentiment.
Same, never heard it and I wanna play it so badly
Yes, Sam and Max was one of the best series ever, still waiting on a revival
Luckily they're under the name of a new company called Skunkape games, so for the first time in 10 years, there's a sliver of hope.
@@Arcktick69 didnt knew, thanks for the info, i'm hyped, i thought the Chinese company that buyout telltales got all the IPs
@@hesaidchest as is said in the video Steve Purcell owns Sam and Max not Telltale so it was always up to him if more games got made
@@hesaidchest I think they're joking, since Skunkape is just a character from The Devil's Playhouse
@@thrice42 store.steampowered.com/search/?publisher=Skunkape%20Games
They're the new publishers of Sam and Max on Steam. It's owned by Dan Connors, who was one of the co-founders of Telltale.
When I finished the final season I bawled my eyes out when Sam walked next to the credits looking all sad. The same fucking game where I was laughing my ass off through all those seasons.
THIS before i played it i was like “hah! ppl are crying over a sam and max game. im sure its a little sad but not that s-“
i then sobbed for over an hour. 1000/10 game
You call the Devil's Playhouse their to date final game. Then the next month rolls around and Sam & Max This Time it's Virtual is unveiled at Gamescom. I'm so happy.
YES finally someone judging the telltale version on it's own merits and not just comparing it negatively to hit the road.
I think the second season will always be my favorite, if only for introducing me to the franchise, but I agree with most of what you said about the 3rd season.
The biggest crime is season 3 not getting an ost. It seriously had the best music of the telltale sam and max games and it sucks you can't support the artist who made it.
I agree!!! I'm hoping with the remaster they will finally release a much deserved ost. Maybe even on vinyl that'd be awesome
You always find a way to sneak in "Fish People " don't you? Lol.
Gonna miss Sam and Max
Where is that from if you don’t mind me asking?
Where is “fish people” from?
@@viktorpaiz6199 Not exactly sure where it began, but its almost always somewhere in his retrospective videos.
Ultima 10 I know that, I’m asking what series is that phrase from?
@@lostcrusader8053 pirates of the carribean 3!
"One way, dead end. Street signs are such wonderful metaphors for the human condition!"
Thanks for making this B, I'm glad people still love Sam & Max.
i don't mean to overhype this game to anyone else, but to me, it really is the best point 'n click adventure i've ever played, maybe possibly my favorite story as well. one of the things in particular i always liked about devil's playhouse is its subtle but constant sense of foreboding. like for example, literally the moment you press start and see that flaming max loading screen, you think to yourself, "oh that looks cool", but then after you beat the game and you see that loading screen again, you realize, "OH. from the very beginning, it's been trying to tell me ALL ALONG." and then again and again, the game constantly waves all the stuff that's going to happen right under your nose, and that makes playing it a second time even stronger than the first. this game's just a really brilliant combination of comedy & these surprisingly dark moments that you would never get in the previous seasons. we're probably never gonna get something like this again, and that makes me sad
Same, this is what got me into telltale and strongbad game, before all the commercial games they did, sadly telltale became too big for their shoes and it was their demise
More like Sam and lame
This was the first game that made me cry. I played it before I was a teen in 2011, yet despite all the mature jokes etc I still laughed often and also felt these characters. The ending was so hard hitting its crazy. It takes talent to take such silly characters and create something so deep
My life is an endless spiral of wishing for more Sam & Max content since the fan base appears to be dying and no new installments in the future and then I see this 40 minutes video in my feed!!!
Gonna dive right into it! It will ease the pain for a short amount of time until I'll get back to my life without Sam & Max.
What about fan stuff?
There’s still fanfiction (even if 90 percent of it is shipping 😅).
Luckily there's the new VR game to revitalize the fan base!!
@@Cure_Hana I'm sorry what.
They're remaking season one. They live on!
I miss these boys 😭 Noir Sam is awesome, it makes me wonder what the Max at the end went through in his universe. I would love another series with them ♥️
I imagine that he’d become even more unstable than he already is. There’s some pretty cool headcanon fanart by DeviantArtist Celestial Symphony, where Max essentially has a mental breakdown after Sam falls into a trap that fries his brain and puts him in a coma. Completely lost on what to do without his partner’s calculated strategy, Max starts wearing Sam’s necktie around one of his ears in a desperate attempt to help him focus.
Here’s a link:
www.deviantart.com/celestialsymphony/art/SaM-Past-Present-Noir-198889442
@@Cure_Hana holy shit that sounds awesome
Just saying this, but the story of the cancelled Sam and Max game would end up being used as an ongoing story in Poker Night 2.
So we at least know how the games plot would have progressed... it's as crazy as you can imagine.
Do you have a source for that info?? Sounds intriguing!
@@FloofPuppy I'm not sure where it was confirmed that the story from Poker Night 2 was the Sam and Max: Freelance Police story came from. I just read up on it from the Wiki.
However, concept art of the game has surfaced that seems to suggest the case, so I find it believable.
Anyway, if you're interested to know what the story was originally going to be, I have a video of the on-going story from Poker ight 2 on my channel.
I'll link it for you:
ua-cam.com/video/yu3MzQVa7PI/v-deo.html
looking forward to finally seeing the second half of this vid in August
Good call for not spoiling- You’re in for a treat ;)
I did the same thing, I just finished the game and I'm rewatching this vid right now
I might be biased but I still feel the Fox Kid cartoon had the definitive voices for the two, specially Sam.
This
I'll always prefer Bill Farmer's take on Sam. I don't have a strong preference among the Max VAs, but if I had to choose I'd pick Hit the Road.
May he rest in peace
The Devil's Playhouse, in the end, always makes me cry. Too good, too sad.
5:35 Sam's a good guy, i swear
Seriously though, this series is incredibly important to me. Saying it's made an impact on how I consume and view media would be a massive understatement. Very few video games, movies, tv shows, comics, etc. have been able to capture my attention and appreciation quite like this. It's so unique. Nothing can quite match it.
The only things I could come up with that'd be of similar calibre would be TF2 and the Venture Bros. Coincidentally, they've all been featured in Poker Night. Huh.
I just love Sam and Max. And to me, I’m glad that Sam and Max is being exposed to more and more people are being exposed to it, and that they’re enjoying it. I love it.
And I’m glad that Telltale took something so beloved, and expanded upon it. Gutting us, making us laugh, making us cry, and overall, making us think. Complacency is a thing both the characters and the company were going through, and by taking something so risky, and so utterly real, they got out of their rut twofold, and bringing a story that hits so hard… and honestly, it was enough to make me pause. Pause, and reflect, and internalize. And I think that’s what made this game, the Devil’s Playhouse, my favorite. It was complex, with different takes and doses of realism and comedy, and made it into something better than any “make it *real* “ take ever could. Not cynical for the heck of it, not funny with no feeling, it went the opposite route, and put everything together, and it worked. It bloody worked, and it’s incredible. This is why I love Sam and Max, in all their iterations, and why I really respect Telltale in that; it makes me feel so many things, and I just can’t help but be in awe. As a consumer, as a writer, it’s just inspiring for me, and I hope someday I can come to being half as reflective, half as clever, and half as daring. It’s just amazing.
‘Max I told you to be careful with hyperbole’
‘I prefer to think of it as a gentle superbole’
‘You crack me up little buddy’
You crack me up, little buddy!
Experiencing this game as it came out in 2010 was a wonderful experience. The speculation on the forums was wild - the Future Vision especially was such a great way to fuel those fires. As much as I would love another Sam & Max game, The Devil's Playhouse is an excellent send-off, and I'll always adore it. Thanks for this video - between this and the Monkey Island video, they've given me a lot to think about in regards to games I've loved for years.
Great vid sorry I had to dip out at the spoilers but you convinced me to buy the game.
I saw you talked about the comics and other games but not the TV show. Its a good place to get more of the sam and max fix.
I just beat Devil’s Playhouse, and holy shit, I cried at the end.
"Who said I was in H E A V E N ?"
16:27 it took me a second to realize that was an impression! Good job.
I chose Sam and Max to stay here in our time. They’re like family to me.
I love that @ 36:50 the ending uses the “Cruisin”/“Soda Poppers” music from season 1, easily the best composition from the series (save for maybe the office theme, which is also there).
My favorite personally is Twilight Eternal.
TBH, the Jared Emerson-Johnson did such an amazing job for every instalment.
This is the first time that I actually heeded a spoiler warning in a video, since your delivery and display of the games makes me genuinely want to go and play the games myself. That's gotta say something about the quality of the video. Great stuff!
16:27 for a moment I thought that was his actual voice actor lol
"You're wrong! Sam & Max: Freelance Police will never be defunded!"
Can't be defunded if you were never funded in the first place
wow... this didn’t age well
That's why it's funny
@@aidansullivan551 TRUE
I love this analysis. The Devil's Playhouse was actually my first encounter with Sam and Max and it gave me an incredible first impression that all the other pieces of the franchise lived up to. TDP is probably my favorite entry, or at least close, for that emotional hook you elaborated on, and it's what hooked me on these characters forever. Fantastic work.
This is perhaps the best analysis of not just the devil's playhouse, but the series as a whole. Amazing commentary!
I like how there was some foreshadowing in the older seasons. Like, for example, Max was immune to all of the hypnosis, while Sam wasn’t. Hugh Bliss said that the only being that could stop was Max. They obviously planned for season three to be about magic from the beginning. It wasn’t like they came up with it as they went. Did they plan to rip our hearts out at the end, only to sloppily shove it back in? Maybe! After all, the loading symbol is Max on fire! (At least, in the remake of season one. I haven’t played the original season one, and I can’t force myself to play season two due to the fact that it doesn’t have my monitor resolution as an option, and everything looks weird. Also I can’t pause in the middle of a cutscene. I hope they remake it)
Little side note, “Looks like it’s time to boil the haggis” is so extremely bad•ss
_Skun’ka’pe_
Thank you so much for this, I've always had trouble articulating how much i love these characters and especially the third season. This is easily the most in depth discussion of their appeal I've ever seen. You've earned yourself a subscriber for life man, well done.
IS SAM IN DAVROS’ WHEELCHAIR FROM DOCTOR WHO??
Aw hell yeah.
(Cracking vid, boss man!)
*I can’t shoot Max*
In all the universe, the only power beyond the mind’s comprehension, is the power to comprehend, THE POWER OF THE MIND. If any one of us could unlock this terrible power would we use it to Explore the Mysteries of the Infinite, or would we use it...to Destroy?
- The Narrator.
"I don't know man it's doing things to him, it's making things... *canonical* "
idk why but that was probably the funniest way you could've phrased that
I really enjoyed this one. The Telltale Sam and Max games are some of my favorite ever. Do you have any thoughts on the remasters by Skunkape Games?
Thank you! I'm not generally a fan of remasters but I think the Skunkape team have made one of the best, the stylistic tweaks and fixes all making sense and feeling right. They also went ahead and kept the original versions included too, so it doesn't feel like how they first appeared and were experienced at the time is lost forever. Very strong stuff.
this was so interesting and really motivated to play the game! thank you
I think Sal sounds better as the immitation of Warburton than actual Warburton.
Not because I don't like Patrick's voice, or that Patrick's voice wouldn't fit the character at all.
It's because the imitation provides a unique charm that is very Sam and Max to me. The fact that his voice is hearty, yet buglike, which is quite fitting, since he is a bug...guy.
When I heard max saying that past Sam had electromagnetic powers I somehow thought that Sam had to suffer becoming Tetsuo Shima overpowering himself to the point to turn into a flesh monster that max tried everything in his power to save his beloved friend
Historians: They were really good friends
Two males can be friends, what a novel concept.
They were roommates.
@@hullie7529 they are literally married in canon
@@mintpanda1 They are literally not.
@@hullie7529 then why did it show their wedding in the very first episode of the tv show?
"Friendship"
....
Your gaydar is a little out of wack, buddy
And they were roommates
@@jamjon6616 omg they were roommates
I think you make an excellent point with the whole "dissecting the frog" metaphor.
How do we treat these characters with reverence when, from the very beginning, they've been explicit commentary on the irreverent nature of their medium? Meta narratives have become a sort of "trend" in the late 2010s in an attempt to imitate deep writing, but The Devil's Playhouse did it years before it was popular - directly acknowledging that, yeah, this is all rather ridiculous, but it was always real. It always mattered. It's always Sam & Max.
Fantastic video about a fantastic game - hopefully it comes to gamepass someday. You've earned a subscriber!
This is the kind of video I could rewatch many times! Thank you for giving old Sam & Max the attention. I should replay the series for old times sake soon...
"Well, here we are in the Phillipines!"
"Drawn without reference material, apparently!"
And now ANOTHER game I'm gonna have to pick up. Thank you, B ♥️
It’s been almost a decade since I played the Sam and Max games so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I was really put off at the time by Max’s decision in the end to “save Sybil” and sacrifice his life to do so. I thought it was incredibly out of character at the time for Max to sacrifice himself for anyone other than Sam.
What did you think about that part? You didn’t really touch on it but I’m assuming you didn’t feel it was as out of character as I did.
I mean it's supposed to be out of character- that's kind of the entire point of the video and season 3. max having any kind of conscience for anything is so antithetical to what we know, but the Devil's Playhouse is about putting the characters through emotions and ideas we're not used to, and the Sybil moment is literally an act so outside of his wheelhouse that it leads to this version of Max being destroyed forever. Every time they go out of character there's a concequence, the whole thing's a big experiment to see if any of its possible.
And it's fine because in the end they go right back to being the same as ever. So it's all good.
Very excited for the VR game that was announced recently, but you’ve hit the nail on the head with this video. The Devil’s Playhouse was by far my favourite Sam & Max adventure, one of my favourites of all time too. Having a review copy for this series, and experiencing the ending a few days early, and anticipating the reaction the Telltale forums would have to it was one of my favourite memories from that year.
I came from the future to tell you that there will be a S&M: Devil's Playground remaster
much appreciated future-man!
Looking back at my steam library, I've got 2 hours of playtime logged in each episode of season 1. I have 10 hours of playtime in each episode of season 3. It was very good and fun to experience, and I played it over and over again. It's my favorite of Telltale's works; I wasn't really a fan of the Walking Dead style of game.
So far as I know, the main downfall of Telltale was that they got overambitious with cranking out games and expanding and didn't check to see that the games were making enough profit to justify the company's expansion, and then it turned out it didn't and the whole thing fell to pieces. Sad, but at least they did manage to inspire others to continue the revival of adventure games.
Another reason, me thinks, is that with the bigger and bigger IPs, they had less freedom to add their own ideas to the games. By the time they imploded, Telltale were ironically also in the same trap LucasArts was in.
@@Toonrick12 I'm not sure that's completely accurate. While they did make stories for existing IPs, they usually were able to have a lot of freedom with the cast and setting, and with the general story beats. Of course, some IPs gave more freedom than others. With Batman, they made many unique changes to the mythos, making TellTale's Batman truly their own version.
Don’t say ‘me thinks’, Toonrick12
I don't know if ambitious is the right word. To me it's the other way around. They thought they had a magic formula after the success of TWD and they just kept making the same game over and over with different IP's to the point that near the end Telltale games were kind of a running joke on how samey they were.
Whis here after the announcement
I really want to read the comics but I can’t find them at reasonable prices :-(
Me too man- I've read a lot online but finding physical copies is a real bummer. A shame because back in the day telltale was selling reprints of surfin the highway for like 20 bucks on their store. Kick myself all the time for passing that up.
"[...]an excellent cliMAX."
Do i know you?
@@mistergremm735 no.
glad we're getting remasters of these.
I can happily say that thanks to the vr game, this was not Sam and max’s last adventure
I’m never gonna live down that intro statement am I
@@BMask no my friend, it will haunt you for all your days
B-Mask uploads a 40min video in the morning.
Wowie my day has been made already.
You know, once I get my big computer set up, I might very well stream the whole Sam and Max series... I mean, I've seen them played, sure, but I've never actually completed them, myself.
Not so long ago I did a full playthrough of this game with my friends as a way to show them this story. We had laughs, we had fun, they were on the edge of their feet.
While I can understand why some would rank season 2 as the highlight, in my opinion theres really someth9ng S3 that makes this something special and an amazing sendoff to one of my fav niche IPs of all time.
ALSO WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DEVELOPER COMMENTARY? I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS ONE
The developer commentary is a feature of the DVD release of the game. All 3 seasons have it, actually.
I’m glad someone else loves this game as much as I do
The perfect timing of this video became even more perfect with the announcement of season 1 remaster
It is said to this day that Sam and Max fans still stay up at night crying thinking about that game .
Damn, the content is a-flowin' in the B-mines!
Thank you for this video. I’ve been a Sam & Max fan ever since I stumbled on Hit the Road at a Goodwill in the early 90s (it was my first exposure to Lucasarts adventures, before I’d only exclusively played Sierra On-Line). The TellTale Games were a godsend to everyone who wanted a proper sequel, especially after the cancellation of Lucasarts’s adventure department. I found the first two games very fun/funny and serviceable, but Season 3 definitely elevated the series and made me realize that this was the height of the TellTale Games; while The Walking Dead may have had more emotional stakes and I do enjoy The Wolf Among Us (being a Fables fan), Sam & Max is still the best.
Why did i have to get into sam and max after they where finished
*cough* Sam and Max: This time it's Virtual *cough*
This reminds me of Scott pilgrim in the way that things kinda just exist and everyone doesn’t bother wasting time questioning it.
Scott pilgrim: I sure do love Canada. What’s that? Ninjas psychics and sub dimensions exist? Doesn’t matter as long as I beat them
Sam and max: hell is real, mole men dug the New York tunnels, giant humanoid cockroaches, space gorillas, sentient bacteria and talking statues? Thats pretty normal considering we live in New York
I actually never completed the third season despite enjoying the previous two seasons. I think i was just burned out to be honest. I should probably give it another go.
You definitely should. I found it a little hard to stomach initially because of the huge scale in comparison to the two previous games, but it was so worth it once I got into it.
"look max,we're in the Philippines"
Me,a filipino:..looks like the carnaval me and my brother went to 8 years ago!
Thank you for the spoiler warning, you are absolutely NOT a knob.
Still 50% convinced that they're a power couple
I always wanted more TTG Sam & Max, but I agree that they sent it off in the best way they could, whether they intended it or not.
I genuinely cannot wait to play this whole game again, I’m so glad the trilogy is finally about to be fully remastered.
I hope that they remaster all of the seasons, so the next generation can enjoy them.
Finally, I saw you referencing it and was wondering when you'd make a video
here because Sam and Max: This Time It's Virtual!
This is my favourite point and click adventure game and finally someone did it justice:) when the ending showed up i cried a bit!!! thank u so much for putting into words why this series is so wonderful
Who does one of them wear clothes and the other not? One of em's weird in that universe.
Really hope they remaster the 2nd and 3rd season too
While I haven't played any Sam and Max games you've really interested me. Thanks B. Also if you're interested it would be cool if you talked about more comics