A remastered Sam & Max Save The World is launching in December
It's created by former Telltale members, no less
Even for folks who think they're tired of games being remastered, I reckon there's one personal favorite that can thaw a jaded heart. I'd also be willing to bet that this Sam & Max remaster will be the one for a good lot of you. Some former Telltale developers have reconvened under the new name Skunkape Games, snagged themselves the rights to their old episodic Sam & Max games, and have remastered season one, Sam & Max Save The World. If that weren't enough, it's less than a month from launch.
The first season of Sam & Max adventure games by Telltale released in 2006 before they became Telltale of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us fame. Sam & Max are of course the wonky dog and rabbit-thing Freelance Police duo from Steve Purcell's comics. Get a gander in this announcement trailer at the updated lighting, tweaked character models, and other modern touches in the remaster by Skunkape Games.
You might remember that Telltale faced sudden and drastic layoffs in 2018 and then shortly after laid off its remaining employees. Later, the Telltale name was resurrected by LCG Entertainment without most of its former staff that had been left in the lurch, which seemed more bitter than sweet. Skunkape Games is a group of former Telltale folks who say they acquired the rights to the episodic Sam & Max games after the company shut down. For once in a couple years, this appears to be a bit of Telltale-related news that's just straight up good. Please let it just be good.
Skunkape explain in their Sam & Max remastered FAQ how they came around to remastering the game. "Initially we only planned to patch Sam & Max Season One on PC, so it would work better on today’s computers," they say. "But as we got into it, we realized there was a lot more we wanted to do—some things we can do now thanks to better tech, and others we didn’t do back then because we didn’t know how."
That included overhauling the lighting system, updating character models, and remastering the audio from their original recordings. "Some of our favorite changes are brand new additions that bring the game closer than ever to the aesthetic and tone of Steve Purcell’s comics," Skunkape say. "All of the character models have been tweaked, including Sam and Max with Steve’s input."
Importantly, there are also things they didn't change. The story, puzzles, and gameplay remain the same. "While our team members worked on Sam & Max at Telltale, so did a lot of other people, and we were careful not to tread on their work or change too much stuff just because we felt like it," they say—a classy move for a company called Skunkape.
Sam & Max Save The World launches on Steam and GOG on December 2nd. Owners of the original Sam & Max Season 1 can get a 50% discount on the remaster through December 31st. It will also be available on the Nintendo Switch.
By the by, there's also a Sam & Max VR game in the works, but that's a new game by a different developer.