The Remastered Release of Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse

After a considerable wait, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, the third and final season of Telltale Games’ episodic point-and-click adventure series, is set to receive the remaster treatment on 14th August this year.

Initially released in 2010, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse concluded Telltale’s Sam & Max adventures in a stylish manner, following the success of Sam & Max: Save the World (2006) and Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space (2007).

In this final Telltale outing, the dynamic crime-fighting duo of Sam and Max – originally created by comic book artist Steve Purcell – confront Eldritch gods, alien warlords, and other challenges in a quest to control an ancient, otherworldly power.

The upcoming Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered, initially scheduled for 2023 before facing a slight delay, is being developed by Skunkape Games. Skunkape Games acquired the rights to Telltale’s Sam & Max adventures in 2018 after the studio closed its doors. Many of the team members working on this remaster were involved in the original games.

The official blurb describes the plot: “When Max stumbles upon a mysterious toy that allows him to glimpse the future, the Freelance Police unwittingly attract the attention of a host of villains determined to obtain the magical Toys of Power. To prevent the Devil’s Toybox from falling into the wrong hands, Sam & Max must confront their most formidable adversary yet: the power of Max’s mind.”

While specific details about the remastering work on The Devil’s Playhouse are scarce, it is reasonable to expect improvements similar to those in Skunkape Games’ remasters of Save the World and Beyond Time and Space.

Anticipate enhancements in graphics and audio, dynamic lighting, improved lip syncing, character models that align better with Steve Purcell’s original designs, new acting and camerawork, fresh music by original composer Jared Emerson-Johnson, a new user interface, controller support, and more.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Remastered is set to launch on 14th August for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and Steam. Hopefully, this success prompts Skunkape to create a new Sam & Max game in the future.