from the horizon, a dog slowly approaches with a "haters gonna hate" walk, looks straight into your soul and utters "I can't use those things together!"
the best sprite based point and click ive ever played. laughably obtuse puzzles but brilliant writing and humor. i will never forget you sam and max!
Puzzles bem feitos e inteligentes, além da comédia excelente que não datou até os dias de hoje.
Man, I need to play more of the LucasArts games, if Hit the Road is anything to go by.
I played the later TellTale games before this, so it was neat seeing what Sam & Max's first (video game) outing was like. Turns out it's not too unfamiliar - while I'm sure "Sam & Max Save the World" is based on the cancelled "Freelance Police" game first and foremost, you can see the direct lineage throughout, in stuff like the cardboard box inventory and the player specifically controlling Sam with Max mostly doing his own thing or being there for hints.
But the upshot of the presentation style is that this game feels way less restrained than its sequel. Not sure if it's because the game is in 2D or because it's got the backing of LucasArts, but even at Sam & Max's most ambitious under TellTale (i.e. "The Devil's Playhouse"), we'd never quite see Sam & Max running around doing something so outrageous. TellTale's games highlight the zaniness of Steve Purchell's character writing, but here we really see his scenario writing and love for excessive environmental detail at work. Hard not to love stuff like people bungee-jumping out of Mount Rushmore, or the secret moleman lair in the Tunnel of Love, or famed naturalist John Muir.
(The thing to love about Sam & Max is if you talk about it out of context, you sound completely unhinged)
Sam & Max is at its best when it's able to present an exaggerated take on something, usually elements of American pop culture. In this case, it's skewering much of roadside Americana, and that gives it a wide sweeping field to play with. If you haven't driven around the US much, I don't know how well this will play for you (I guess most folks will get the Mystery Vortex's whole thing thanks to Gravity Falls).
Me, I love love love roadtrips, so I was very much at home with the shout-outs that you get a great cross-section of the experience here. The only thing that's really missing is a Wall Drug stand-in. But you don't really get the full effect without hundreds of miles of roadsigns, so I can accept that that one's outside the scope of this game. Otherwise, you have a lot of the very specific peculiarities that give roadside America its charm, properly sent-up and ridiculed for all its inherent absurdity.
I'll say also that playing it summer of 2020 really helped the whole experience. I couldn't do a summer vacation that year, so I decided it'd be fun to tackle this on-stream as a "road trip/summer vacation" title for everyone (viewable here). Really elevated the thing for me.
I played the later TellTale games before this, so it was neat seeing what Sam & Max's first (video game) outing was like. Turns out it's not too unfamiliar - while I'm sure "Sam & Max Save the World" is based on the cancelled "Freelance Police" game first and foremost, you can see the direct lineage throughout, in stuff like the cardboard box inventory and the player specifically controlling Sam with Max mostly doing his own thing or being there for hints.
But the upshot of the presentation style is that this game feels way less restrained than its sequel. Not sure if it's because the game is in 2D or because it's got the backing of LucasArts, but even at Sam & Max's most ambitious under TellTale (i.e. "The Devil's Playhouse"), we'd never quite see Sam & Max running around doing something so outrageous. TellTale's games highlight the zaniness of Steve Purchell's character writing, but here we really see his scenario writing and love for excessive environmental detail at work. Hard not to love stuff like people bungee-jumping out of Mount Rushmore, or the secret moleman lair in the Tunnel of Love, or famed naturalist John Muir.
(The thing to love about Sam & Max is if you talk about it out of context, you sound completely unhinged)
Sam & Max is at its best when it's able to present an exaggerated take on something, usually elements of American pop culture. In this case, it's skewering much of roadside Americana, and that gives it a wide sweeping field to play with. If you haven't driven around the US much, I don't know how well this will play for you (I guess most folks will get the Mystery Vortex's whole thing thanks to Gravity Falls).
Me, I love love love roadtrips, so I was very much at home with the shout-outs that you get a great cross-section of the experience here. The only thing that's really missing is a Wall Drug stand-in. But you don't really get the full effect without hundreds of miles of roadsigns, so I can accept that that one's outside the scope of this game. Otherwise, you have a lot of the very specific peculiarities that give roadside America its charm, properly sent-up and ridiculed for all its inherent absurdity.
I'll say also that playing it summer of 2020 really helped the whole experience. I couldn't do a summer vacation that year, so I decided it'd be fun to tackle this on-stream as a "road trip/summer vacation" title for everyone (viewable here). Really elevated the thing for me.
The first video game adaptation of one of my favorite franchises ever. It was my first ever introduction of it.
It has alot of the things about this series I adore. It's got great writing and extremely charming sprite art.
The only issue is that the game has the most obtuse puzzles, you need to have a guide open to get anywhere in this game.
Still Sam and Max though, so that's a plus.
It has alot of the things about this series I adore. It's got great writing and extremely charming sprite art.
The only issue is that the game has the most obtuse puzzles, you need to have a guide open to get anywhere in this game.
Still Sam and Max though, so that's a plus.
Enjoyable game and as a major S&M fan it was nice to see how the franchise got its start in gaming.
That said, if I want to replay a Lucasarts adventure game, it'd probably be Monkey Island, and if I want to replay Sam and Max, it'll be a Telltale game. Hit the Road IMO doesn't hit the heights of either of those.
That said, if I want to replay a Lucasarts adventure game, it'd probably be Monkey Island, and if I want to replay Sam and Max, it'll be a Telltale game. Hit the Road IMO doesn't hit the heights of either of those.
Quite possibly my favorite of the classic LucasArts games, which is saying a LOT
Turns out Sam & Max is pretty great! Sam & Max? You ever hear about that one? I'm only 30 years late.
The jokes are still great; there's a lot of good specific gags, but I think it's the overall vibe and the Sam/Max relationship that carries it the most.
Seems like this was one of the first games where Lucasarts abandoned their original UI for something a lot more like Sierra's. For how much their approaches got contrasted to each other, it's kind of funny seeing them directly adopt Sierra's method of interacting with the game world.
The jokes are still great; there's a lot of good specific gags, but I think it's the overall vibe and the Sam/Max relationship that carries it the most.
Seems like this was one of the first games where Lucasarts abandoned their original UI for something a lot more like Sierra's. For how much their approaches got contrasted to each other, it's kind of funny seeing them directly adopt Sierra's method of interacting with the game world.
Feels like a psychedelic trip, with a hint of conservationism theme. LucasArts games all have a degree of zaniness with them, but none as deconstructive, as whimsical as this one. In that regard, if it gets rid of some of the obtuse puzzles, it can pass for a modern "artsy" indie adventure game. On the other hand, some content is culturally insensitive to say the least, a modern "artsy" videogame journalist might call it downright racist. It's a game that is both ahead of its time, and a product of its time.
As a whole, Sam & Max is a complicated franchise to get into, as its fanbase is actually a whole bunch of split subsidiaries of fanbases. It's not too dissimilar from the Sonic fanbase, with the multiple directions and voice actors it took over the years, it's just a lot nicher. You've got the group of fans that love all forms of Sam & Max, but there's some that only read the comics, or only seen the sadly short-lived cartoon, or mainly grew up with the Telltale episodic series (I belong to that group!)... by far the most popular of those groups however, is the one that has only ever played Sam & Max Hit the Road, and nothing else.
Which, y'know, is totally fine, Hit the Road is a totally valid entry point, and I can respect if you think it's the peak of the series, as long as you're not one of those crazies that's still yelling about how they should bring back Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson 30 years after the fact. LucasArts has proven to make some pretty interesting point 'n clicks in the past, the lack of failure states makes them all the more accessible for it. But, despite me beating this game several times as a kid, and seemingly growing up with it, I rarely go back to it these days, while I'd still be happy to revisit the Telltale series any day.
Hit the Road shares many of the pros and cons of the prior LucasArts titles. Great writing, juxtposed against boring line delivery. A dry delivery makes perfect sense for a character like Sam, but Max is supposed to be kind of a psycho. He's wild, he'd beat you senseless, but he just sounds like some guy on the street with a New York accent. His voice is missing that thing that's supposed to offset him from Sam's calmer personality, so there's no balance, and the classic dynamic of the duo struggles to come through. Most of the other characters share a similar problem. No matter how wacky or weird they get, they all just sound so... disattached from the script. The country song was sick though, you gotta hand them that.
Likewise, there's a very creative setting and series of scenarios that occurs here, undermined by the possibility that you're never gonna figure them out without a guide. Honestly, the weird logic of this game might be LucasArts at their worst so far, you REALLY gotta think outside of the box to achieve any means of progress, and this raises the possibility of leaving a sour taste in your mouth, in regards to the time it wants you to waste on what should've been a 4 to 5 hour adventure, turned into above 8 or 10+ if played blind.
There is ultimately so much good packed in here, undermined by what I felt was a weak execution of voice acting, and a frustrating sense of difficulty that doesn't ask you to think smart, so much as it asks you to think stupidly and sometimes nonsensically. Maybe this is a skill issue? Maybe my brain just isn't engineered to deal with LucasArts logic, but there may be a trick to it. In any case, I ended up with a pretty average opinion of the game at the end. I don't hate it, I don't dislike it, I respect its originality and writing quite a bit. But I've found that the later games would go on to strike a much better balance of dry humor and energetic humor, and Hit the Road's approach of 100% dry humor and dry voice acting did not click.
My opinion aside, I would ultimately recommend any point 'n click fan to give it a shot and see if they like it. But if you don't, don't give up on the series yet. Try the comics, try the cartoon, I would especially recommend you to try the Telltale games. Each one of these was made years apart by a different set of creators, and has a distinct approach towards how to tackle the franchise, and one of them may have a probable chance of hitting you in the right way.
Which, y'know, is totally fine, Hit the Road is a totally valid entry point, and I can respect if you think it's the peak of the series, as long as you're not one of those crazies that's still yelling about how they should bring back Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson 30 years after the fact. LucasArts has proven to make some pretty interesting point 'n clicks in the past, the lack of failure states makes them all the more accessible for it. But, despite me beating this game several times as a kid, and seemingly growing up with it, I rarely go back to it these days, while I'd still be happy to revisit the Telltale series any day.
Hit the Road shares many of the pros and cons of the prior LucasArts titles. Great writing, juxtposed against boring line delivery. A dry delivery makes perfect sense for a character like Sam, but Max is supposed to be kind of a psycho. He's wild, he'd beat you senseless, but he just sounds like some guy on the street with a New York accent. His voice is missing that thing that's supposed to offset him from Sam's calmer personality, so there's no balance, and the classic dynamic of the duo struggles to come through. Most of the other characters share a similar problem. No matter how wacky or weird they get, they all just sound so... disattached from the script. The country song was sick though, you gotta hand them that.
Likewise, there's a very creative setting and series of scenarios that occurs here, undermined by the possibility that you're never gonna figure them out without a guide. Honestly, the weird logic of this game might be LucasArts at their worst so far, you REALLY gotta think outside of the box to achieve any means of progress, and this raises the possibility of leaving a sour taste in your mouth, in regards to the time it wants you to waste on what should've been a 4 to 5 hour adventure, turned into above 8 or 10+ if played blind.
There is ultimately so much good packed in here, undermined by what I felt was a weak execution of voice acting, and a frustrating sense of difficulty that doesn't ask you to think smart, so much as it asks you to think stupidly and sometimes nonsensically. Maybe this is a skill issue? Maybe my brain just isn't engineered to deal with LucasArts logic, but there may be a trick to it. In any case, I ended up with a pretty average opinion of the game at the end. I don't hate it, I don't dislike it, I respect its originality and writing quite a bit. But I've found that the later games would go on to strike a much better balance of dry humor and energetic humor, and Hit the Road's approach of 100% dry humor and dry voice acting did not click.
My opinion aside, I would ultimately recommend any point 'n click fan to give it a shot and see if they like it. But if you don't, don't give up on the series yet. Try the comics, try the cartoon, I would especially recommend you to try the Telltale games. Each one of these was made years apart by a different set of creators, and has a distinct approach towards how to tackle the franchise, and one of them may have a probable chance of hitting you in the right way.
Sam & Max comes storming into LucasArts history bringing along from the world of indie comic books a baggage of gags with mature and violent satirical humor, a visual backdrop of American absurdities and goofiness taken from the roadsides and the most ridiculous tourist attractions and many, many innovations in the expressive language of point-and-click adventures.
Compared to its predecessors, Sam & Max turns out to be much more varied, less verbose, more immediate and cartoony in its gameplay experience: interaction with the game world is now based on a series of icons that are assigned to a single mouse button, which open at all times to different scenarios that are always fun and never predictable; the game areas are small and condensed, but brought to life by exceptional pixelart and perfectly recognizable details, allowing for a very immediate and natural engagement to the game world; the game interface is freed of any nonessential elements, the lines of dialogue are short and effective, and the story is sketched just enough to make it clear that this is an on-the-road adventure in which you just have to let yourself be carried along by what you find on your way.
Steve Purcell is the creative genius who managed to bring together two worlds, that of comic books and that of video games, which were born to support each other, and this game is the perfect demonstration of that.
Compared to its predecessors, Sam & Max turns out to be much more varied, less verbose, more immediate and cartoony in its gameplay experience: interaction with the game world is now based on a series of icons that are assigned to a single mouse button, which open at all times to different scenarios that are always fun and never predictable; the game areas are small and condensed, but brought to life by exceptional pixelart and perfectly recognizable details, allowing for a very immediate and natural engagement to the game world; the game interface is freed of any nonessential elements, the lines of dialogue are short and effective, and the story is sketched just enough to make it clear that this is an on-the-road adventure in which you just have to let yourself be carried along by what you find on your way.
Steve Purcell is the creative genius who managed to bring together two worlds, that of comic books and that of video games, which were born to support each other, and this game is the perfect demonstration of that.
moon logic for the tunneling brain parasite
So this is the Disco Elysium I've heard so much about!
I remember when I discovered these two fellas via clips from the animated series, and in that moment, a new obsession began to form... and by obsession I mean just watching more clips. It took me a while to even play one of their games, and I've finally did it, and man, they sure hit the road, I didn't think they had it in them.
I've said in various occasions when I talk about certain games that they ''oozes'' charm or that they are funny or something like that, but I might have to re-check my standards, 'cause holy mother of yeti this has to be one of the games with more personality I've ever even touched. Sam and Max are some of the most charismatic protagonists I've come across, and I don't really know if they are the only cops I would trust, or the ones I'd trust the least. The whole game game has this feeling of comical indifference and absurdity, but these two represent it the most; their interactions are pure gold, each hilarious and they roll of each other incredibly, combine that with the visual gags, most coming from Max suffering the wrath of the universe but not giving a shit, and the crisp animations and we have a pair that I wish they got a movie or something, the possibilities are endless.
While everyone's favorite sociopaths are the most bizarre beings in all of the game, the rest of the cast and locations doesn't lack in weirdness and charm either. The premise of solving a case while traversing different tourist traps and trip stops is executed fantastically, each being a hilarious parody of roadside attractions, and the originality and hilarity seems endless. All the secondary characters are funny, all the puzzles go absolutely bonkers, and even if the story never takes itself too seriously, you still are compelled to solve the mystery of the sasquatches and defeat the little turd that is the villain. I swear, I loved that country singer punk, I just wished he got more screen time, but hey, at least he even gets its own villain song! Now that's quality. It's also filled with references, that where actually pretty cool and funny, even the game does them correctly instead of being jarring or unfunny!
The originality sips into all the aspects of the game, and that includes the puzzles themselves, which while sometimes is amazing, sadly, more often than not, I found it problematic. I admit, I'm terrible at graphic adventure games, maybe I'm just dumb or maybe I haven't played enough of them, but even if I'm terrible at them and sometimes I have to looks up the solutions, I'm able to recognize when a puzzle is well done and the solution is smart and makes sense, and that's the problem, even if there are a lot of parts in this game that are really well made and communicated, others just... don't. The game feels too obtuse at places, it doesn't make it clear when you have to go and what to do, and things that you think would make sense end up being the totally opposite solution; it's a game that really suffers from the ''needs a guide'' syndrome. Combine that with the average problem of this genre of games of the 90's, like hunting for pixels or having to go back time and time again to already seen places more than six times, and you have the elements for making this game not feel as good as it could have been, all capping off in a cryptic scavenger hunt that feels more like padding than an actual important plot-beat.
But, at the end of the day, being incredibly confusing is part of the charm. I really didn't expect to laugh this hard at these monotone voiced characters and the insane world they live in... that would being the USA of course. I can't bring myself to considering it something else than good, it's just so damn creative and unique, and I'm so excited to see what other misadventures the freelance police had over the years.
So yeah, they hit the road, they sure proved me wrong, but... ain't no way they save the world, right??
I remember when I discovered these two fellas via clips from the animated series, and in that moment, a new obsession began to form... and by obsession I mean just watching more clips. It took me a while to even play one of their games, and I've finally did it, and man, they sure hit the road, I didn't think they had it in them.
I've said in various occasions when I talk about certain games that they ''oozes'' charm or that they are funny or something like that, but I might have to re-check my standards, 'cause holy mother of yeti this has to be one of the games with more personality I've ever even touched. Sam and Max are some of the most charismatic protagonists I've come across, and I don't really know if they are the only cops I would trust, or the ones I'd trust the least. The whole game game has this feeling of comical indifference and absurdity, but these two represent it the most; their interactions are pure gold, each hilarious and they roll of each other incredibly, combine that with the visual gags, most coming from Max suffering the wrath of the universe but not giving a shit, and the crisp animations and we have a pair that I wish they got a movie or something, the possibilities are endless.
While everyone's favorite sociopaths are the most bizarre beings in all of the game, the rest of the cast and locations doesn't lack in weirdness and charm either. The premise of solving a case while traversing different tourist traps and trip stops is executed fantastically, each being a hilarious parody of roadside attractions, and the originality and hilarity seems endless. All the secondary characters are funny, all the puzzles go absolutely bonkers, and even if the story never takes itself too seriously, you still are compelled to solve the mystery of the sasquatches and defeat the little turd that is the villain. I swear, I loved that country singer punk, I just wished he got more screen time, but hey, at least he even gets its own villain song! Now that's quality. It's also filled with references, that where actually pretty cool and funny, even the game does them correctly instead of being jarring or unfunny!
The originality sips into all the aspects of the game, and that includes the puzzles themselves, which while sometimes is amazing, sadly, more often than not, I found it problematic. I admit, I'm terrible at graphic adventure games, maybe I'm just dumb or maybe I haven't played enough of them, but even if I'm terrible at them and sometimes I have to looks up the solutions, I'm able to recognize when a puzzle is well done and the solution is smart and makes sense, and that's the problem, even if there are a lot of parts in this game that are really well made and communicated, others just... don't. The game feels too obtuse at places, it doesn't make it clear when you have to go and what to do, and things that you think would make sense end up being the totally opposite solution; it's a game that really suffers from the ''needs a guide'' syndrome. Combine that with the average problem of this genre of games of the 90's, like hunting for pixels or having to go back time and time again to already seen places more than six times, and you have the elements for making this game not feel as good as it could have been, all capping off in a cryptic scavenger hunt that feels more like padding than an actual important plot-beat.
But, at the end of the day, being incredibly confusing is part of the charm. I really didn't expect to laugh this hard at these monotone voiced characters and the insane world they live in... that would being the USA of course. I can't bring myself to considering it something else than good, it's just so damn creative and unique, and I'm so excited to see what other misadventures the freelance police had over the years.
So yeah, they hit the road, they sure proved me wrong, but... ain't no way they save the world, right??
probably the most accurate portayal of the sam and max world in terms of like correlation to the comics. deffo a wacky little point and click game. Some of the puzzles can be a little bit obtuse as it be with this genre, so watch out for that. Other than that it's a fun bizarre adventure game.
I think Sam & Max are the most gay-coded characters ever created and I honestly could not tell you why. Maybe its the suit and the height difference.
Anyway, it boggles my mind just how effortlessly and hilariously witty this game is. I feel like a lot the time attempts at comedy through fourth wall breaks and quippy witicisms come off as really forced and groan-worthy, but Sam & Max are able to pull it off so well. Their dynamic, wordy banter, disregard for the law and morality, and gleefully cynical outlook on the world is just delightful and makes the humor really work. It's paired with absolutely sublime art direction and animation to boot. Sometimes the puzzles are fairly obtuse, but I think that's the price you have to pay with some of these older adventure games.
Anyway, it boggles my mind just how effortlessly and hilariously witty this game is. I feel like a lot the time attempts at comedy through fourth wall breaks and quippy witicisms come off as really forced and groan-worthy, but Sam & Max are able to pull it off so well. Their dynamic, wordy banter, disregard for the law and morality, and gleefully cynical outlook on the world is just delightful and makes the humor really work. It's paired with absolutely sublime art direction and animation to boot. Sometimes the puzzles are fairly obtuse, but I think that's the price you have to pay with some of these older adventure games.
This game takes me back to a time when LucasArts were producing the best games out there! Not to mention, some of the weirdest and most popular like in regards to the Sam & Max universe here!
The story follows Sam & Max who are Freelance Police and their job is to track down an attraction. A bigfoot that was frozen in ice has been taken from the circus and the pair need to track them down and solve the mystery surrounding them and also the tiny country music star who seems to also be trying to track him down for a potentially nefarious purpose!
As usual, the absurdist humour hits right on and there's even fun little mini-games you can play with Max too. It's well worth checking out and a lot of fun! I can't wait to try out some more of these classics on stream and showcase how fun they are to the world!
Gameplay/Stream
The story follows Sam & Max who are Freelance Police and their job is to track down an attraction. A bigfoot that was frozen in ice has been taken from the circus and the pair need to track them down and solve the mystery surrounding them and also the tiny country music star who seems to also be trying to track him down for a potentially nefarious purpose!
As usual, the absurdist humour hits right on and there's even fun little mini-games you can play with Max too. It's well worth checking out and a lot of fun! I can't wait to try out some more of these classics on stream and showcase how fun they are to the world!
Gameplay/Stream
this is my second completion of the game and it's still as funny as ever. i think there's a pretty decent replayability factor and you can find new phrases and things you may not have noticed in your first playthrough.
the pixel art and music is still nice to look at, even after thirty years. also, if you like deadpan humor and/or cartoon violence, this might be up your alley. same if you love furries of the openly gay kind. i can't even say ambiguously because sam will say a man or a woman isn't his type and max doesn't even like girls.
the pixel art and music is still nice to look at, even after thirty years. also, if you like deadpan humor and/or cartoon violence, this might be up your alley. same if you love furries of the openly gay kind. i can't even say ambiguously because sam will say a man or a woman isn't his type and max doesn't even like girls.
A fun, if short adventure game. The graphics are charming, and the voice acting and humor are great. It has some pretty cryptic puzzles, as is common in these early point and click games. I'd recommend using a guide if you want to make much progress. It definitely got me interested in exploring other areas of the Sam and Max franchise though.
Great writing, music, art. A more cohesive satire than the Telltale games. Comes to a surprisingly effective thematic point by the end that keeps the satire from feeling too hollow. Awkward difficulty progression though -- I found the first third of the game much harder than the last two thirds.
I adore Sam & Max, so my rating is very biased.
I adore Sam & Max, so my rating is very biased.
An absolutely hilarious game with puzzles that are hard enough for you to actually have fun but not so hard that you get stuck for hours. The pixel art is beautiful as expected. A must play if you like point & click games.
major banger
divertido rollo un show infantil que veías el sábado por la mañana type beat
Nostalgia makes this one out to be slightly better than it really is. It's obtuse and it can really meander. It is, however, pretty funny, and "Carnival of the Odd" is a bona fide classic track.
Can't believe I'm saying this but Telltale did it better!
Cinema.
Would be almost perfect if not for the weirdly racist final part.
very funny point and click
but also the moon logic...
but also the moon logic...
Classic point n click. If you like the wacky kind of humour here, youll love it, but it might be an acquired taste.
Sam and Max take a roadtrip across the mainland United States to find the carnival's missing bigfoot in this classic '93 LucasArts point & click adventure game! I adore the use of America's most gaudy tourist traps and the rubes who work there as a setting for the well-written absurdism of the plot, although, sometimes I wished that the absurdism didn't bleed into the puzzle solutions....