There was a time withSam & Maxwas an exciting franchise, spinning out of a successful comic book run into multiple beloved video games. It’s now been over 10 years sinceSam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouselaunched, however, and despite some hilariousPoker Nightcameos,Sam & Maxhave been gone for a very long time. That changed in 2020 when a resurgentSam & Maxappeared. NowSam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual, the first newSam & Maxgame in a decade, is officially confirmed to be arriving in June.
Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtualis not a newly announced game. It was revealed in 2020, with several key confirmations that made fans of the comic and video game spin-offs excited. Not only isSam & Maxcreator Steve Purcell consulting on the project, but both David Nowlin and Dave Boat, Sam and Max’s iconic voice actors, are also returning. The newest update for theSam & Max: This Time It’s VirtualVR gamecame via a recently shared extended trailer that slipped in a release window almost incidentally.
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The new trailer forSam & Max: This Time It’s Virtualis a lengthy capture of gameplay from a pre-release version of the game. It’s directly captured from avirtual reality headset, so it has a bit of unfortunate shakiness. However, for those curious as to what playingSam & Max: This Time It’s Virtuallooks like, there’s no better example.
As far as gameplay goes, even though the video is five-minutes long, it primarily shows ongoing conversations between Sam, Max, and various NPCs. For the first two-thirds of the trailer, the player mostly just stands still. In the final third, some actions are showcased. The player climbs up ladders, fires rocket launchers, and even defuses a bomb in an absurd combination of hand gestures akin toplayingBop It.
What the trailer does perfectly well is show whatSam & Max: This Time It’s Virtualis for. It’s for fans of theSam & Maxfranchisethat want more of its silly, absurd humor first and foremost. The virtual reality aspects of the game seem to be in service of that, without much in the way of unique VR gameplay. ConsideringSam & Maxhave been gone for a decade, that’s probably okay to fans.
Odds are that a virtual reality game isn’t going to reignite theSam & Maxfandom. It’s a niche product made for a niche fandom. Still, like theRick & MortyVR gameshave proven, there’s an audience in VR craving these types of absurd games. Perhaps starting small is the perfect opportunity forSam & Maxto become more relevant in gaming overall again.
Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtualreleases in June 2021 on Oculus Quest, with support for SteamVR and Viveport Infinity following later this year, and a PSVR release in early 2022.
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