Sam & Max to hit VR

Written by Jack Allin — August 28, 2020 at 12:15

Hard as it is to believe, it's been over a decade since Sam & Max last (dis)graced our gaming screens, but everyone's favourite suit-wearing canine and hyperkinetic rabbity thing are back! Or will be soon enough, as indie developer Happy Giant has announced the VR-exclusive action-adventure Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual!

Unlike previous games involving the anthropomorphic crime-stoppers, this time you won't control either character but play as yourself, a new recruit being "trained as one of the few, the proud, the miscreant Freelance Police." As a cadet still learning the ropes, you'll be "put through a series of graded courses set up by the duo inside an abandoned theme park," which has been retrofitted for precisely this purpose. It'll be up to you to "discover the horrible and socially relevant secrets lurking behind, under, and within Cap'n Aquabear's rotting theme park," all under the tutelage (and "verbal abuse") of your mentors.

The titular characters look, sound, and (mis)behave much like we remember in the first screenshots and trailer released, which is no coincidence as the new game is being developed with "an all-star team of Sam & Max veterans," including series creator Steve Purcell himself as consultant, along with concept artist Peter Chan and writer/designer Mike Stemmle, while David Nowlin and Dave Boat reprise their roles as voice actors. There promises to be a bit more action this time around, however, though what that will entail we don't yet know, beyond the chance to face off against giant monsters and "give evil scientists and demonic trespassers their just desserts . . . with sprinkles!"

There is no firm launch date planned just yet, but Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual! is due to arrive sometime in the first half of 2021, exclusively for VR devices.