Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual is the first entirely new video game outing for the Freelance Police since Telltale’s third season of Sam & Max adventures, The Devil’s Playhouse, in 2010. It sees the dubious dog and bunny duo indulging in appropriately outlandish VR-enabled mini-games as they explore Cap’n Aquabear’s rotting theme park. “Even multimedia evil-slappers like Sam & Max could use a hand,” explains HappyGiant of its new VR endeavour, “and this time they’re using the incomprehensible magic of virtual reality to invite the player into their off-kilter world for a furious day of monster-slaying, obstacle courses, responsibly discharged firearms, and, of course, saving the entire freaking world.” Sam & Max should be in good hands with HappyGiant; the development team includes Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell and a number of ex-LucasArts alumni who all worked on the studio’s seminal 1993 point-and-click adventure Sam & Max: Hit the Road - writer/designer Mike Stemmle, creative director Mike Levine, and concept artist Peter Chan. Additionally, David Nowlin and Dave Boat, who’ve voiced Sam and Max previously in a number of Telltale titles, are reprising their roles. Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual is scheduled to launch on Oculus Quest this June, where it will cost $29.99 USD (around £22). Versions for SteamVR and Viveport Infinity are expected to launch later this year, and a PSVR release will happen early in 2022. It’s been a busy few months for Sam & Max, of course; the pair made a triumphant return late last year in developer Skunkape Games’ superb remaster of Telltale Games’ inaugural Sam & Max point-and-click adventure season, Save the World.
