Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)

Preliminary: Oooo a LucasArts game I hadn't heard of before. This is exciting. And nice it was released on both CD and floppy for the initial release, so I can go with the CD release! Woohoo

Pro-tip: you must must play this with the voices/sound properly set up. I was not feeling it when it was just the text, but then I used Musesetup (or whatever it was) and got things set up correctly. I'll never prefer quirky/goofy over serious/epic, but it definitely made the vibe more fitting and enjoyable.

Ok nice we back at it. Got the CD version with voice throughout.

I like to read this in the manual as I was trying to troubleshoot (so I got voice to work in big cutscenes but not the little cutscenes hmm. oh lol this is the floppy version let me try this again)

"We believe that you buy games to be entertained, not to be whacked over the head every time you make a mistake. So we don't bring the game to a screeching halt when you poke your nose into a place you haven't visited before. Unlike conventional computer adventures, you won't find yourself accidentally stepping off a path, or dying because you've picked up a sharp object ."

Day 1

Nice, glad to see keyboard shortcuts and right click to shuffle through commands etc. All sorts of QoL here. Skip cutscenes. etc.

As usual, I'm just not clicking heavily with the quirky music and setting. The Play is solid so far, tho a bit too much dialog. Some of the screen transitions are frustrating, it should be easier to go screen to screen. Never a fan of the edge/border being too far.

I keep questioning whether to just give a 3 star and move on. Some nice jazz-y tunes and I love the concept of Doug living behind the castle door in the Tunnel of Love. And I liked this screen, ugh I dunno

Yeahhhh Imma learn to stop at points like this. This is cute, with very Humongous Entertainment-y music and fun quirky Feel, but jsut not the type of adventure game that hooks me and maeks me want to solve the puzzles.

Look: 8/10

Sound: 7.5/10

Play: 7.5/10

Feel: 8/10

Attachment: 7/10

Overall: 7.6/10

Completion: I was at the World of Fish when I officially declared this isn't for me.

Playtime: ~50 mins

Sam & Max Hit the Road does not really have the greatest narrative out there. And while there is fun stuff to do in the game, its puzzles don't quite live up to something like Day of the Tentacle from the same year—some are good, but they can get a bit too out-there / annoying / missable at some points without really feeling all that enjoyable to actually execute.

So it's a testament to just how good everything else about the game is that I still think it's a great time.

The main thing you should come here for is the exceptional dialogue and voice acting. It's a really funny game, with great characters and a lot of charm—in my view, this is where it does beat out even Tentacle. Though I mentioned the story itself isn't that strong, I will say the good writing does extend to some of the scenarios you put yourself in. Lots of creative and unexpected stuff goes on in this game that made me smile.

Also really strong is the visual part of the game, with fun animations all over the place, lots of color, expressive characters, and a solid range of varied locations to visit across the USA. Music as well was often really well-done, especially in a memorable scene in the main bad guy's house, but also just general background music is good.

So yeah, I found it a really fun experience with loads of character and charm to make up for any relative shortcomings. Definitely an essential from LucasArts's catalogue in my book.

Sam and Max Hit the Road is actually one of LucasArts's better games, despite the drawn out pacing. Starting out with the freelance police and their investigation of a missing bigfoot, you travel the weird and wild US in search of clues and gags at every turn.

The game is a point and click similar to most LucasArts games - move around, use and combine items, speak to people. The options are all represented visually and do their job - the right click is a good way to scroll through options, though can get a bit dizzy to scroll through so many options. Conversation is usually limited to questions that actually open up important points to move forward and an exclamation/gag option for...gags.

The world itself is one of the most charming to date in a LucasArts game - the company has a habit of being a little too full of itself but in this game they fully embrace the wackiness of Sam & Max's world and it ends up in more funny than unfunny gags. The art is probably some of the best I've seen in the genre, with incredibly expressive pixel art and catchy jingles.

That said, adventure games always have their obtuse points, and Sam & Max is no exception. Luckily, a lot of these options actually make sense (get the jar-opener to open a jar, tar fur to a costume, throw Max as a last resort) but these objects can sometimes be easily missed and traveling the entire country's set of locations can get a bit mind-boggling. The game also ends almost midway through, Twin Peaks style, and goes on quite the odd and drawn-out tangent.

Still, it's a fun game and for fans of the freelance police, it does them great justice.