Sal! Get me a hyperactive spider monkey in a powder-blue cardigan and why don’t we go ahead and wrestle him to the ground and tickle him ‘til he pees!

Sam & Max are back again to brighten up your Christmas season again this year with a remaster of the Beyond Time & Space, for another 5 episodes of surprisingly relevant and very sarcastic humour. How does this year’s entry shape up and is it worth spending your hard-earned dollars upon this 2007 remastered game?

The first thing that struck me playing this is how much sleeker it looks than the original. Even compared to last year’s Save the World remaster, there is a shiny, slick paint of coat on this version that really accentuates the cartoony feel of the world, whilst not detracting from the fuzzy grime that makes it up. Sam & Max in particular look spectacular, and I found myself absolutely fascinated by Max’s teeth and their sharp razor edges. Max in particular is always a shining point of these games, but he really shines visually in this one. The only model that I didn’t particular like the slick coat of paint on, was Satan. I felt his gritty look in the original was actually a better fit.

Beyond Satan however, the demonic Desoto, Sam & Max, and even Jurgen with his nipple rings just really stand out. The game is visually impressive, without forsaking its charm for the sake of aesthetic. The environments are lovely, and the minigame sections in the Desoto are really lovely to look at. They also make the minigame sections far more enjoyable to play and grind out for all the decals for the car visuals.

In regard to the minigames, they are immensely more fun than the ones in the first game. Only the rat minigame in the final chapter is all that annoying. The rest are easy enough, and the music minigame in chapter 2 is super pleasing to play. Compared to the janky rat minigame from the first game (which you can still play in this one), they are all far more entertaining and fairer. If you really do not enjoy them, there is an option to turn them off, so that they aren’t required for progression. I didn’t think they were all that difficult, but the accessibility option is incredibly nice for younger games, or people who want to play it for the puzzles and humour.

Problematically, in chapter 1, there appears to be performance issues. When sprinting, and particularly when entering Stinky’s diner the frame rate tanks. It didn’t seem to be an issue at any other point that I noticed. But this occurring so early on in the game was a little concerning. Sprinting in general is a better quicker way to get around, but I was a little gun-shy to do it after this problem, because I didn’t want to the game to tank to a sluggish pace. This was the only gameplay issue that I noticed thankfully, and it was only in a very specific section of the game.

With Sam & Max, I was super surprised at how many of the references and jokes were still relevant in the modern day. Beyond Time & Space is actually even more relevant with its long-term jokes that carry over from the first game. Max is a chaotic, and unhinged president of America. There is a Max Impeachment weekly magazine that you can see in Bosco’s store. Uncannily similar to events we experienced in the real world. There was a particular joke about a crown of socks being as “useless as an ink ribbon in a castle” which was a clear reference to Resident Evil. Which ties in very well with the fact that Resident Evil returned to a castle this year with Resident Evil 8. On top of that, there is the absolute zinger lines that Sam comes out with, and with the introduction of Girl Stinky, she too has some amazing lines when ordering food. With Bosco’s conversations being reduced somewhat, it’s very nice to have another character that is just as chaotic and filled with ridiculous lines.

The James Bond style opening sequences for each chapter of the game are a real nice introduction, and don’t overstay their welcome. Being able to shoot things on the screen whilst it does its little intro sequence is nice, and it means if you take a break for a while and come back, you’ll have a sweet reminder of the crazy and zany universe you are stepping in to. Importantly, the pre-chapter shooting gives you a little bit of a warm-up for any shooting minigames you may have to do in the game to unlock the optional decals. It’s a nice touch, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space has a much more consistent storyline running through it that Save the World does. Both games have a connected theme running through them, but Beyond Time and Space feels much more fleshed out and thought out. In a lovely twist, the game starts out in a Christmas themed adventure that involves saving Santa from a demon known as the Shambling Corporate Presence. It’s perfectly timed coming into the final of the year, and a great way to just sort of escape from the dreary times we’re living in.

There are a few quality-of-life additions in Beyond Time and Space. They ability to turn of minigames for progress, changing how often Max will give vague hints to help get you back on track, the ability to toggle between interactable with the right stick, and a button to highlight all possible interactable items in the area. A really nice accessibility option is that you can turn of flashing visuals for people with photosensitivity issues. Whilst I never personally noticed anything that would cause issue, it’s very nice to have the ability to get rid of it.

Sam & Max is an enigma of a series. The humour seems timeless, the gameplay is simple but entertaining. The puzzles are simple but always out of the box with their solutions. Some being so whacky that even Sam and Max talk about how weird they are. The visuals are gorgeous in this remaster, and none of the grit is lost with it. Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space remaster is a lovely little gift for the end of the year, and a great way to get some laughs in before we cross into the new year.