Hot off the presses: Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual will be released on the Oculus Quest in June for $29.99, on SteamVR and Viveport Infinity later in the year, and for Playstation VR in early 2022.
The full press release and a bunch of new screenshots can be found here. Update by Remi: No, not there. Here! At Mojo! Press release is below the fold, and our gallery is updated, too.
And don't bother calming down, as Mojo will be making itself complicit in this press push by publishing our own interview with HappyGiant. Stay tuned.
Oh, and did we mention the new footage?
BOSTON: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 -- HappyGiant, the award-winning AR and VR game developer, announced today it has signed with a new publishing partner, Big Sugar, for its latest game Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual!. Additionally, the developer revealed which VR platforms the virtual reality adventure will be available on, leading with the Oculus Quest platform, this June for $29.99 USD. Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual! will then follow later this year with versions for SteamVR and Viveport Infinity, and then be released on PlayStationVR (PSVR) in early 2022.
“We’re thrilled to finally announce platforms for Sam & Max: This Time’s It’s Virtual!”, said Mike Levine, HappyGiant CEO. “We’ve created something insanely weird and fun. It’s breaking new ground for VR, while staying true to the Sam & Max / LucasArts vibe”, added Levine. “The folks at Big Sugar have been phenomenal supporting us and helping us bring the game to as many platforms as possible.”
Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual! is the pair’s first original game in over a decade, as well as their inaugural foray into VR. It blends the banter and classic crime-solving adventure elements for which the duo is known with specialized Freelance Police training exercises, resulting in a fresh, eclectic experience that is unique to the medium. Even multimedia evil-slappers like Sam & Max could use a hand, 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.
“HappyGiant has assembled an all-star team of LucasArts veterans, and created a game dripping with nostalgia, as well as being on the cutting edge of VR Gaming”, said Nick Alfieri, CEO of Big Sugar. “Whether you are an old school Sam & Max fan, or new to the franchise, this game has something for everyone.”
HappyGiant’s team includes Steve Purcell, the creator of Sam & Max, who is consulting on the game design, art, and story. In addition, other team members include renowned concept artist Peter Chan and writer/designer Mike Stemmle, both of whom held lead roles on LucasArts 1992’s Hit the Road. Julian Kwasneski and Jared Emerson-Johnson of Bay Area Sound, who worked on the Telltale series, are also on board. David Nowlin and Dave Boat are returning to voice Sam and Max.
Gameplay Bullets:
- Experience the two-fisted japes and tomfoolery of internationally beloved icons Sam & Max in mind-melting virtual reality!
- Push yourself to be the best of the best of the middling, as a dog and a naked rabbity thing harangue you through different Freelance Police Academy training challenges.
- Discover the horrible and socially relevant secrets lurking behind, under, and within Cap’n Aquabear’s rotting theme park!
- Give evil scientists and demonic trespassers their just desserts… with sprinkles!
- Immersion so real you can feel Sam’s breath on your neck!
About Sam & Max
Sam & Max, Steve Purcell's dog and rabbity-thing, known collectively as the Freelance Police, were introduced to the unsuspecting world in 1987. They have appeared in comics, video games, an animated TV series, and an Eisner award-winning webcomic. Together they patrol the sticky streets of a fantastical New York City, righting wrongs, smashing evil, and delivering hot steamy plates of justice on the daily. They've been to Heck and back, shattered the time stream, and made America safe for bigfoots ... and are now coming to virtual reality.
About HappyGiant
HappyGiant is a leader in XR games and immersive experiences. Founded by veterans of LucasArts, the company are winners of a prestigious KAPI Award for “Best Mixed Reality Toy of the Year 2019”. Its first AR Game, HoloGrid:Monster Battle, was featured by Apple as "Game of the Day", and received numerous awards. Its QuasAR Arena game was one of the first true ‘persistent multiplayer’ AR games to market, and Geek & Sundry listed HappyGiant's AR Platform as the #1 leading AR Gaming platform of the future. HappyGiant has worked with companies including Microsoft, Disney, Hasbro, Spin Master, Qualcomm, and was a runner-up in Niantic’s first Beyond Reality Contest. For more information, please visit www.HappyGiant.com/samandmax.
About Big Sugar
Big Sugar is a new publisher that does what it wants. And what it wants is to work with talented independent developers and to publish the unique, fun, compelling, entertaining, memorable, and all-around high-quality games that they create. https://bigsugargames.com/
About Oculus
The Oculus team at Facebook Reality Labs lets people defy distance—connecting with each other and the world—through world-class VR hardware and software. The Oculus content team pursues the creation of best-in-class games, narrative experiences, and new VR use-cases like fitness, productivity, and travel. Oculus joins other teams at FRL dedicated to cutting-edge research, computer vision, haptics, social interaction, and more. Facebook Reality Labs is committed to driving the state of the art forward through relentless innovation.
About HTC VIVE
HTC VIVE® is the premier virtual reality (VR) platform and ecosystem that creates true-to-life VR experiences for businesses and consumers. The VIVE ecosystem is built around premium VR hardware, software, and content. The VIVE business encompasses best-in-class XR hardware; VIVEPORT platform and app store; VIVE Enterprise Solutions for business customers; VIVE X, a $100M VR business accelerator; VIVE STUDIOS, an entertainment, gaming, and enterprise content studio; and VIVE ARTS for cultural initiatives. For more information on VIVE, please visit www.vive.com.
Source: Gematsu
I feel like the lighting needs work. Overall things seem like they’re lacking shadows and depth, giving it an overly flat appearance.
Getting that right in the Telltale remaster made a huge difference so I’d love to see that here. To my eyes, a lot of it came down to having more light sources and softening things up.