When Mojo isn’t knocking it out of the park with first impressions, it can be found working its other famous charm: tediously embedding tweets:
This marks the third platform (I think) for Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual thus far. Since this port was originally set for early 2022, it would seem that they’re ahead of schedule, unlike Mojo’s review. But then, Beethoven didn’t rush his symphonies, either.
Please accept this tweet as proof. Remember that "today" is yesterday. So we're basically ahead of time by Mojo standards.
In addition, it seems that HappyGiant participated in some sort of live chat as part of Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual's inclusion in the Venice Film Festival. The reference to a "pass" suggests it was probably not open to the public, but it seems inevitable that the stream will turn up at some point. Let us know if when you notice before we do.
Though you may have noticed some recycled tracks from the Telltale games when watching gameplay videos for Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual, let it be known that Jared Emerson-Johnson supplied a fair amount of totally original score for the game, all of which is now officially available through Bandcamp.
Buy the soundtrack for yourself and ten friends -- why should they be spared the Aquabears theme?
Having brought overwrought mayhem and blunt-force bewilderment to the Oculus Quest community, the next stop for Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual is SteamVR, which is good news for people who think that the torrid cost of a headset is barrier enough without forcing Facebook enrollment on top of it. It sounds like this version of the game will expand its audience to owners of the HTC Vive or Valve Index headsets, and I'm quite sure those are recognizable words to people who know things.
You heard the tweet. Head over to Steam to grab your demo, and have a thought for us lowborn who can't afford the virtual world by telling us how it is.
Source: Big Sugar
And it’s about time, I say! It seems the 78th Venice International Film Festival will be including Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual as part of the VR line-up. The unexpected occasion is being used to unveil Steve Purcell’s majestic cover art for the game:
Thanks, Venice!
For those who have found the marketing for this game to be a bit evasive, let it be known that the bashfulness is over:
Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual will be available to Oculus Quest owners today at 1pm EST. For you social media types, HappyGiant will also be doing an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit at 8pm EST over at /r/SamandMax. While that may sound like no topic is off limits, it is critical to remember that the developers are really only interested in questions about the characters boning each other.
Tomorrow is the day that Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual will flow forth from the spigot that is your local Oculus Quest shoppe, and the reviews are starting to trickle in. And get this: they’re rather positive! Check out the raves from The Ghost Howls and Android Central, and learn what those sites are in the process!
I’ve also received word from one of my corporate spies planted in the Mojo front office that someone in our staff of thousands (spanning sixteen physical divisions across four continents) has received a review copy, so our authoritative voice on the matter will be gracing your browser soon as well.
And if that doesn’t leave you enthused, let’s see you maintain that stony demeanor of yours in the face of this moving verse that Mike Stemmle composed for the occasion:
It is upon us:
Don’t have a headset to play this on and ran out of plasma to sell? Then you may want check out this second, saucier Sam & Max sweepstakes, which you can enter for a chance to win an Oculus Quest 2, a device which has an MSRP of eight trillion dollars (I rounded up) last time I checked.
There was actually more Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual footage unveiled out of that “UploadVR” event than was covered in yesterday’s news post, but I we Remi was just too lazy to finish the job. But let’s not dwell on my our Remi’s indolence; let’s just get the job done.
First off is this exuberant fellow’s guided tour of the game’s first hour, albeit edited down to twenty minutes:
That it’s a positive impression is perhaps more persuasive for the fact that it comes from someone with no Sam & Max background. His only criticism seems to be that the game is on the easy/casual side, which isn’t so damning an assessment of a tutorial-y opening stretch. And if you’d like to see some of the same portions of the game without the commentary, there’s always this:
And don’t catch yourself going outside for some fresh air before you revisit yesterday's gameplay trailer, now on Youtube:
Finally, HappyGiant has revealed that none other than Steve Purcell will be doing voicework in the game. He will be performing the role of Duncan B. Dills, the creator of the Aquabears funtime park, here represented as an animatronic head/bomb that you have to defuse like a Bop It toy, which feels inarticulately objectionable in that Sam & Max way:
There was an event today called UploadVR, and Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual was in attendance. What do you say we cut the baloney and get straight to the footage?
Source: HappyGiant
You are probably aware of the fact that audio titans Julian Kwasneski and Jared Emerson-Johnson operate professionally as Bay Area Sound, the decorated studio founded by Kwasneski and Clint Bajakian back in the day. You might even be aware of the Pulitzer-repelling interview we did with them over ten years ago, in which we asked well-researched questions like “What was it like working at Skywalker Ranch?” even though the Ranch wasn’t a thing since the Lucasfilm Games days.
Lately, we got to thinking about the “ten years” part with a bit of embarrassment, and anyway BA Sound is involved with both Skunkape and HappyGiant on these Sam & Max projects we find ourselves surrounded by, so Mojo felt the time was right to confront them, put them on the defensive, and demand to know why it never happened between us after that first date went so well. Also, we talk Sam & Max sound/music. Enjoy!
Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual had been slated to release on the Oculus Quest this month, but it looks like it's getting delayed just by a hair:
A month is not too bad at all, but let's face it: it's the end of the world nonetheless.
Source: Twitter
While the specific date remains unannounced, next month will see the release of Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual on its debut platform, the Oculus Quest. Mojo hopes to contribute to the hype by following up its HappyGiant interview with another journalistic tour-de-force (stay tuned!), but if you’re more of a materialistic personality who’s into free stuff, you may want to look into this contest HappyGiant has just launched.
The way it works is you volunteer information that people on the internet shouldn’t be giving out, thus entering for a chance to win a pair of those excellent Boss Fight Studio figures you’ve heard so much about. HappyGiant promises that this is the first of multiple contests, so keep an eye out for more giveaways after you try your luck with this one.
Source: HappyGiant
They've swung capably at the softballs lobbed so far by affable VR bloggers and Oprah Winfrey, but the developers at HappyGiant knew the time had come to exit the bubble and submit themselves to the hard-hitting rite of passage that is a Mixnmojo interview.
Join us as we put the Real Questions™ to CEO Mike Levine about all things Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual which, as you know from today's skin-searing press blast, will be hitting a number of VR platforms over the next year, starting with the Oculus Quest in June.
You’ve probably noticed that today has been an orchestrated press bonanza for Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual, and while our hubris demands that our own interview remain at the top of the page, we also wanted to provide a public service by pointing out a few other artifacts of the blitz from the internet at large, including:
We’ll add to this list as necessary!
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?
Source: Gematsu
And these hi-res beauties show off a game much closer to the finish line than some of the earlier glimpses:
Of course, you can check out all released screenshots to date in our meticulously maintained gallery.
Source: HappyGiant
You may already be aware that a major location in Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual will be a rundown "Aquabears" amusement park. And what dilapidated family funtime establishment could do without a creepy theme song?
And on just what platforms will you be experiencing this Purcellian Willy's Wonderland, you say? Take heart, for we will know soon:
In other "let's see what else Happy Giant tweeted over the last week that we can hastily compile" news, there's this new and improved clip of Max as Pennywise for you to ponder:
Source: Happy Giant
And to combat skeptics like Remi, they've decided to ante up with a glimpse of the game's intro screen.
There's still no firm release date, however, so there's still time for you to save up to buy me a platform to play this on. Thanks in advance.
Source: HappyGiant on Twitter