History VideoGame / SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]] isn't crazy, evil [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial or illiterate.]] He's [[MonsterSobStory LONELY.]]

--->'''Bob''': [[LargeHam Sam, audiences everywhere agree; you're a monster!]]

'''Sam:''' Good point. We already had that kind of trouble when we went into that [[Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth tollbooth.]]\\

-->'''Max''': ''[[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger [in a certain teutonic accent]]]'' [[Film/TotalRecall1990 "You have what you vant! Now give zem zer air!"]]

* HaveANiceDeath: Unusually for a (pre-[[VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame Jurrasic Park]]) Telltale game, "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" features [[TheManyDeathsOfYou numerous ways to die]] (Indeed, the [=PS3=] version has a trophy if you see them all). However, the game is being told as a cinematic flashback to Sam and Max's ancestors, who aren't supposed to die [[spoiler: until the very end of the game]]. Thus, every time you perish, you're sent back to just before you screwed up and got killed, so you can try again without any hassle.

'''Skun-ka'pe:''' (Eyes widen in horror)\\

** At the End of Season 3 [[spoiler: After Max Dies, Sam encounters Past Max from "Chariots of Dogs", who ironicaly just came back from a mirror adventure of what just happened, except with Past Sam dying instead of him, after talking they decide to team up.]]

'''Skun-ka'pe:''' Didn't I tell you to get rid of that cellphone?\\

-->'''[[spoiler: Charlie]]''': When my spell is complete I'll use the power of the Toybox to tear down the walls between your realm and mine, dragging both realities into an eternity of torment and despair!
-->'''Sam''': "Okay, but how will that be different from any other [[spoiler: ventriloquist act?]]"
-->'''Max''': "Hey-ohhh!"

--> '''Sam''': ''I wonder if we'll ever find out what Momma Bosco's "Dimensional Destabilizer" does.''
--> '''[[TheComicallySerious Agent Superball]]''': ''It's a device used to coerce a transient resonant integration of the subquantum harmonic vibrational frequencies between this and adjoining dimensional membranes.''
--> ''[[{{Beat}} Sam and Max stare, bewildered]].''
--> '''Sam''': ''I wonder if we'll ever find out what Momma Bosco's "Dimensional Destabilizer" does.''
--> '''Max''': ''I hope it makes pie!''

---> '''Skun-ka'pe''': ...Not only did I defeat Sam and Max, but I took care of the Penal Zone in one stroke!
---> '''Max''': Unfortunate word choice.

-->'''Sam:''' I wouldn't trust that [[ObviouslyEvil General Skun'kape.]]
-->'''Mama Bosco:''' You two don't trust anybody, do you?
-->'''Sam:''' What do you mean by that?
-->'''Max:''' Yeah, what are you trying to pull!?

-->'''Skun-ka'pe:''' Didn't I tell you to get rid of that cellphone?
-->'''Girl Stinky:''' Who could ''possibly'' be calling me?
-->'''Skun-ka'pe:''' (Eyes widen in horror)

-->'''Maximus:''' Why can't we all get along, Sameth?
-->'''Sameth:''' Because most of us are (''[[SoundEffectBleep bicycle horn]]''), little buddy.

-->'''Sameth''': Point and click adventure games! (music stops)
-->'''Elf''' (shocked): *{{beat}}* You've gotta be kidding me!

-->'''Sam:''' I wonder what would happen if I open this wardrobe...
-->'''Max:''' Don't do it, Sam! It'll probably lead to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia a land of whimsical characters and thinly-disguised religious allegories!]]
-->'''Sam:''' Good point. We already had that kind of trouble when we went into that [[Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth tollbooth.]]

-->'''Sam:''' Spider-webs and spooky houses go together like well-dressed dogs and naked bunnies.
-->'''Max:''' How many times have I told you not to use the "b-word", Sam?

-->'''Flint Paper:''' I don't know what kinda game you're playing here, Sam, but now that I've seen you and Stinky smooching, all I really wanna do is [[INeedAFreakingDrink climb into a bottle]] and [[BrainBleach wipe out a few brain cells.]]
-->'''Max:''' Y'know, Sam, that whole Stinky-kissing thing kinda made ''me'' wish for he sweet release of death, too.
-->'''Sam:''' I know, little buddy, but it'll be worth it if we can track Stinky to the REAL Mr. S who's controlling all these Sam clones.

* TheJailBaitWait
-->'''Girl Stinky:''' [[spoiler: [[PowerIsSexy That Sammun-Mak]]]]... rowr.
-->'''Max:''' Isn't he, like, ten?

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:

* ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: Characters later on referencing events from the start of the season as being "a few hours ago" and the fact that "The Penal Zone" is set during the daytime while the episodes from "They Stole Max's Brain!" onwards are set at night implies that the first four episodes all happen in one very, very long day. There's about a one week gap between them and "The City That Dares Not Sleep", but even then various circumstances mean that none of the characters have actually slept since the season started.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Early on in ''Beyond the Alley of the Dolls'', Sam turns on the radio while [[spoiler: Stinky's is being swarmed by [[spoiler: an horde of Sam clones]], prompting Max to say this:

* HaveANiceDeath: Unusually for a Telltale game, "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" features [[TheManyDeathsOfYou numerous ways to die]] (Indeed, the [=PS3=] version has a trophy if you see them all). However, the game is being told as a cinematic flashback to Sam and Max's ancestors, who aren't supposed to die [[spoiler: until the very end of the game]]. Thus, every time you perish, you're sent back to just before you screwed up and got killed, so you can try again without any hassle.

** To elaborate, a [[PoirotSpeak weltraumliebwachetzaubreikrieg]] is Hubert's people's word for a stunning battle between a strangely-garbed man and an alien space gorilla carrying a brain in a jar! Maybe it's a common occurrence in Europe.

** ''They Stole Max's Brain'' has [[spoiler:the Pharaoh Sammun-Mak himself, using the Toybox to rewrite reality and be its ruler]].

* MoodWhiplash: "They Stole Max's Brain!" It starts with a gritty noir theme, then goes to a part more befitting of the point-and-click gameplay we know. [[spoiler:Then the REAL twist comes when a pharaoh who happens to be inhabiting Max's body (ItMakesSenseInContext) uses the power of the Toy Chest to planeshift the entire world into an alternate reality where he is ruler of everything, and only Max, Dr. Norrington, and the molemen are aware that anything is wrong.]]

** ''The City That Dares Not To Sleep'' has [[spoiler:the Narrator, also known as Max's never-used [[AllPsychologyIsFreudian superego]], using the memories of the Toys to keep Sam away until Max finally explodes and takes out himself, [[DeathSeeker the Narrator]], and half of the US as well]].

* TheInsomniac: [[spoiler:The entire city of New York falls into this during "The City that Dares Never Sleep", desperate not to succumb to sleep and [[EmotionEater allow the spores to feed on their dreams,]] making Monster Max even stronger. The government even starts giving out chocolate-covered espresso beans. Sam manages to go eight days before passing out]].

* LonelyPianoPiece: The ending credits for "The City that Dares Never Sleep". Didn't think a Sam and Max game could [[TearJerker make you cry?]] Just listen to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMjqi2MrCjU this.]]

* ShownTheirWork: In "The City that Dares Not Sleep", Agent Superball briefly mentions the 28th Amendment. There are currently only 27 amendments to the Constitution.

* TheStinger: "The City that Dares Not Sleep" has at least two of them that can be triggered after the credits roll, [[spoiler:both covering how Max is still there when/if another season comes out]].

* TemporalParadox: One of these is used to explain how [[spoiler:Max is alive]] at the end of "The City that Dares Not Sleep". Every other instance of time travel ends up as a StableTimeLoop.

* TitleDrop: Done in EVERY episode in Season 3. Lampshaded in ''The City that Dares Not Sleep.''

* TrouserSpace: In "The City that Dares Not Sleep", Sam can [[spoiler:visit precisely where Max stores his gun while the latter was a giant EldritchAbomination.]].

* VoicesAreMental: Averted in "The City that Dares Not Sleep" [[spoiler:with Grandpa Stinky and one of Skun-ka'pe's minions]]. Played straight in "They Stole Max's Brain!" with the disembodied brains of Max and Sammun-Mak.

** "The City that Dares Not Sleep": [[spoiler:Several characters '''die'''. ''Including Max!'' He doesn't get better, either, but fortunately, his time-travel-created duplicate shows up out of nowhere at the last minute.]]

* WhatTheHellPlayer : In "The City that Dares Not Sleep", if you try put "Sam Jr." in the food processor, Sam will look at you, the player, and say "How dare you even think about putting my sweet little angel in there!"

** The ''Penal Zone'' has Skun-ka'pe, a KillerSpaceMoney EvilOverlord who seeks the Toybox to conquer the world.

** ''They Stole Max's Brain'' has [[spoiler: Sammun-Mak himself, using the Toybox to rewrite reality and be its ruler]].
** ''Beyond The Alley of The Dolls'' has the Clone Master, [[spoiler:aka Charlie Ho-Tep, the ventriloquist ability, in order to summon Junior and play with him at the expense of reality]].
** ''The City That Dares Not To Sleep'' has [[spoiler:the Narrator, also known as Max's super-ego, using the memories of the Toys to keep Sam away until Max finally explodes and takes himself, [[DeathSeeker the Narrator]], and half of the US as well]].

* BadassDecay: In-universe example: [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination Yog-Soggoth]] once ruled the Earth and feasted on the terror of mortals; the Molemen, immune to their powers, rose up against him and his kind and banished them all to the Dark Dimensions. Nowadays, Yog-Soggoth is little more than a talking tumor grafted to Mr. Papierwaite - a surprisingly affable one, at that - and the Molemen are mostly a bunch of kooky subterranean cultists.]]

* BigNo
** In "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", Sameth does this when Nefertiti casts the Holstein Hex on Maximus in Reel 2. Afterwards, he doesn't seem to care as much, [[spoiler:since Nefertiti is inexperienced, and her hex wears off inside of one minute.]]

* ArcVillain: Each episode has its own BigBad:
** The ''Penal Zone'' has Skun-ka'pe.
** The ''Tomb of Sammun-Mak'' has Monsieur Anton Papierwaite.
** ''They Stole Max's Brain'' has [[spoiler: Sammun-Mak]] himself.
** ''Beyond The Alley of The Dolls'' has [[spoiler:Charlie Ho-Tep]].
** ''The City That Dares Not To Sleep'' has [[spoiler:the Narrator, also known as Max's super-ego]].

[[caption-width-right:250:PsychicPowers, KillerSpaceMonkey|s, EldritchAbomination|s. Just a normal day for the Freelance Police.]]

Check the recap page [[Recap/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse here]].

-->"''[[EpisodicGame Over the next five chapters]], you will witness things that [[MindScrew baffle you]], [[NightmareFuel horrify you]], even [[NauseaFuel disgust you]]''. But you must not look away! ''Pay close attention to everything you see and hear! Because when our story reaches its bowel tingling climax, only'' you, ''my friends, will possess the ability to save the entire universe''.

This season and the [[{{VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice}} previous two]] have a [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Best Episode Crowner]].

* BittersweetEnding: Episode 304 ends with [[spoiler: the Devil's Toybox destroyed, but... Max ate Junior, thus turning into an EldritchAbomination that might destroy the city.]]
** Also the finale of 305, [[spoiler:where the Max died in the efforts to stop his eldritch form. An attempt to bring him back didn't work]]... [[spoiler: but thankfully, Max's alternate past self shows up to have new adventures with Sam]].
* BloodlessCarnage: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", with Max and Grandpa Stinky shooting, killing, and gutting countless of Samulacra.
** Dogglegangers.

* BrainBleach: In "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" Flint Paper declares he need to kill some neurons after seeing Sam [[spoiler:being French kissed by Girl Stinky]] Also done in "The City that Dares Not Sleep": when Sybil begins explaining to Sam how she managed to get pregnant with Stone Head Abe Lincoln's child, the screen cuts to an old style TV Test Pattern for a few seconds before cutting back to Sam with a blank stare on his face before shortly returning to his senses and stating to Sybil that his brain has a defense mechanism in which it shuts itself off temporarily in order to avoid knowing something truly horrifying.

*** And later, in "The City That Dares Not Sleep," we learn that after Max got away, Skun-ka'pe took the next best thing and [[spoiler: made Sammun-Mak his new brain slave.]]

* DeadForReal: Word from Telltale indicates that all of the on-screen deaths in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls" were real. The problem is, no one's exactly sure what constitutes as an on-screen death.
** Here's the current body count. [[spoiler: Sal (but only as of Episode 305; he survived the long fall in the preceding episode), Sammun-Mak, Skun-ka'pe, Girl Stinky, Sam Jr. (if you don't save him first)]] and [[spoiler:Max.]]

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: A few of Max's future visions occur immediately after he finishes viewing them.
** "A trap so deadly, it would cause you to die!"
*** "That ''is'' deadly."