Sam & Max - Cultural Impact and Reception

Cultural Impact and Reception

The Sam & Max franchise has been highly successful critically, and is considered an iconic and influential aspect of the video game industry in the 1990s and the adventure game genre. In 2007, Steve Purcell wrote that he was somewhat surprised at the success of his creation, noting that the series had gained a large fan gathering despite the small size of the franchise. As the series contains only a small amount of comics, video games and a short TV series, Purcell commented that there was "certainly not enough material to build that relentless traction of an endlessly renewed sitcom or a syndicated comic that has existed since the Korean Conflict". The comics were well received by critics, many praising the humor and style of the stories and characters. However, later commentators have noted that the comic book series did not gain much popularity or recognition until after the release of Sam & Max Hit the Road in 1993; the later episodic video games are seen to have revived interest in the comics again, resulting in the creation of the webcomic "The Big Sleep" and publication of an anniversary edition of Surfin' The Highway.

Upon its release in 1993, Sam & Max Hit the Road was met with near universal acclaim. Critics praised the title for its humor, voice acting, graphics, music and gameplay. It has since come to be regarded as a classic graphic adventure game, one of the most critically successful projects by LucasArts to date. Sam & Max Hit the Road is regularly featured in lists of top games, and was nominated for the 1994 Annie Award for "Best Animated CD-ROM", although the award instead went to LucasArts' Star Wars: Rebel Assault. The abrupt cancellation of the sequel to Sam & Max Hit the Road in 2004 garnered substantial criticism of LucasArts. In addition to a petition of 32,000 signatures objecting to the termination of development on Sam & Max: Freelance Police, both Steve Purcell and the media were critical of LucasArts' decision. Purcell stated that he failed to understand quite why the game was cancelled, as he believed the development of the game was proceeding without hindrance, while the media put forward the view that LucasArts was moving to consolidate its position with low business risk Star Wars video games instead of pursuing the adventure games that had brought them success in earlier years. The cancellation of Freelance Police is often cited as the culmination in a perceived decline in the overall adventure game genre, and LucasArts later dismissed many of the designers involved with developing their adventure games, effectively ending their adventure game era.

Although Sam & Max Save the World did not receive the critical acclaim that Sam & Max Hit the Road acquired, it still received a favorable response from critics across its release in 2006 and 2007. Critics praised the game's humor, graphics and gameplay, although concerns were voiced over the low difficulty of the puzzles and the effectiveness of the story. Save the World is considered by journalists in the video game industry to be the first successful application of episodic gaming, as Telltale Games had managed to release a steady stream content with only small time gaps. Previous attempts by Valve Software with the Half-Life series, Ritual Entertainment with SiN Episodes and Telltale Games themselves with Bone were for a variety of reasons not considered successful implementations of the distribution model. Beyond Time and Space was considered similar to Save the World and reviewers equally praised and faulted the game on this, although overall Beyond Time and Space received a good reception from critics.

The success of the franchise has spawned a selection of merchandise, including posters and prints, items of clothing and sketchbooks of Purcell's work during various stages of the series' development. Collectable statues of the characters have also been created. However, despite references in Purcell's sketchbooks and demand from both fans and journalists alike, plush toys of the characters have not been produced.