Unconventional, hilarious, and full of mayhem – Sam & Max: Hit the Road is a trip worth taking
I wanted to review something vaguely Easter-adjacent, maybe a game with a rabbit in it, or eggs, or at the very least some springtime nonsense. But once I actually started thinking about it, I realized the pickings were surprisingly slim. Yoshi’s Island briefly popped into my head, purely for all the egg-throwing. And while I’m aware the Raving Rabbids games exist, I’ve never meaningfully played any of them – unless you count squinting at a YouTube thumbnail and then deciding I value my time. Eventually, I landed on Sam & Max: Hit the Road – a graphic adventure game starring a 6 foot tall suit-wearing dog and a very unhinged rabbit. It’s not Easter-themed, but it does feature a rabbit, a lot of strange Americana, and enough weirdness to make up for the lack of chocolate eggs. Close enough.
Sam & Max: Hit the Road is a LucasArts point-and-click adventure game released in 1993, back when CD-ROMs were still exotic and LucasArts was on a roll with genre-defining weirdness. Based on the comic series by Steve Purcell, it follows a freelance police duo – Sam, a laid-back, trenchcoat-wearing dog, and Max, a hyperactive “rabbit-thing” with violent tendencies, as they crisscross the United States in search of a stolen bigfoot from a local carnival.
The gameplay sticks to the classic LucasArts formula: point, click, laugh, repeat. You guide Sam and Max across a twisted version of the United States in their trusty 1960s DeSoto Adventurer – an old muscle car with tailfins and absolutely zero regard for road safety. You’ll travel from one offbeat roadside attraction to another, chatting with an eclectic cast of characters and solving puzzles that range from clever to borderline sadistic. There’s no dying and no real consequence for clicking on absolutely everything, which is good, because you’ll probably want to. It’s super refreshing because you can’t get stuck either – the game encourages you to get weird without fear of screwing up. The interface is simple, the pacing snappy, the jazzy-upbeat soundtrack fits the tone perfectly and the humor is unapologetically sharp.
Every quirky character you meet on this wild cross-country adventure has something hilarious to say, from eccentric carnival barkers to grumpy truckers and downright bizarre villains. Each encounter feels like a mini-comedy show, with dialogue so sharp and unexpected that you can’t help but stop and enjoy every offbeat exchange. It’s a game where even the most random interactions are a chance for humor, making every conversation memorable.
The dialogue is razor-sharp, packed with dry humor and surreal banter that still lands decades later. Sam plays the deadpan straight man while Max is pure chaos in a rabbit suit, and somehow, that dynamic never gets old. With these two, it’s less about solving crimes and more about getting results, even if it means leaving a trail of mayhem behind. Max causes unpredictable shenanigans while Sam pretends to be the voice-of-reason – and together they bumble through using whatever absurd tactic pops into their heads – like posing as a rock band to infiltrate some suspicious event. One of the funniest aspects of these two is their complete indifference toward the law – when it comes to investigations, rules are more like suggestions, and chaos is just part of the process.
It’s effortlessly hilarious, unapologetically oddball, and oozes personality from every pixel. Sam & Max: Hit the Road didn’t just ride the wave of 90s adventure games – it left claw marks on it. It’s a game that doesn’t just break the rules – it revels in them. Whether you’re experiencing it for the first time or revisiting it years later, it’s a perfect reminder that sometimes, the best way to solve a case is to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the madness.
Never been traipsing before,
Mikhail
Verdict: 9/10