Sam & Max Save the World A dog, a rabbity-thing, six cases

Sam is a six-foot canine detective with a love of justice. Max is a hyperkinetic rabbity-thing with a taste for mayhem. Together they call themselves the Freelance Police, and the Commissioner keeps calling with cases only they could bungle their way through.

The writing carries the whole thing. You click through conversations that double as comedy routines, and the jokes come from the characters themselves: Sam plays it straight while Max suggests the least helpful option in every situation. One recurring tell for the mystery is the "spinny thing" hypnotized people do with their eyes, which is exactly as silly as it sounds. It is genuinely funny, and the humor is the core of the game, not a garnish.

This is Telltale's first episodic season from 2006, rebuilt by a small team of original developers with the blessing of series creator Steve Purcell. The characters and locations have been recreated to sit closer to his art style, with new lighting that makes a real difference: the office shifts from day to night across an episode, and warm and cold color play off each other throughout.

There are five new musical tracks on top of the reworked sound, widescreen and gamepad support, and small nods to the later seasons for longtime fans.

The case starts small: former child stars running amok in the street. Then the miscreants keep turning up hypnotized, and a routine vandalism complaint balloons into a conspiracy involving the media, the mafia, the government, the internet and, eventually, the bright side of the moon.

Detective work here means talking to everyone, collecting an odd assortment of inventory items and figuring out how a teddy bear, a phone book and Max's total lack of conscience fit together. Neighbors Sybil Pandemik, Bosco and Jimmy Two-Teeth each hold a piece of the puzzle. Across six episodes the mystery unfolds one absurd lead at a time, and cracking it feels earned rather than handed to you.