Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain!

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. My Gamer
    96
    For anyone that is still wondering if they should spend the money on Season 3, they should. Telltale has managed to craft something so great that anyone who has a PC should pick it up. It is a very rare for a string of episodic releases to be this good.
  2. GameCritics
    95
    They Stole Max's Brain! accentuates Sam's own special powers. While Max was away, I came to appreciate Sam on a whole new level.
  3. PC Zone UK
    90
    It has an amusing script, good puzzles and wonderful voice-acting. [Sept 2010, p.88]
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  5. PALGN
    85
    They Stole Max's Brain! is another superb episode, with a great twist.
  6. Gamervision
    85
    It's not a drastic improvement over the last game, but considering how high-quality the season has been so far, I doubt anyone is going to complain.
  7. Gamers.at
    82
    Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 3 is both great fun and sometimes depressingly hard because of the wacky puzzles. However Episode 3 can't quite live up to the brilliant Episode 2.
  8. PC Gamer UK
    81
    The puzzles are excellent. [Sept 2010, p.105]
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  9. Meristation
    80
    This new chapter is a great tribute to noir films and also has a great development of the story and great puzzles. A five-hours-long perfect mix that won't disappoint Sam and Max die-hard fans.
  10. Gamer.no
    80
    Highly enjoyable episode. It starts off with a great film noir-style sequence, and delivers plenty of varied situations and great laughs. The Freelance Police are in top form.
  11. PC PowerPlay
    80
    Same great quality, plus enough subtle tweaks to shake things up for the better. [Aug 2010, p.61]
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  12. Cheat Code Central
    76
    Despite the episode's fantastic opening, They Stole Max's Brain! is a good, but not great, Sam & Max adventure. It's a shame there aren't any extras to make you play through again.
  13. PC Format
    76
    The most interesting part of the episode is how it plays with the characters. [Sept 2010, p.104]
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  14. Just Adventure
    75
    But, as usual, it's all expertly crafted and written and still highly amusing.
  15. SpazioGames
    75
    The lastborn from Telltale is once again a great product. The game is witty, hilarious and has a great story, if you loved the previous chapters you'll love this one too. Unfortunately it's not as original as The Tomb of Sammun Mak, especially in the puzzle department. Get the whole series, you won't be disappointed.
  16. InsideGamer.nl
    75
    Sam & Max: They Stole Max's Brain! contains some smart puzzles and a strong story, but slightly disappoints after the great Sam & Max: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak. The game is quite short, but the predictable cliffhanger still leaves you wanting more.
  17. Gaming Nexus
    75
    Sam & Max return in the darkest, angriest episode yet! Even if it's not as strong as last month's outing, They Stole Max's Brain is well worth your time.

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best PC Game of 2010

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    8
    Solid! And still manages to be new and innovative! . . . . .
  2. metacriticFAN
    Jun 5, 2014
    9
    [Sam&Max Season 3 - SteamPC - 9/10] Point and click adventure goodness with Detectives Sam and Max using new twists. The writers succeeded in[Sam&Max Season 3 - SteamPC - 9/10] Point and click adventure goodness with Detectives Sam and Max using new twists. The writers succeeded in creating more interesting puzzles and interesting and successful story mechanics - Simultaneous Multiple Universes - Present Past and Future coexisting in your Brain - and to top it all off they worked in some special powers for Max. The unusual irreverent humor is Present and In Your Face. Add to Fart. Bingo.

    [Released 2010 and played four years later]
    [DRM] Steam only, thank goodness there are no GamesForWindowsLive on this title, nor Uplay, nor Origin, nor RockstarSocialClub, I did not have to create an alternative account.

    [MyPC 2011] i7-2600K 3.4GHz / ASUS Z68 ProGen3 / 8G RAM / Radeon 6870 / W7 PRO SP1 / Samsung 275T @1920x1200 / Logitech G15 / Kensington ExpertMouse / Sennheiser HD 600

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