Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - Episode 5: The City That Dares Not Sleep

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. 1UP
    100
    Comedy's a tricky thing to nail in any format, and episodic gaming remains just as elusive for most developers. Against all odds, Telltale gets both right with Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse.
  2. Gaming Nexus
    100
    The City That Dares Not Sleep is the action-packed finale to The Devil's Playhouse, the third season of Sam & Max. With its incredible story, ambitious narrative and jaw-dropping twists, this season finale is sure to leave a mark.
  3. My Gamer
    96
    The only negative aspect about this game is that we are going to have to wait a while for another installment.
  5. Game Revolution
    91
    The City That Dares Not Sleep even makes fun of the ridiculous difficulty of old-school adventure games at one point. Sure, some of the newer crop of the genre have been labeled as a little too easy, but Telltale's efforts is perfectly suitable for veterans and newcomers alike.
  6. Just Adventure
    91
    The City That Dares Not Sleep is certainly the second best entry in Season 3 (The Tomb of Sammun-Mak remains the clear standout).
  7. Eurogamer Italy
    90
    Telltale keeps the best for the end of this season: probably one of its best productions, The City That Dares Not Sleep gives us a brand new perspective on the whole season, offering an adventure where feelings are important. Thumbs up!
  8. Multiplayer.it
    89
    The narration is audacious and amusing, the direction is bright and perfect. No matter how easy are the puzzles.
  9. Cheat Code Central
    88
    Though the game's length might be a bit short for some, I found it to be the perfect slice for my tastes.
  10. Vandal
    85
    This is one of the best chapters Telltale has made in its whole career.
  11. PALGN
    85
    A great ending to Sam & Max's best season yet, and the final reason why any adventure gamer should check this series out.
  12. Gamers.at
    82
    Sam & Max shows again the potential for weird stories, however the game time lacks and the puzzles are far too easy.
  13. Meristation
    80
    The fifth and final chapter of Sam&Max's third season is epic and nostalgic, full of surprises and old friends. The third series of Steve Purcell's characters is over with elegance and with the classic taste of their latest adventure. See you soon, Sam and Max!
  14. AtomicGamer
    80
    For the most part, The City That Dares Not Sleep is entertaining and fun. The only down side is that in comparison to the previous episodes in the series, it feels a bit shallow and short.
  15. Adventure Gamers
    80
    Despite the odd rough story edge and puzzling design choice, The City That Dares Not Sleep is a refreshing, triumphant end to The Devil's Playhouse.
  16. Gameblog.fr
    80
    With its looney storyline, hilarious dialogs, and end credits that should bring tears to the eyes of emotive fanboys, The City That Dares Not Sleep proves once again Telltale's domination on crazy point & click adventure games. A perfect conclusion to a near perfect season, highly recommended.
  17. GamingXP
    80
    If you never played Sam and Max, you should buy the whole season at once, because it is absolutely worth its low price.
  18. PC Gamer
    74
    It's been an excellent year for the Freelance Police; it would be a shame for the series to end here, but it gives a fitting send-off. [Nov 2010, p.79]
    All this publication's reviews
  19. Gamekult
    70
    Quotation forthcoming.
  20. Gamer.no
    70
    An enjoyable season finale for Sam and Max, though it feels a bit too random and isn't quite up there with the rest of the season.
  21. Eurogamer
    60
    With the gameplay mechanics reduced to a largely predictable run of conversations and (in)appropriate use of objects, The City That Dare Not Sleep feels stuck in a rut much of the time.
  22. ZTGD
    40
    As it stands though, they're merely running good franchises through the dirt, like a Godfather III or a Sonic Adventure would.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best PC Game of 2010
97
#97 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 2 out of 19
  1. drakaenae
    Sep 3, 2010
    9
    A great conclusion to the season. The plot is excellent and full of surprises. The graphics and music is excellent just like the otherA great conclusion to the season. The plot is excellent and full of surprises. The graphics and music is excellent just like the other episodes. Its great to see most of the characters from Sam and Max since the first season but I was hoping to see how the office or Bosco's is like with the updated graphics since the office cannot be access in this season.… Full Review »
  2. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    9
    Solid, solid but overlooked series.
    Good ending to the Season :)
    . .
  3. 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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