What do Team Fortress 2, Sam & Max, Homestar Runner, and PAX Co-founder Jerry Holkins have in common with each other? Well, nothing really. But they all have characters featured in a hidden little gem of a game called Poker Night at The Inventory, which came out all the way back in 2010. Unfortunately, it’s no longer available to purchase, as it was removed from stores in 2019. But if your interest is piqued by the bizarre mashup described above, then you’re in luck, because Developer Skunkape announced today that they are remastering the game, and it’s coming March 5th.
Perhaps Skunkape doesn’t ring a bell–but Telltale Games probably does. The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Tales from The Borderlands were produced under the latter developer, but the studio’s lifetime was cut short by financial troubles that led to its shutdown in 2018. However, its legacy lives on through Skunkape Games, which is composed of former Telltale employees. And so far, their biggest projects have been in-depth remasters of the Sam & Max adventure games they made with the “blessing” of Steve Purcell, the progenitor of the franchise. Sam & Max was originally a comic series started in the late 80s, and after adaptation to an animated TV show and the games, the rabbit-like character of Sam has now found himself in the limelight once more with the Poker Night remaster.
The premise of Poker Night at The Inventory comes off as something one would think of during the state of far-out thinking you only get with sleep deprivation or while high: what if you could sit in on a fan fiction character meetup inspired by the internet culture of the aughts and everyone decided to play poker with each other? How would The Heavy from Team Fortress 2 talk to Jerry Holkin’s webcomic persona Tycho Brahe after losing the entirety of his money? While you sneakily go all in on just a pair of 2’s, what new insult would Sam come up with for Strong Bad? Wouldn’t that be fun? Well, clearly, it was a beloved enough experience to warrant a remaster. Which looks to come with some new content on top of the old; including new unlockables, art, and a loot system that ties in with Team Fortress 2 cosmetics. The game is set to release on Steam again, and also PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, which will be the first time it’s been on console. Hopefully, if it does well, we’ll also eventually get a remaster of Poker Night 2.