In 2010, the market for video games saw an unprecedented boom – modern classics such as Red Dead Redemption were brought to the fore, while beloved series such as Fable and God of War received new entries; this incredible surge of new games also brought with it a more experimental twist, with Deadly Premonition and Alan Wake both giving audiences a more cerebral experience. 2010 was also the year Microsoft released the Kinect, but don’t let that spoil the mood.
Hidden within this sudden rise of the weird and wonderful titles were a number of games we view today as diamonds in the rough – VVVVVV, Hydrophobia and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West all became cult classics in their own right, but nestled among these new concepts was something so left of field that for the longest time I was convinced it was a fever dream – Poker Night at the Inventory by Telltale Games. Yes, THAT Telltale Games.
16 years later, this quirky little poker simulator is seeing a new lease of life, being refreshed and brought to modern consoles (as well as being relisted after 7 years away from the Steam market) by Skunkape Games, the team responsible for remastering Telltale’s Sam and Max games, but the question on everybody’s lips is this: why did this game exist in the first place, let alone get a remaster?
Featuring four cultural artefacts in the form of Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, a Red Heavy from Team Fortress 2, Sam from… well, Sam & Max, and Tycho from the hit webcomic Penny Arcade, this game very quickly dates itself. Aside from the cast, there is a mountain of outdated dialogue and interactions referencing less-than-current events (including the 3 years that had passed since Team Fortress 2 was released), but somehow everything still feels fun to be a part of – maybe it’s the nostalgia speaking, but playing Poker Night At The Inventory felt comfortable.
Taking place in a prohibition-era bar and games lounge, the game delights in introducing you to the characters and setting without too much padding, instead letting the dialogue interspersed between rounds of standard poker lead the player – as already mentioned, these dialogue clips are dated and not particularly well mastered but still provide some entertainment, especially for people familiar with the different properties each character is from – as a stalwart Sam & Max fan, I’ll never complain about a game starring everybody’s favourite unhinged lagomorph.
There are a few notable changes to the game since its original incarnation, the biggest of which being the overall upgrades to visuals and gameplay; the games of poker no longer feel clunky, with each round flying by much faster and letting you enjoy more of the core gameplay, particularly with the overhauled poker logic meaning no more tie-breaker faux pas, no more sketchy AI decisions and a mountain of bug fixes. Sadly visuals are something of a downgrade in places, particularly when it comes to Tycho, who has lost the flat cell-shaded look in favour of a more rounded 3D model – other characters have benefited from an improved lighting base, but despite the overall improved look, it does feel like something of an oversight.
PC players in particular will also be pleased to hear of the return of particular in-game items that can be traded for Team Fortress 2 goodies, a noted feature of the original that was both a major selling point on the first release as well as an obscenely niche reward for an already fairly left-field game. As this was reviewed by myself on PlayStation, I couldn’t attest to whether these rewards were worth it, but even so, I haven’t played Team Fortress 2 since Michael Jackson died, so I may not be the best judge anyway – rest assured, if the cosmetics were your only drive to play the original, they make their return in this release too.
There is very little of substance I can say about Poker Night At The Inventory that hasn’t been said before when Telltale Games first released it – as a poker simulator it is lacking, albeit significantly improved since the original release. Outside of this, the entertaining conversations between recognisable characters can easily fall on deaf ears if you haven’t experienced them all at their prime, the game itself isn’t particularly long (although if you can look past the gameplay flaws, it offers reasonable replayability), and despite their best intentions, the remastered graphics and broader updates don’t make up for the fact that the game is something of a relic from an unusual era.
In 2010, the market for video games gave us an incredible array of cult classics and modern staples – sadly, Poker Night At The Inventory is neither of these, appealing largely just to the few people such as myself who played the original – not for its rewards in the digital market of a separate game, but for the thrill of playing a mediocre poker simulator surrounded by characters we used to know well. Once again I felt comfortable, like I was in a home away from home (at home on my sofa), but this narrow market appeal only helps the game shine when viewed through rose-tinted glasses.
