The episode begins with one of the most classic horror movie scenes, as Sam, Max and the Stinkys work together to board up Stinky's Diner. The camera wobbles around, barely managing to keep up with the characters as they pass wood and nails to each other, start to freak out about the situation and ready their shotguns for the oncoming zombie apocalypse. However, that's not entirely accurate - they aren't preparing to shoot out the brains of an army of zombies, but of an army of cloned Sams that are laying siege to the city. What do they want? Who's controlling them? And is the correct term for them 'Samulacra' or 'Dogglegangers'? These are all questions answered in the well-told narrative, that while short on scares, advances the overall narrative of the season in an tense and exciting fashion. Lovecraft fans will certainly dig the twists on offer in this episode, and while initially we were sceptical about the episode's reveal of the ultimate string-puller, the decision did end up making quite an epic finale.
A moment Stinky will likely never top.
It's pretty much a certainty that those reading this review will have already played through the series up until this point, so we won't bother going into the basic gameplay mechanics which remain unchanged from earlier episodes. And if you are new to the series and are thinking about starting with Beyond the Alley of the Dolls, we'd advise against it, as it builds upon a lot of characters, events and references from the whole season up until this point. While the previous two episodes have introduced new mechanics, such as the time jumping of The Tomb of Sammun-Mak and the interrogation sequences from They Stole Max's Brain!, this episode is content to fall back to the more standard adventure gameplay (although one short interrogation sequence does appear).
Rather than introducing another new mechanic, Beyond the Alley of the Dolls combines much of what you've seen before in the season. For the first time, you'll have all of the Toys of Power to use, rather than just one or two. This means that Max can use his psychic powers not only to read minds, but to shapeshift, teleport, see the future and throw his voice, and all of these abilities are used in the puzzles on offer in this episode. However, while it's nice to finally have access to all of these powers, you will find much of your time spent in a more classic-adventure fashion of collecting items and figuring out just how they pertain to your situation. Some of the puzzles rely on trial and error, and one sees you change the state of Sam in a certain way that for the longest time seems completely irrelevant. That said, it's still a whole lot more inventive and cohesive than previous Sam & Max seasons, but falls a bit short of the last two episodic entries.
"Where do you keep that gun, Max?" "That's none of your damn business."
Beyond the Alley of the Dolls continues the season's fine tradition of stylish graphical design, with the previously mentioned attention to detail for many of the horror genre tropes, such as the camerawork, lighting and classic moments. While the game does throw out some fairly standard looking dark and dingy streets and rooms, there are also some larger, more epic-looking locations both below and above ground that are quite surprising for an episodic title. The voice acting is great. It's always great. If it's not, we'll make a note of it, but the actors all have a flair for comedy and handle some very convoluted and ridiculous sentences with aplomb.
As the third season of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse approaches its end, it remains the standout of Telltale's adaptations of the comic book characters. If you have an affinity for the characters, the classic Sam & Max Hit the Road adventure game, or the parody of several classic movie genres and Lovecraftian horror, then it really is worth picking up the entire season. Beyond the Alley of the Dolls provides another large piece of the plot's puzzle, and while the gameplay may not have too much new to offer, the episode does have a lot of laughs.
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