Skunkape Games have censored several jokes in Sam & Max Save the World, and recast a voice actor for not sharing the race of their character.
A remaster of Telltale Games’ Sam & Max Season One, the game launched December 2nd on Windows PC (via GOG, and Steam), and Nintendo Switch. Soon after, fans noticed several changes [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
These changes included censorship to jokes and references that some may find offensive. Noted changes include the following (Editor’s Note: Some of the text below may be considered spoilers):
- Altering the fake name a character goes under when disguised as an exaggerated stereotype of a Frenchman.
- Altering a joke about tear gas being able to clear out a room full of “militant college students,” now no longer being a joke.
- Removing a joke about a a character having a sex change.
- Removing mention of skinheads in a joke.
- Altering a licence plate that alluded to a character being a drug dealer (now implying they are an arms dealer).
- Removing mention of “special needs children” in a joke.
- Altering a joke where a character suggests one of the avatars people can use on the internet include a “hot young fifteen-year- old girl curious about the adult world and willing to experiment.”
- Characters no longer using the slang “foo'”– typically associated with black and African American subcultures and stereotypes.
Fans also noticed the voice actor for Bosco had changed. You can find the comparison to the original and new voice actors below.
While the original was voiced by Joey Camen (Morrison and Goliath in Devil May Cry 5), he is now voiced by Ogie Banks (Vulture in the Spider-Man [2017] cartoon, Luke Cage in several cartoons and games, and Buddy in Final Fantasy X-2).
While unconfirmed, it could be possible that this was due to recent outcry over TV series such as The Simpsons having white voice actors and actresses portraying non-white characters. Camen is white, while Banks is African American. Camen has kept his role as Jimmy Two-Teeth (a rat) in the game.
Around December 4th, it was discovered Skunkape Games’ FAQ on the game had been updated to include new information regarding the censorship. While they deny they censored “a ton of jokes,” Skunkape Games admit to “small tweaks” to a few jokes that they felt “uncomfortable including in a game in 2020.”
Skunkape Games go further, stating the changes were so minimal that “we forgot all about them when we first posted this FAQ!” and their belief that the changes do not alter the game’s experience. You can find that section of the FAQ below.
“But wait, I read online that you censored a ton of jokes?!
Nope, not true. We did make small tweaks to a few jokes that we were uncomfortable including in a game in 2020. (These changes were so minimal that we forgot all about them when we first posted this FAQ!) These don’t change the game experience and we feel strongly that it was the right thing to do. Unless you go looking for them, you probably won’t even notice.”
Prior to this and the game’s launch, a developer for the game- going by Fov- elaborated on the then current FAQ on Steam. They explained to users that (based on other text in the FAQ), some camera angles and comedic timing had been altered to make “jokes land better,” along with “added polish” for the overall experience.
Replying to user Tom S. Fox on November 21st (again, prior to the game’s launch), Fov stated the game would not have any altered lines. Tom S. Fox then stated they would pre-order the game.
This post would be edited on December 3rd, stating “Turns out a few lines were changed (I didn’t know that when I made this post). I’m sorry for any confusion that caused.” Once users began to discover the censorship, they became disappointed and outraged [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, et al.] with Tom S. Fox stating “And that may have been the last time I ever bought something from you.”
While a few stated they were fine with the changes, many said they felt they had been lied to. Some took this further, stating Skunkape Games had lied and used false advertising; hiding any information about censorship prior to the game’s launch. Several users also stated they had refunded the game.
Image: Games Press
