• Platform: PC (reviewed), Mac
• Time Played: Appx 3hrs
• Achievements (12/20)
• Recommended? Y
• Status: Delisted

Poker Night at the Inventory is a relic of a bygone era; made at the cusp of Telltale’s massive success in the 2010s, Poker Night showcases both a refinement of previously explored game ideas while also fleshing out characters they’ve had a swing at in the past. Comprised of characters notable for those in their late twenties to thirties, Poker Night helms many quips and jabs coming from iconic gaming/internet characters of the early internet era. Aside from Team Fortress 2’s Heavy, the characters Sam (of Sam & Max), Strong Bad (of Homestar Runner), and Tycho (the stand-in of Penny Arcade writer/co-founder Jerry Holkins) are only going to be recognizable to either the chronically online or those who grew up under a certain period of the “wild west internet.”

Besides the mechanics of the Texas Hold’em version of Poker featured in Poker Night, there isn’t much to go on about. If you’ve played Texas Hold’em before, you know what to expect on a mechanical level; the real joy of the game comes from the interactions of the main cast. The mileage of said character interactions will vary on your personal investment in said franchises. Though holding a passing knowledge of Homestar Runner and Penny Arcade, it was still easy to be entertained in what Tycho and Strong Bad had to say (especially to each other), though it’s obvious when show/comic references begin flying as they passed over my head. While it makes sense to include Team Fortress 2’s Heavy, as well as Sam and Strong Bad considering their previous Telltale adaptations, Tycho stands out as a strange, almost “sore thumb” in the cast. Be it a case of “not aging very well,” or Tycho’s character is supposed to be some freak paralleling Jerry Holkins’ real-life personality, he occasionally comes off as strange and sometimes creepy. Though the line may be harder to come across in casual play, Tycho can have occasional lines about bestiality or boast with a superiority complex of sorts that just gets old after a bit of time. Tycho is ultimately valued as Strong Bad’s primary witty counterpart, yet those effective and often comedic efforts are nearly rendered mute when considering the creepy dialog he sometimes mutters.

Even considering Tycho’s weirder voice lines, every character in Poker Night has something to offer on a comedic angle. The crossover of different personalities is what ultimately sets Poker Night apart from Telltale’s previous Poker-related effort: Telltale Texas Hold’em. One only needs to look at the product page on Steam or even a bit of extended gameplay footage online to get the gist of what that game is offering: a bland, yet fine Poker experience with some attempt at humor thrown in. Even if you’re only mildly invested in the IPs featured in Poker Night, the writing, vocal delivery, and even pace of the game looks to be an overall step up. Disregarding any knowledge of the intellectual properties in Poker Night, it’s far more entertaining on paper to be playing poker with a basement-dwelling gamer, a psycho-cop rabbit, an evil wrestler with a superiority complex, and a sandwich-loving, machine-gun-touting Slavic man than some wax puppets ripped out of early 00s PC games.

Poker Night at the Inventory’s strength solely relies on its cast and their interactions. By the time we hit 2010, it shouldn’t be too complicated to get the basics on Poker put into a game you wanted to have it featured in. Having been a mini-game both in title prior and since Poker Night’s release, it’s the aesthetic flourishes that make the game. A “hard” difficulty is made available for those potentially wanting opponents who won’t go “all in” on garbage cards, or don’t bluff as much in general. It’s hard to gauge if that truly makes the game “harder” or not, but it did feel more “natural” then the sometimes L.A. Noire-level reaction to hands that made cheesing the AI a bit easier on normal difficulty.

The only other incentive to continue playing Poker Night once you’ve ran the course of recorded dialog is the aesthetic flourishes gained via unlocks. Sadly, due to the delisting of the game on Steam, it appears the Team Fortress 2 unlockable items/weapons are not achievable through the Steam achievement unlocks for playing the hand that eliminates certain opponents wagering iconic items. Aside from old, unobtainable items for other games, Poker Night only offers new tables and card decks as unlockables for continued play. Unless you have a special fondness for the featured characters of this first Poker Night, or are achievement hunting, it’s hard to see why one would return to the “first entry” of this series unless you’re the curious-type like myself. While Poker Night at the Inventory is a good time, there are surely better Poker alternatives out there to satiate the desire to play some cards if you sadly did not acquire either entry in the series before their delisting.