It’s 2010. I’m sat in my pajamas, eating Doritos’, and booting up the quirky new title ‘Poker Night At The Inventory‘ from one of my favourite developers, Telltale Games.

It’s 2026. I’m sat in my pajamas, eating Doritos’, and booting up the quirky old title ‘Poker Night At The Inventory’, originally from one of my favorite developers, but remastered and brought back to life by Skunkape Games. As the old French aphorism says: “The more things change, the more they stay the same”.

Redeal The Hand

This next few paragraphs are for those of you who played the original game all those years ago; developers Skunkape have done a great job with the re-release of Poker Night At The Inventory. It’ll play exactly how you remember it through rose tinted glasses, which is an achievement in itself. If you enjoyed this back in 2010 before it was delisted, you’ll enjoy this in 2026.

There’s new content and a few tweaks to the AI decision making, but nothing here is revolutionary that changes the core game. This new content comes in the form of unlockable visual changes, rewarded for winning games. Playing card designs centred around the characters as well as table designs (with some even changing the costumes of the characters) add a bit of variety to the game, but they’re all surface deep. They have the chance to keep you coming back, just to uncover them all, but differing card designs were never the hook for Poker Night. It was always the playful interactions between 4 juxtaposing characters and a chilled poker experience; all of that is present and correct in the 2026 release.

Four of A Kind

Not a returning player? Still with us? The rest of this Poker Night At The Inventory review is for you. As the title of the game might suggest, this game is a poker sim. Set inside a quirky social club called The Inventory, you’ll travel down to a table that is surrounded by some hopefully familiar faces.

In the left most seat is the hyperactive, violent-yet-strangely-loveable “rabbit-thingy” Max, half of the Freelance Police. Alongside his pal Sam, Max is a cultural icon bristling with wit and an occasional outburst of murderous rage. Sat to Sam’s right is Strong Bad, one of the stars of the Homestar Runner web series. Bulging with self confidence and bravado, this luchador mask wearing charmer will offer little digs at your play style. Probably the most recognisable in 2026, the next character sitting down to play is the Heavy from Team Fortress 2. Brusque and as full of back-handed complements as he is hatred for the Blue Team, Heavy is the most likely player to slap the table after receiving a crap hand. Lastly, but far from the least, is Tycho, the dry and droll co-lead character of the long-running video game webcomic Penny Arcade. Regular dropping nerdy nuggets, he’s the most competent player you’ll be facing off against, but also the most cautious.

Poker Night At The Inventory is framed like a night off work for these characters, all gathering at a club to play some cards. While playing poker is the core loop of the game, where this game differentiates itself from all the other poker games out there is with the banter around the table. If you’ve ever wanted to hear emotional childhood moments from TF2’s Heavy while being quizzed by a manic rabbit, there’s that and a whole lot more to listen too here. If you’re only here for the poker, you can dial this down, but it’s the unique hook that has the near constant ability to make you smile and even chuckle. This is especially true if you’re a fan of these characters.

Under The Gun

While listening to these characters natter to one another is fun and all, beating them at poker is why you’re really here. Texas Hold’em is the variation played here and is the only option – No Omaha or five-card draw for those that prefer those variants. You can however change buy-in’s to shorten or elongate games.

Each character around the table plays in their own way, and impressively, it’s tailored to their personality. Max, being the unpredictable force of nature that he is, might bet you along right through to the river with nothing but a high card. When he hits a winning hand, you might not see it coming until you’re handing him your chips. Strong Bad has a tendency to bluff big, but will fold like a freshly ironed shirt if you check-raise him. Tycho folds more hands than he plays, and will normally only bet on a potentially winning hand. The AI for these characters has been improved in the 2026 release of Poker Night. As you’re listening to these characters interact with one another, you’ll also be learning how they each play, and how best to beat them.

Winning a usual game will reward you with the aforementioned cosmetic items, but occasionally, the cast of Poker Night will find themselves a little short of the buy-in, and offer up a personal item as collateral instead. During these matches, if you eliminate the character that offered up their belongings, you’ll win it as a collectable. This adds another dimension to these games; sure, the aim is still to win, but you’ll also want to be competitive in hands in which these characters are involved. If someone else takes them out, you’ve lost the chance to win their prized possession, like Heavy’s mini-gun, until next they offer it up.

Big Slick

All of this is presented with chilled vibes, uncomplicated visuals and a generally pleasant format. Lounge music accompanies the purposefully paced game play, filling an evening before you’ve realised. After a time however, you might grow bored with the quips and conversations between the cast here. While there’s plenty to experience, there’s not an unlimited number of dialogue to hear. Listening to Strong Bad berate you for checking by saying “Watch out everyone – Huge check” only has so much milage on it before it starts to grate. While you can make the cast less chatty, it’s impossible to turn it off entirely. If you aim to unlock everything Poker Night has to offer, which will probably between 10-12 hours dependant on your poker prowess, you might be reaching for the volume button.

Poker Night At The Inventory runs well on PS4, for the most part. There have been a few times when the game has hung up, delaying proceedings between rounds of betting. It’s only for a few seconds, but when you’re anxious to hit that flush, it can feel like an age. There’s also a bit of an issue with the cards in Tycho’s hand. Every so often, if you’re paying attention, you’ll see the cards start to float away from his digits when he’s moving and randomly flip in the air. While that might sound like you’re able to cheat, you’ll also see the cards in his hand randomly changing. You won’t gain an advantage because of this, but it is funny nonetheless.

The biggest concern that I can see with Poker Night, at least for new players, is the pertinence of the cast in 2026. While it pains me to say it at the over-ripe age of 40, Max, Strong Bad and Tycho, while still popular in certain circles nowadays, were far more relevant in 2010. For existing fans of these characters who’ve not picked up this game, you’ll get a lot out of it. I wouldn’t however describe Poker Night as a good introduction to the humour and tone of Sam & Max, Homestar Runner or Penny Arcade. This game still has the potential to get a laugh out of you, even if you don’t know your Tycho from your Gabe, but the fan service Poker Night lays out might be lost on you.

Back in 2010, Poker Night At The Inventory was an unusual curio. The same applies for this polished re-release in 2026. If you fall within that overlapping section of the Venn diagram between ‘people who like poker’ vs ‘people who like witty banter delivered by fictional media icons from the 2000’s’, then this is an easy recommendation. For everyone else? Your enjoyment will vary.

Poker Night At The Inventory is available now on PS4 (review platform), PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Developer: Skunkape Games
Publisher: Skunkape Games

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we purchased a copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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