The Inventory social club, which has been closed for renovation since May 2019, is once again open for business — and tonight is Poker Night!
This underground speakeasy was established in 1919 in response to an early version of the 18th Amendment that threatened to outlaw games and amusements in addition to alcohol. Over its one hundred years in business, the enigmatic establishment developed a reputation for its mainstay Texas Hold’em tournaments, affectionately referred to by insiders as “the Citizen Kane of poker games.”
Around the turn of the twenty-first century, the invite-only club became a popular destination for video game characters looking to unwind after hours. Telltale Games‘ 2010 release Poker Night at the Inventory granted entry to the masses by pitting players against four Inventory regulars: Max, the hyperkinetic rabbity-thing of Sam & Max fame; Homestar Runner‘s boxing gloved hero Strong Bad; Penny Arcade‘s sardonic headliner Tycho Brahe; and Team Fortress 2‘s fan-favorite mercenary the Heavy.
Today’s grand reopening coincides with Skunkape Games’ release of a new version of Poker Night at the Inventory that has been thoughtfully remastered by a small team of developers involved in creating the original. The game sells for $9.99 USD on Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
ABOUT POKER NIGHT AT THE INVENTORY
This jokey poker game pits iconic characters against the Player (that’s you!) in a high-stakes battle of cards, bets, and trash talk:
- Recently Renovated: The Inventory and its guests look better than ever, with a top-to-bottom visual refresh featuring higher resolution models, a more detailed environment, crisper animation, and new lighting.
- Now with Even More Fiddly Knobs: In addition to tuning how much table talk you want to hear, you can now change the starting buy-in amount to raise or lower the stakes. The remaster also has optional cinematic motion blur and film grain features to increase the filmic ambiance.
- Your Gamepad Works: Poker Night now supports gamepads as well as mouse input, so you can play on your couch or handheld devices.
- Actually Follows the Rules of Poker: The team stripped Poker Night’s original poker code down to parts, scraped the gunk away, and rebuilt it better than new. Poker Night at the Inventory now plays a far more accurate game of poker, and your opponents will make more informed decisions that better fit their play style and personality.
- Collateral Damage: If it’s your lucky night, one of your opponents might be a little light on cash and throw something personal into the pot instead. If you bust them out, whatever they put up goes in your personal trophy case — and, in the Steam version, into your Team Fortress 2 backpack.
Learn more about what’s new in the Poker Night at the Inventory remaster in this Steam post.
