Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside

Overview

Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When it's Dark Outside is a children's adventure game developed by Humongous Entertainment. Released on October 4, 1996, Pajama Sam received numerous awards and for the time was a hit among the younger audience. Pajama Sam featured a kid friendly version of the SCUMM engine that made the game very accessible for younger players.

Plot

Sam, a life long fan of Pajama Man scared to sleep because of the monster in his closet. He decides to vanquish this foe and after donning his mask he becomes Pajama Sam! Sam ventures into the closet with his trusty flashlight, collectable Pajama Man lunchbox, and his mask. Unfortunately for Sam upon entering his closet he falls into the Land of Darkness. Seemingly unfazed he sets off to Darkness' house but before he can reach the dwelling of his dreaded foe he is captured by a host of trees who quickly relieve him of his lunchbox, mask, and flashlight. After escaping their trap Sam finds that without his trusty items he can in no way vanquish Darkness. So Sam decides to set off into the Land of Darkness and retrieve his equipment so that he may finish his quest.

Gameplay/Paths

Pajama Sam, like many Humongous Entertainment games, changes everytime it is played. While the objective remains the same, to find your superhero gear and vanquish Darkness, the location of the items you need to collect changes. This means that in every game different items will need to be collected, different people or things may need to be interacted with, and new characters that wouldn't otherwise make appearance are shown.

Flashlight

• The flashlight may be located in a section of the mine that is otherwise unaccessable. In order to retrieve the flashlight Sam must find a character capable ofopening the closed mine track. After getting through the player will be required to backtrack in order to find a gear needed for the release mechanism leading to the flashlight.
• In other playthroughs the flashlight may be located in a shed near the river. In order to open the door a door knob will need to collected and an item that will unrust the hinges. The flashlight is located inside on a top shelf.

Lunchbox

• Many times the lunchbox will be located next to the wishing well. Unfortunately the apparent path to the well is block by an immovable thorn bush. In order to retrieve the lunchbox Sam will need to go up through the wishing well. This requires Sam to find a way to get Otto up the rapids located in the cave further down the river.
• In other playthroughs the lunchbox will be located at the bottom of the river, too far down for Sam to reach. The lunchbox is made of metal so Sam will have to find a magnet capable of pulling the lunchbox out of the river.

Mask

• Usually the mask will be found on Carrot who will only give it up in exchange for assistance in the carrot rebellion. In order to help Carrot Sam will have to provide him with transportation and means of getting into the carrot prison, which is more commonly known as a refridgerator.
• In other instances the mask will located in the dancing furniture room. While the mask is seemingly free while the furniture is dancing it is later trapped when Sam enters and the furniture suddenly desists into its' original nonfunky form. For Sam to get his mask back he will have to travel deep into Darkness' house to find a secret lab with the means of making him invisible.

Minigames

Sock Collecting

Pajama Sam featured a sidequest that involved picking up all of Sam's lost socks. If all twenty are collected during the game the player is treated to slightly different dialogue at the end of the game.

Cheese and Crackers

Cheese and Crackers is an aptly named version of Tic Tac Toe played with cheese and crackers. Run by a toaster in the forest near the river the game has no real significance to the storyline. Three different boards are available for play ranging from the basic three by three board to two significantly larger boards. If Sam plays cheese and crackers during the game the dialogue during the ending sequence changes slightly.

Wii Port

A Wii port, along with Freddi Fish and Spy Fox, was announced by Humongous in March of 2008. It was released the same year on August 26th.