Return to Monkey Island

Return to Monkey Island is a modernization of a classic adventure game series from the golden age of the genre. If you're not at all familiar with Guybrush Threepwood at this point, there's a big question whether this entry in the series is worth it as your first foray, or whether it is only for those with rose-tinted glasses and a longing of nostalgia for days bygone. At its core, it's Monkey Island, but in a modern dressing. Complete with all the old silly humor and gags of old, alongside somewhat dated puzzles seen in the other games in the series. At some point through the first parts of the game, it all feels familiar, and well presented, but then you start to have that nagging doubt, is this really just nostalgia bait or will it carry itself all the way to the finale. Looking back and reflecting after the credit roll, there were a wave of nostalgia carrying me forward until the wave crashed against the rocks of the ending act. And there in lies a core of the problematics around Return to Monkey Island, you're supposed to remember many of the old jokes from the previous games, from 30 years ago, as they have become "inside jokes" now or just references to the old games. Which also means for fans of the genre itself, but some not familiar with the series, then this game isn't for them. Because as far as the puzzles goes it's rather bland. Thankfully there's a hint book available in game that you can utilize at will. Because there's the classical illogical nonsense seeping in to the puzzle design here from the days of old. There's also a fair few non-progression achievements and things you can do which isn't necessary to drive the story forward, some easily missable and more so illogical and there just for the sake of being there. I was somewhat positively inclined towards the game, right up until the final fifth act, which on top of being incredibly short and feeling rushed, throws tedium at you via the repeated back and forth, having to pick up the items you literally just used to solve the prior puzzles. It also throws a classical code wheel at you. After that it just becomes weird and the game just abruptly ends, cue credit roll. It's also entirely unresolved. There's a moment of reflection that you may be making immoral choices, implying some sort of consequence resulting from them but it went nowhere. Lechuck vanishes and what was the secret of Monkey Island? Supposedly the journey and the experience were the treasure all along. It's supposedly a "meta" ending. It's also the ending Ron Gilbert is on record as saying that he wanted originally for the first game in the series, but that he was talked out of by Dave Grossman and Tim Schaefer. Perhaps Ron harbors some resentment about not being able to have his original ending, so now he does. Unfortunately no one talked him out of it this time. Rob Gilbert also admitted he's a fan of David Lynch, of Twin Peaks fame. I really wish developers would stop longing for it, because it's a product of it's time that doesn't warrant repeating for a modern audience. At the end Guybrush ends up sitting on a bench starting out at the player, the whole thing feels like the narrative designers wants us to reminisce about nostalgia and looking back and reflecting on the journey they themselves have been on. This is further hammered through by the letter Ron Gilbert left in the scrap book. But all it does it just make it seem like Guybrush has dementia. Throughout the game there's a quest for Guybrush to become a better storyteller, which ends up being another meta comment by the designers, as they themselves failed to tell a compelling narrative and end it properly. Towards the end of the game, the NPC Flambe's turns up and warns you about pursuing the secret of monkey island further, this is another meta comment for you to uninstall the game and forget about the ending. The games of old we remember with reverence and rose-tinted glasses, probably shouldn't be revisited or reinterpreted, least we want the illusion of nostalgia to shatter. Nostalgia is the only thing holding this ship together. How apt that Guybrush's own ship is in shambles. Given the lack of middle of the road review ratings on Steam, this could have been a 3/5, but the ending sours it too much so it's a thumbs down not recommended.

Looks nice, but keeps referencing the older games so much that it just feels like a bloated tribute. The story and ending are pretty weak.

Strange feelings about this one...Who is the audience for this? The grown-up who played these kind of games in his youth or a 9 year old? Puzzles are too easy, story is too childish in some parts, and the end felt abrupt and very strange: Was there some sort of message along the lines of "Ok this was it, now move on..." ?

Despite buying it on sale and expecting disappointment, it still managed to disappoint me even further. The only reason to play it is if you (like me) feel like you just really need to complete the series. It seems to be intended as a nostalgia trip, but if you enjoyed the quirky puzzles and many options of the old games, then this game is going to be very disappointing in that aspect for the majority of it. Also not a fan of the "someone is telling a story to a kid" framing, but that's more personal taste. The ending was very abrupt - maybe there's a way to get a more interesting one but I can't even be bothered.

I have played every Monkey Island and have been a fan since back in the DOS days on windows 93. I was 13. I played the original Monkey Island along with Kings Quest, Quest for glory, stuff like that. I was thrown off by the animation of this new game at first, but it grew on me since the story was so good. I really enjoyed the game and will be playing it again. I want to pick different responses from Guybrush in talk sequences.

Steam really needs a neutral option. I loved the first two games, and 3 had its own charm and introduced us to dominic armato, the voice of guybrush and what I now associate in my head with the character. the later games in the series (included the much maligned escape) were less memorable and 'play through once and never again' kind of entries. this falls in the latter camp. as others have alluded to, the game is pretty solid but falls apart towards the end and last act. there's a lot of nostalgia being milked throughout this game, and while some of it is welcome, plenty of it could've just been skipped because a lot of the jokes and moments fall flat [spoiler](albeit I personally wanted more interaction/lines with murray!)[/spoiler] they make a lot of meta jokes about some of the older games and about their bad endings and then leave a bad ending at the end of this. after you're done with the game [spoiler] go back to the scrapbook and check out the developer's note, which I think helps ease the pain of the bad ending.[/spoiler] most of the early puzzles were pretty easy (even on hard mode) but some of the worst game design things that ron talked about on grumpy gamer are here, including some of the inane map puzzles in twisty areas (I think there were 3-4 in this game?) where I even ran into a glitch and had to brute force it because the map didn't match the landscape. there's a TON of backtracking and moments where you know what you need to do but dread having to go back 6-7 screens to the location you need to reach because you know the next part of the puzzle which is unfortunate. the hint system is very welcome here for the late-game puzzles because some of them were annoying. the voice acting is great; the music was less memorable this time, and the new variants on old themes was a little lacking. the remasters of 1 & 2 had terrific bombast and power in their production; this game everything felt a little dulled and muted which is a shame, since some of these melodies and themes are ones that hit hard typically, but these 'reduxes' are just kinda flat. okay, this is getting long. I do still recommend playing this if you're as huge a fan as I am of the series, but temper expectations [spoiler] (hell, the game tells you exactly this as you get to the end) [/spoiler] and you may just dig it. I'm gonna go back to playing the old games and remasters because they are superior in almost every way to this entry.

The game's humor is not as fresh as it used to be, and the style is getting tiresome. I cannot honestly recommend this as the game's story feels forced and a lot of times gets even more nonsense through than a normal Monkey Island game. I guess it would still be worth a playthrough if you are a fan of the franchise, but otherwise not worth your time. I wanted this game to end after about 2 hours and then it went on for another 5. Get it on sale if you want the experience, but don't bother if you aren't invested in the series.

Mein erster Ausflug nach Monkey Island und was soll ich sagen, ein bisschen Banane, aber irgendwie süss. Bin ohne Vorwissen in die Monkeywelt gestolpert, fand ich vieles charmant bis skurril, manches aber einfach nur seltsam schräg oder flach. Die Story war für mich ein Rätsel mit Augenklappe und das Ende plätscherte dahin wie ein lauer Grog. Hingegen waren die Rätselhinweise top hilfreich. Den Speedrun hab ich nicht gemacht, nichts für meinem Orientierungssinn und bei den Quizfragen, war ich die perfekte Glühbirne mit Wackelkontakt. Empfehlung 6/10. Für Neulinge wie ein Rumfass ohne Zapfhahn, kurios, klebrig, aber mit gewissem Kultfaktor.

Firstly, let me say this: Monkey Island 1 was the very first game I ever played. My earliest gaming memory is sitting on my father's lap as we played it together on a DOS computer. Since then, I've played each of the five previous Monkey Island games at least five times. I even wrote an academic seminar about Guybrush Threepwood and dedicated my life to game development, with a special passion for point-and-click adventures. Fittingly, I discovered this game while being filmed for a gaming documentary—talking, no less, about Monkey Island. I was torn about whether to give this game a thumbs up or a thumbs down. In the end, I chose thumbs down because, unfortunately, I just can’t recommend it. Do you remember the 'Member Berries' from South Park? That’s what this entire game feels like—"Remember this? Remember that?"—and it gets old fast. The nostalgia feels uninspired, and the whole experience comes off as boring and hollow. I honestly don’t understand the target audience. The game is overly simplified and feels geared toward kids, yet all its content is packed with references to the old games—games those kids likely never played. So who is this game really for? It’s such a shame because I was incredibly excited to hear that Ron Gilbert was returning to give us his own take on Guybrush again. But the game offers nothing truly new. [spoiler] The ending was particularly disappointing. It felt flat and uninspired, revealing nothing we didn’t already know. It left me feeling empty, as though nothing meaningful had been accomplished. [/spoiler] The overarching narrative of Guybrush telling the story to Boybrush is lazy storytelling, and every subplot within the game feels similarly half-baked. And what’s the deal with those trivia cards? They’re filled with ridiculously difficult questions! As a veteran fan of the franchise, even I found myself guessing each time. This franchise should have been the Pirates of the Caribbean of our time, and Guybrush should have been our Jack Sparrow. I was really hoping for a redemption, for something fresh and exciting. But if this is what we get, then maybe some things are better left in the past. In the end, this game didn’t live up to my hopes. It’s a missed opportunity to breathe new life into the series I’ve loved for so long.