Guybrush Threepwood and the world’s favorite and funniest point ‘n’ click adventure sets sail for a highly successful comeback.
When you deal with video games from all eras on a daily basis, you don’t get caught up as often as other people – who can suddenly see a much-loved game for the first time in 30 years, without ever thinking about picking one up in the intervening time. turn over. We’re not in that position when it comes to Monkey Island, but it’s certainly been a long time since we’ve played one of the originals, and this return to the golden age of piracy and graphic adventures was a real treat.
Although the last entry wasn’t that long ago, with Telltale Games’ okay-ish Tales Of Monkey Island, it is the first three entries in the point ‘n’ click series that are most revered. The first two were directed by Ron Gilbert, with Dave Grossman as designer/programmer (along with Tim Schafer of Double Fine). The third entry, The Curse Of Monkey Island, didn’t involve any of the original creators and while it was surprisingly good, it ignored the weird theme park ending of the second game and went on very much like a Pirates Of The Caribbean game. therefor. was once a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie.
The comparisons to Disney’s pirate franchise are not deep, as the first three Monkey Island games are not only definitive examples of the graphic adventure genre, but they are also very funny. They’re essentially all comedies, which is a feat that shouldn’t be underestimated, given the general quality of video game script writing in the 90s and the fact that even today video games are rarely intentionally amusing.
The fact that Disney now owns Lucasfilm led many to assume that Monkey Island would never be seen again, considering that one comedy pirate franchise would be enough for everyone. To their credit, though, not only were they happy with the licensing of a cameo in Sea Of Thieves from Microsoft, but they also enlisted the services of Gilbert and Grossman to create a new sequel.
The end result is Return To Monkey Island, a quasi-soft reboot of the series that is both a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2, but also recognizes the better parts of the other games.
There’s a lot of history behind Monkey Island, but that shouldn’t put off anyone who’s never heard of it or played a graphical adventure. The whole point of both is that they are very approachable and require lower prior knowledge or some sort of arcade skills.
The intro to Return To Monkey Island is a bit quirky given how surreal and unexpected the ending of Monkey Island 2 was, but it quickly settles into the protagonist Guybrush Threepwood recounting an untold encounter with the ghost pirate LeChuck.
Guybrush, voiced again by the wonderfully charming Dominic Armato, is neither a reckless hero nor a sympathetic loser, but somewhere in between. He starts the game still married to his beloved Elaine, but frustrated that he hasn’t learned the secret of Monkey Island yet, and yet LeChuck organizes an expedition to solve the problem once and for all. As such, your immediate goal is to covertly join his crew and defeat him, although absolutely nothing is ever that simple.
There are two obvious reasons why graphic adventures like Monkey Island went out of style, the first is the fact that they lack traditional action. Telltale Games and series like Life Is Strange are part of the same evolutionary tree, but their own interactions are solely through dialogue and simplistic QTEs. The full experience of a graphical adventure is that plus really difficult logic puzzles.
The problem with selling such a game today is not only that people don’t like to get stuck, but if they do, they can get the solution right on their phone. There’s nothing Return To Monkey Island can do about that, so it essentially ignores the problem, offers a layered in-game hint book for those who don’t want to resort to YouTube, and offers a choice of simple or normal puzzles when you first start playing it. game.
Even if you opt for the latter, they’re never as hard as the original games, but they’re real puzzles and it won’t be long before you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how a monocle and a stack of crackers could potentially help you break in. in a pirate museum.
A timed console exclusive to the Switch may seem odd at first, but with a controller this isn’t technically a point-and-click adventure and you’re forced to use a slightly clunky operating system based on navigating between hotspots. However, if you’re playing in portable mode, you can use the touchscreen, which works much better than ever on Xbox or PlayStation.
The game isn’t a graphical powerhouse, but it’s not nearly as ugly as some screenshots suggest. The angular artwork, by the same artist behind the excellent Knights And Bikes, wouldn’t have been our top pick, but Monkey Island has had almost as many art styles as sequels and it grows on you quickly. Especially when you realize that the characters are actually 3D models, and there’s a surprising amount of facial animation in close-ups.
The important question with Monkey Island is not what it looks like, but whether it is funny. And the simple answer to that question is that it is. You don’t risk losing ribs over it, but it’s consistent, mildly amusing, with a knowing sense of humor that makes fun of everything from itself and video games in general to Star Wars and the banality of corporate greed.
Despite first appearing in the third game, Murray the talking skull is still in the game and remains a standout, but there are also many new characters to shine, as well as returning enemies and allies, most voiced by their original actors. . You may never laugh out loud, but the whole thing is so heartfelt and endearing that it’s impossible not to fall in love with it, whether you have some experience with the series or not.
If there are flaws, it’s that it may stay an hour or so longer than welcome, with some puzzle templates needlessly repeated and a bit too busy towards the end, but by that point you’re completely sold on the whole experience.
Return To Monkey Island has no bold solution to popularize graphic adventures again, and no shocking departure from the genre’s long-established formula; it succeeds simply by being well-written and cleverly designed. Without unnecessary gimmicks, it makes very clear why the concept and franchise were popular in the first place. So much so that it now seems a crime that we were once away from Monkey Island for so long.
Return to Monkey Island review summary
In short: A hugely successful reboot for the much-loved point ‘n’ click adventure, making its comeback without sacrificing its sense of humor or some enjoyable tricky puzzles.
Advantages: A wry and enjoyable script full of charm and quirkiness, and great voice acting. Good puzzles, with some very useful in-game help systems. Just the right level of nostalgia, without getting tacky.
cons: Some puzzle types are repeated and the number of missions within missions can get daunting. Always funny but never laughing out loud funny.
Score: 8/10
Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed) and PC
Price: £22.49
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Developer: Terrible Toybox
Release date: September 19, 2022
Age Rating: 12
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