After many years, one of the most beloved franchises returns with a new entry of the legendary visual adventure games saga Monkey Island. With the perfectly fitting title Return To Monkey Island, this new title is directed by the original creator of the series, and a good deal of the original team promises to send us on a ship into a timeless adventure. But, does this game actually deliver? Keep reading to find out, and see if all the controversies surrounding this game before release managed to leak into the full title. So, let’s get started!
A new adventure
It’s no exaggeration to say that this release could be one of the most awaited in the history of video games. Just as the game’s director Ron Gilbert, Return to Monkey Island is the classic pirate story filled with action, adventures, big treasures, and dangerous foes. However, probably the key element about this game is its story and script, and this is why we’ll be extra careful not to reveal any spoilers here.
As a note on the story, however, we do have to that the game uses a lot of nostalgia to drive the adventure, and that can be a bit underwhelming. This extends more than to the story of the game, but also to one of the most important elements in the Monkey Island franchise, the sark of the characters. That aside, our hero Guybrush is actually to the level and calibre you’d expect from a character in its position.
The iconic sense of humor in the series is back once again, excellent as usual efven if all a bit too similar to the original. The huge amount of dialogues, the jokes, and all the commentary provided by the characters in this sstory are the engine that drive this game forward. And being so funny will have us being able to forget most of the flaws present in the game.
We have to mention one of the most controversial parts of this game, and that’s its visuals.The huge change in the art direction of this game heavily divided the audience and fans of Monkey Island regarding this new entry. Since this game is pretty much a cartoon you interact with, it does make sense that it was adapted to look more like current cartoon look nowadays, whatever that means. It was heavy criticized, and even though we do miss the old designs, there’s a lot of charm in the world of Return To Monkey Island, making it, in the end, an incredible game you should absolutely play.
Excellent: 9/10
While there are some things that this new entry to the series could have done better, most of the game is continues in the path of excellence the original entries were. The gameplay is solid and exactly what you’d expect from a Monkey Island game, the humor and the story are all there. We were worried about the art at first, but after you get used to t you’ll love it, it was a risky move, but they nailed it.
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Where to buy
The game is first available for the Nintendo Switch as a temporary exclusive, but it’s also coming to all the other platforms really soon!
Official Launch Trailer:
