One section of the old AG website that I really loved was the user reviews. Since I can’t find a similar section here (aside from the comments), and because I adore the Monkey Island series and have so much to say about what is, so far, the last game in the series, I’ll just leave this here.
Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer created undoubtedly one of the best adventure game series of all time. More than thirty years after the first game, Ron faced the extremely challenging task of returning to the canon - despite not being involved with the three Monkey Island games that followed Monkey Island 2.
So… how good is it?
THE GRAPHICS
Let’s start with the graphics. They’re not what I hoped for - but honestly, they haven’t been since Monkey Island 3. The style feels a bit too new-agey, and at times even cheap. That said, it does have a very distinctive look - almost like paper dolls or children’s drawings - highly stylized and far from bad. When the game was first announced, I openly criticized the art direction, but after finishing the game, I can’t really do that anymore, because it is undeniably unique. And when you think about it, every Monkey Island game had its own very different visual identity anyway - the first two were pixel art masterpieces, the third was Bill Tiller’s amazing hand-drawn take on the series, the fourth landed right in the middle of the 3D craze, and Telltale put its own spin on it in the fifth game with their recognizable engine. What's interesting is that graphics in RTMI even resembles the canceled and infamous Monkey Island movie style, with its sharp edges and a hint of cubism.
What I can criticize, though, is that the game doesn’t fully reach the potential of the style it chose. In some places, the colors feel bland, with little shading or depth, giving off a Flash-game vibe. The character models, too, could have used more detail and polish.
SOUND
Voice acting is another story. Dominic Armato once again does a fantastic job as Guybrush. To me, he actually sounds better here than in the Special Editions - he doesn’t rush his lines, every pronunciation is clear, and every joke lands exactly as it should. The rest of the cast is solid as well. Earl Boen was still alive at the time of production but had already retired, but fortunately, the replacement actor does a good job as LeChuck.
The music brings back those happy Caribbean vibes and instantly puts a smile on your face. The new themes aren’t as catchy as the ones we all know, but there are still moments where you’ll hear familiar melodies, reworked and remixed, that really fill one's heart with nostalgic joy.
STORY
The story is framed as an older Guybrush telling his son about his search for the Secret of Monkey Island, very much mirroring the search for Big Whoop in Monkey Island 2. In fact, the whole game feels very similar to MI2, mixed heavily with elements from the first game - both in story structure and overall design. You start on Mêlée Island, “Secret” becomes the big buzzword just like Big Whoop was on Scabb Island; you need to acquire a ship one way or another to reach Monkey Island, and then things spiral into more twists and turns as you travel freely between islands. This time, instead of Phatt and Booty, we get Terror Island (with echoes of Blood Island and its volcanic chaos), Scurvy Island (greener and more cheerful), and Brrr Muda Island, which has a nice touch of Norse mythology. Once the game opens up, you hit that golden-age Monkey Island feeling: dozens of locations, total freedom, and a noticeable spike in puzzle difficulty.
GAMEPLAY
Speaking of difficulty-the puzzles are mostly excellent, classic inventory-based brain teasers. I haven’t been reminded this much of Day of the Tentacle’s inventory madness in a long time. It’s not that you’re carrying an insane amount of items, but you’ll constantly be digging through your inventory, re-examining things, and mentally placing them back into the logic of the world until that little green light finally clicks on in your head. Only the best games in the genre pull that off. Even the maze sections are done like in the original game. On top of that, Return has one of the best hint systems the genre has ever seen - easily comparable to Keepsake. It feels organic, like a good friend who already finished the game is sitting next to you, gently nudging you in the right direction when you’re stuck. It’s not an overly difficult game, but I honestly dare anyone to finish it without using hints at least once. Some puzzles - especially the final one - are so delightfully devious that I could practically imagine Ron devilishly smiling while concocting them . Only once did I feel like the game didn’t give me quite enough clues, which is pretty acceptable for a game built on twisted logic like this.
The classic Monkey Island humor is definitely here, and it feels like a blend of comedy styles from all the previous entries. I found myself chuckling constantly, wondering where they even come up with this wild stuff - ghost chickens and ghost chicken feed aboard a ghost ship, skulls that play musical notes, an island literally covered in limes to fight scurvy, and so on. At several points, I was laughing out loud and literally applauding the writers.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
That said, the game does stumble in a few areas. Elaine is present, of course, but while it’s true that she’s not exactly in the spotlight -especially compared to the new villain, Captain Madison, who gets far more screen time, or even Carla as the new governor - she feels oddly unnatural. Almost too agreeable. The usual spark and character dynamic feel slightly off, and it’s hard to explain without touching on the game’s controversial ending. Yes, she’s actively pursuing her mission of battling scurvy, but she just doesn’t feel quite like the Elaine from earlier games. The same goes for Murray. Ron was in a tough position here - trying to realize his original vision while still acknowledging the three games made without him - and to his credit, he chose to incorporate characters and events from those titles. That deserves respect. Still, Murray is criminally underused. A character that became iconic among fans is basically on autopilot here. He appears briefly as an inventory item and then spends about 95% of the game as a ship ornament, barely reacting to the world or the story. Aside from a few funny threats toward Guybrush, he’s largely silent. It honestly feels like he’s only included because he has to be, while the Hint System itself feels more alive and context-aware than Murray does. As for LeChuck, it’s only by Chapter 5 that he truly starts to feel like the untouchable, menacing villain we know. For much of the game before that, he simply isn’t as intimidating as usual. The rest of the supporting cast is a mixed bag - some hits, some misses. Overall, the game feels a bit less “piratey” than the first two entries (though it’s not without its buccaneer merits) and leans more toward Escape from Monkey Island in terms of lore and tone.
Another issue is that some islands feel underdeveloped in terms of explorable locations - Scurvy and Terror Island especially. Many places are reduced to clickable hotspots like “Waterfall” or “Rock,” where you can’t actually go there, only trigger a comment. There are also fewer characters to interact with, which makes these islands feel less alive compared to the bustling social atmosphere of Mêlée Island.
THE ENDING
And then there’s the ending.
It didn’t surprise me, and it didn’t bother me either - though I know it did for many players. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if it did shock anyone who already finished LeChuck's Revenge. What it offers is a thoughtful, philosophical angle - one that adventure gamers can sit around a metaphorical campfire (preferably on Scabb Island) and debate for years. It deals with perspective, the passage of time, and nostalgia, all tangled together. And really, life itself is often an intersection of those very things. In that sense, I think the ending fits perfectly. To quote Ron and Dave themselves from the Scrapbook:
“The game is a goofy pirate adventure, the same as always, but also it’s a story about trying to recapture the past, with all its alleged youthful strength and glory. Guybrush will both succeed and fail at this. He will sort of get what he wants, but it won’t be what he expected.
I predict the same for us.”
My score is 79%, mainly because I’m comparing it to some of the best games ever made (Monkey Island 1, 2, and 3), which in many ways shaped my life.
Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer created undoubtedly one of the best adventure game series of all time. More than thirty years after the first game, Ron faced the extremely challenging task of returning to the canon - despite not being involved with the three Monkey Island games that followed Monkey Island 2.
So… how good is it?
THE GRAPHICS
Let’s start with the graphics. They’re not what I hoped for - but honestly, they haven’t been since Monkey Island 3. The style feels a bit too new-agey, and at times even cheap. That said, it does have a very distinctive look - almost like paper dolls or children’s drawings - highly stylized and far from bad. When the game was first announced, I openly criticized the art direction, but after finishing the game, I can’t really do that anymore, because it is undeniably unique. And when you think about it, every Monkey Island game had its own very different visual identity anyway - the first two were pixel art masterpieces, the third was Bill Tiller’s amazing hand-drawn take on the series, the fourth landed right in the middle of the 3D craze, and Telltale put its own spin on it in the fifth game with their recognizable engine. What's interesting is that graphics in RTMI even resembles the canceled and infamous Monkey Island movie style, with its sharp edges and a hint of cubism.
What I can criticize, though, is that the game doesn’t fully reach the potential of the style it chose. In some places, the colors feel bland, with little shading or depth, giving off a Flash-game vibe. The character models, too, could have used more detail and polish.
SOUND
Voice acting is another story. Dominic Armato once again does a fantastic job as Guybrush. To me, he actually sounds better here than in the Special Editions - he doesn’t rush his lines, every pronunciation is clear, and every joke lands exactly as it should. The rest of the cast is solid as well. Earl Boen was still alive at the time of production but had already retired, but fortunately, the replacement actor does a good job as LeChuck.
The music brings back those happy Caribbean vibes and instantly puts a smile on your face. The new themes aren’t as catchy as the ones we all know, but there are still moments where you’ll hear familiar melodies, reworked and remixed, that really fill one's heart with nostalgic joy.
STORY
The story is framed as an older Guybrush telling his son about his search for the Secret of Monkey Island, very much mirroring the search for Big Whoop in Monkey Island 2. In fact, the whole game feels very similar to MI2, mixed heavily with elements from the first game - both in story structure and overall design. You start on Mêlée Island, “Secret” becomes the big buzzword just like Big Whoop was on Scabb Island; you need to acquire a ship one way or another to reach Monkey Island, and then things spiral into more twists and turns as you travel freely between islands. This time, instead of Phatt and Booty, we get Terror Island (with echoes of Blood Island and its volcanic chaos), Scurvy Island (greener and more cheerful), and Brrr Muda Island, which has a nice touch of Norse mythology. Once the game opens up, you hit that golden-age Monkey Island feeling: dozens of locations, total freedom, and a noticeable spike in puzzle difficulty.
GAMEPLAY
Speaking of difficulty-the puzzles are mostly excellent, classic inventory-based brain teasers. I haven’t been reminded this much of Day of the Tentacle’s inventory madness in a long time. It’s not that you’re carrying an insane amount of items, but you’ll constantly be digging through your inventory, re-examining things, and mentally placing them back into the logic of the world until that little green light finally clicks on in your head. Only the best games in the genre pull that off. Even the maze sections are done like in the original game. On top of that, Return has one of the best hint systems the genre has ever seen - easily comparable to Keepsake. It feels organic, like a good friend who already finished the game is sitting next to you, gently nudging you in the right direction when you’re stuck. It’s not an overly difficult game, but I honestly dare anyone to finish it without using hints at least once. Some puzzles - especially the final one - are so delightfully devious that I could practically imagine Ron devilishly smiling while concocting them . Only once did I feel like the game didn’t give me quite enough clues, which is pretty acceptable for a game built on twisted logic like this.
The classic Monkey Island humor is definitely here, and it feels like a blend of comedy styles from all the previous entries. I found myself chuckling constantly, wondering where they even come up with this wild stuff - ghost chickens and ghost chicken feed aboard a ghost ship, skulls that play musical notes, an island literally covered in limes to fight scurvy, and so on. At several points, I was laughing out loud and literally applauding the writers.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
That said, the game does stumble in a few areas. Elaine is present, of course, but while it’s true that she’s not exactly in the spotlight -especially compared to the new villain, Captain Madison, who gets far more screen time, or even Carla as the new governor - she feels oddly unnatural. Almost too agreeable. The usual spark and character dynamic feel slightly off, and it’s hard to explain without touching on the game’s controversial ending. Yes, she’s actively pursuing her mission of battling scurvy, but she just doesn’t feel quite like the Elaine from earlier games. The same goes for Murray. Ron was in a tough position here - trying to realize his original vision while still acknowledging the three games made without him - and to his credit, he chose to incorporate characters and events from those titles. That deserves respect. Still, Murray is criminally underused. A character that became iconic among fans is basically on autopilot here. He appears briefly as an inventory item and then spends about 95% of the game as a ship ornament, barely reacting to the world or the story. Aside from a few funny threats toward Guybrush, he’s largely silent. It honestly feels like he’s only included because he has to be, while the Hint System itself feels more alive and context-aware than Murray does. As for LeChuck, it’s only by Chapter 5 that he truly starts to feel like the untouchable, menacing villain we know. For much of the game before that, he simply isn’t as intimidating as usual. The rest of the supporting cast is a mixed bag - some hits, some misses. Overall, the game feels a bit less “piratey” than the first two entries (though it’s not without its buccaneer merits) and leans more toward Escape from Monkey Island in terms of lore and tone.
Another issue is that some islands feel underdeveloped in terms of explorable locations - Scurvy and Terror Island especially. Many places are reduced to clickable hotspots like “Waterfall” or “Rock,” where you can’t actually go there, only trigger a comment. There are also fewer characters to interact with, which makes these islands feel less alive compared to the bustling social atmosphere of Mêlée Island.
THE ENDING
And then there’s the ending.
It didn’t surprise me, and it didn’t bother me either - though I know it did for many players. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if it did shock anyone who already finished LeChuck's Revenge. What it offers is a thoughtful, philosophical angle - one that adventure gamers can sit around a metaphorical campfire (preferably on Scabb Island) and debate for years. It deals with perspective, the passage of time, and nostalgia, all tangled together. And really, life itself is often an intersection of those very things. In that sense, I think the ending fits perfectly. To quote Ron and Dave themselves from the Scrapbook:
“The game is a goofy pirate adventure, the same as always, but also it’s a story about trying to recapture the past, with all its alleged youthful strength and glory. Guybrush will both succeed and fail at this. He will sort of get what he wants, but it won’t be what he expected.
I predict the same for us.”
My score is 79%, mainly because I’m comparing it to some of the best games ever made (Monkey Island 1, 2, and 3), which in many ways shaped my life.
This post was last modified: Yesterday, 11:52 PM by diego.
This is how good I thought it was.
Quoting the Final Verdict:
Return to Monkey Island overflows with an abundance of fun, wit, and game design skill that is sharper than Stan’s wardrobe. More importantly, it exudes a passion for the art of designing and the act of playing adventure games like only the best in the genre do. While definitely not above criticism, I believe it behooves every fan of point-and-click adventures – especially those who dig the comedic side – to set aside their expectations and approach the experience with an open mind and open schedule. About 6-8 hours of open schedule, depending on how much dilly-dallying you do. Like a group of adorable swarthy cutthroats earnestly performing their favorite sea shanty, it wants nothing more than to entertain you. And if you let it, you will be.
And Hot Take:
Questions of where it ranks in the series pantheon ought to be irrelevant: Return to Monkey Island is both an excellent adventure game and an excellent Monkey Island game – and that means it’s a treasure.
***
By the way, I agree that a lightly moderated User Review section for each game would be nice. Adventure games are a little like music --games that resonate with some don't with others, and vice-versa.
Quoting the Final Verdict:
Return to Monkey Island overflows with an abundance of fun, wit, and game design skill that is sharper than Stan’s wardrobe. More importantly, it exudes a passion for the art of designing and the act of playing adventure games like only the best in the genre do. While definitely not above criticism, I believe it behooves every fan of point-and-click adventures – especially those who dig the comedic side – to set aside their expectations and approach the experience with an open mind and open schedule. About 6-8 hours of open schedule, depending on how much dilly-dallying you do. Like a group of adorable swarthy cutthroats earnestly performing their favorite sea shanty, it wants nothing more than to entertain you. And if you let it, you will be.
And Hot Take:
Questions of where it ranks in the series pantheon ought to be irrelevant: Return to Monkey Island is both an excellent adventure game and an excellent Monkey Island game – and that means it’s a treasure.
***
By the way, I agree that a lightly moderated User Review section for each game would be nice. Adventure games are a little like music --games that resonate with some don't with others, and vice-versa.
This post was last modified: Yesterday, 09:55 PM by Baron Blubba.
I tried it, didn’t like it after about 20 minutes, then never went back to it. What I didn’t like was that it made too heavy an appeal to nostalgia, and the original three games were so long ago, and my memory so prone to leakage, that all I have left is a warm fuzzy that they were fun and funny sans any level of detail, and thus it didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t think it was going to stand alone for those new to the series, or the senile player. Your review tempts me to give it another chance.
I played it even though I disliked the graphic style, the puzzles were not bad, and overall enjoyed it but the game lacks something i can't put into words really.... Closest I can think of is: its not memorable. I can hardly remember anything about it whereas Thimbleweed Park Is quite the opposite.
I am still playing it, and rather enjoying it so far. Since I am so busy it might be weeks or even months between each day I get to play…
I am a HUGE Monkey Island fanatic, and have always had this really sore spot that Ron never got to make his original MI3. As far as I know, he intended MI to be a trilogy. The ending of MI2 actually meant something, and we never got to know exactly what. Of course, as excellent as CMI is, it understandably had to abandon Ron’s original plans for the plot and tried to nest all the threads in its own way, kind of succeeding but at the same time feeling like a giant retcon.
So I always wondered what Ron’s «real» ending was supposed to be. I don’t know the ending of Return to Monkey Island yet, but I have a feeling that I am going to love it. I always suspected there to be a real meta meaning to the whole series, it was pretty evident already in MI2, and as far as I remember, Ron also kind of said this out loud in interviews around 2000..? So if Return finally delivers on this, I am here for it.
I am a HUGE Monkey Island fanatic, and have always had this really sore spot that Ron never got to make his original MI3. As far as I know, he intended MI to be a trilogy. The ending of MI2 actually meant something, and we never got to know exactly what. Of course, as excellent as CMI is, it understandably had to abandon Ron’s original plans for the plot and tried to nest all the threads in its own way, kind of succeeding but at the same time feeling like a giant retcon.
So I always wondered what Ron’s «real» ending was supposed to be. I don’t know the ending of Return to Monkey Island yet, but I have a feeling that I am going to love it. I always suspected there to be a real meta meaning to the whole series, it was pretty evident already in MI2, and as far as I remember, Ron also kind of said this out loud in interviews around 2000..? So if Return finally delivers on this, I am here for it.