6/11/2023 0 Comments Make mokey happyThey reveal aspects of puzzles little by little as you click through them, allowing you to dictate the exact pace of how much help you receive. I found these hints to be just about perfect in their style and presentation. There’s now a hint book included in your inventory to help you out with puzzles, so you won’t need to look anything up online if you’re having trouble. In order to make it more welcoming to newcomers, Return to Monkey Island includes some new features. (This is a series that has long revolved around absurd concepts like three-headed monkeys, used ship salesmen, and spitting contests, so hopefully you aren’t taking it too seriously anyway.) The end result is occasionally jarring, but in some ways it’s fitting, and it’ll go down easier if you’re not taking things too seriously. It feels like certain subplots and puzzle hooks may have been cut short due to budget or scheduling reasons. Ron Gilbert seems less interested in the minutiae of Monkey Island lore than he is in mining that lore for jokes and meta commentary, particularly toward the end of Return’s story. While the characters feel true to their personalities in past games, they’re definitely here in service of a larger message. In that regard, some players might be disappointed by the direction this game’s plot takes. Guybrush in particular spends most of his time pining for the glory days, making him a fitting avatar for older players. Commentary on the nature of change is baked right into the game’s themes and narrative. Return also doesn’t employ nostalgia just for the sake of it. (Those first two games get the lion’s share of in-jokes and references, but every entry in the series is acknowledged and considered canon.) While I would have liked to see more new islands to explore, I can’t deny that coming back to these familiar locations feels like getting a warm digital hug from an old friend. Many of the game’s explorable areas are reworked versions of areas from the original 1990 game, including Mêlée Island, and of course, Monkey Island itself. That’s not to say that this is purely a nostalgia trip, but there’s a healthy amount of fan service here for point-and-click devotees. Previous Monkey Island sequels were rarely interested in reexamining the events of earlier games, but Return is very much an exploration of the past. It’s a simple, but reliable setup, that sets the stage well for jokes and misadventures. Of course, his arch nemesis, the ghost pirate LeChuck, is after the same thing. This time around, the adventure in question has to do with one of the longest running jokes of the series: Guybrush is finally taking on the quest to find the “secret” of Monkey Island. It’s a clever framing device that allows for some cute jokes, and well earned character development, while still providing the classic Monkey Island adventure players have been hoping for. The story of Return to Monkey Island unfolds as Guybrush is relaying the events of a past adventure to his son, Boybrush (yes, really). Taking place years after Tales of Monkey Island, this is an older (though perhaps not much wiser) Guybrush, who now has a family of his own. Once again we join the lovable (and impossibly named) series protagonist Guybrush Threepwood, as voiced by the inimitable Dominic Armato. In many ways, the game’s story mirrors that of its creation. To their credit, Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman, and the rest of the Return to Monkey Island crew are clearly aware of fans’ insurmountable expectations. As a result, Return to Monkey Island is faced with an unenviable task: To recapture the games’ original spirit for series veterans, while also reintroducing the game’s world and sensibilities to newer gamers. Despite some earnest revival attempts, the heyday of the point-and-click adventure game has come and gone, and the gaming public’s appetite for these types of games has waned considerably in recent years. However, it must be acknowledged that it is no longer the 90s (as much as that hurts me to admit). For that reason, fan expectations have been sky high. With Ron Gilbert back at the helm, Return to Monkey Island feels in many ways like the first “true” entry in the series since 1991. Thirty years later, he’s come back to revive the franchise with the appropriately titled Return to Monkey Island. That was the last time that creator Ron Gilbert worked on the series in any capacity… until now. Secret was followed up only a year later by another well regarded classic, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. The Secret of Monkey Island, first released in 1990, was a major touchpoint of point-and-click adventure game design An influence on nearly every adventure game that followed, it still holds up today thanks to its iconic brand of comedy. Monkey Island is back! Thirteen years since the last Monkey Island game, we finally have a new entry in this beloved series.
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