Return to Monkey Island - a humble review

Intro

After almost 30 years, Ron Gilbert, Dave, and the team behind the original Monkey Island series return to our screens. Was the wait worth it?

I have this strange relationship with LucasArts adventures of the late 80s/early 90s. Is it the childhood memories? Is it the magic of interacting with a computer for the very first time? Is it the amazing stories these games have to tell? One thing is for sure, the mark of the Monkey Island series on me is permanent! The mark of the golden era of adventure games.

You start right after the end of Monkey Island 2. You are Guybrush’s son, Boybrush, and you are with your friend, Chukie. So the riddle of the MI2 ending is answered right here in the opening sequence. It was just the fantasy of two kids playing pirates all along! This puts an end to one of the community theories about the MI2 ending being a voodoo curse.

Visuals

As an avid old-school adventure gamer, I did expect a more retro look for the comeback, something similar to Ron’s Thimbleweed Park graphics. But I get it. Years have passed, hardware has evolved, and habits have changed. Not everybody is playing on their PC’s keyboards and mice; we have tablets, consoles, etc. So I guess the game should scale visually and practically nicely on all platforms. Besides, the creative cue is quite unique, and I felt right at home. So no complaints here; the visuals match the atmosphere and the aesthetics of our notorious mighty pirate’s saga with noteworthy evolution brushes.

Audio

Well, just by the first seconds in game, the quality of the music and sound effects stands out. The iconing tunes along with the opening theme is there, melticusly executed by Michael Land, Peter McConnell, and Clint Bajakian. Every scene in the game is so beatifully surrounding your ears making the experience unforgetable. Like, for example the Scumm Bar tune, go there and reach the right end of the bar. Hear the music transitioning to a rock version of the tune Absolutely epic!