Return to Monkey Island Reviews
They say you can't go home again, and there are few wells more daunting to return to than Monkey Island. But with Gilbert at the helm and Grossman by his side, Return to Monkey Island really is the full monkey.
The creators knew they couldn’t make this the game all players wanted, so they instead made the version of the game that interested them, hoping many players would find it just as interesting. I can only speak for myself, but I definitely did. Return to Monkey Island is consistently funny, with a ton of charm and interesting puzzles to work through. The interface is the best in the series, and it’s incredibly well-paced. It may not be what every fan of the series has hoped for, but I think those who can look at it for what it is rather than what they might have hoped it would be will have a wonderful time with it.
Return to Monkey Island shows there is a place for this style of game in the gaming world of 2022 for both new players and returning ones, Point and click games do not have to be pocking stuffed puzzlers, but they still can be at the same time. At its heart, the Witt and humour of the series shine through no matter how you are experiencing the game, and it is in this versatility the work of Ron Gilbert and Terrible Toybox shines through indeed.
Return to Monkey Island is a delight for both fans and newcomers, showcasing the genius of Ron Gilbert and providing an unmissable experience from start to finish. The latest entry makes changes and upgrades to where it matters and keeps the personality of the series by still making it a point-and-click affair, resulting in a charming and heartfelt entry that surely makes the 30-year wait worth it.
If you are a great fan of graphic adventure games, this is what you have been waiting for a long time (30 years more or less to be exact). But if you have not played grahic adventure games or even you are not quite interested in the genre, perhaps is the moment to get your mouse and keyboard (even your gamepad) and start playing this masterpiece... ship ahoy my dear cabin boys!
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Return to Monkey Island is a tight hug for fans of the series. The game features familiar mechanics from the original games with the addition of elements that make the adventure more intuitive and dynamic. Despite its accessibility, it will hardly be as attractive to those who don't know the details of Monkey Island's history, being a product intended mainly for older fans of the series. But that doesn't take away from its shine. All elements of the game manage to captivate the player in the story brilliantly. It's a light, innocent and funny adventure that oozes charisma in all its aspects, just like in its first games.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Return to Monkey Island is exactly what one might expect: a graphic adventure that winks at the past while at the same time managing to bring something new to the genre. A pleasant journey in which to meet many old friends, with whom to have fun in an experience that is perhaps not too challenging, but nevertheless capable of entertaining in an authentic way.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Guybrush Threepwood returns to our consoles and PCs in an adventure that preserves the freshness of its predecessors, which will make us laugh more than once and in which it is clear that both Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman have put all their hearts. Perhaps it is guilty of being too conservative, looking more than necessary at the first installment, but even so, if you enjoyed the previous adventures of the good Guybrush, you are going to enjoy Return to Monkey Island like children.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Return to Monkey Island treats itself as a game that never left. In some ways, the franchise itself never truly did. Terrible Toybox uses that to do its own spin on the current adventure game formula and while some elements are for the diehard fans, it also asks some interesting questions regarding gaming as a whole and how we perceive the games that defined us as we grow older.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It took a lot to Return to Monkey Island. Like I said in my intro, there was a lot of hesitation that came with me starting this game. Media revivals are extremely hit-and-miss, and I couldn't stand to watch a franchise so close to me fall apart. But when the credits rolled and I wiped the tears from my eyes, I realized why I was actually scared. I already knew when I started that I didn't want it to be over.
Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, the spiritual fathers of Guybrush Threepwood, are back, and you can feel it in every fiber of Return to Monkey Island. Hilarious situations, clever dialogue, memorable characters, beginner-friendly gameplay, and a fresh graphic style that may not be to everyone's taste bring the game series back to where it belongs: at the top of the point-and-click games. This game is definitely more than just pure nostalgia!
Review in German | Read full review
Return to Monkey Island is no high flyer, but a good classical adventure game, far away from disappointment. Essentially it is fan service pure. That's a huge benefit for lovers of Guybrush's adventures, but series beginners don't really profit from the mass of allusions in any area. The great puzzle design or the top voice-over do not change anything about that.
Review in German | Read full review
The special editions of Monkey Island 1 and 2 in 2009 and 2010 respectively showed that there was still a voracious appetite for more of Guybrush’s adventures, so I’m glad that Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman finally got to have another shot at “ending” the Monkey Island story in a manner which they envisaged. Return to Monkey Island is more Monkey Island, and if you’ve been missing out on that for years, this is an excellent return to form.
The Monkey Island series are adored because of their humor and charm, and Return to Monkey Island is no different. It retains all the same wit, puns, and groan-worthy dad jokes as the rest of the games. In fact, Return to Monkey Island feels more in-line with the earlier titles, no doubt due to Gilbert’s involvement, as well as most of the original cast. The art style might be initially off-putting for some, but it really does grow on you after a while.
Return to Monkey Island isn’t a grand reinvention of point-and-click adventure games in mechanics or narrative ambition. It is, quite literally, a return. It sticks to its own identity, and aims to be the best version of itself – a comforting, charming game with great characters and amusingly esoteric puzzles. That a new Monkey Island game exists with Gilbert and Grossman at the helm makes Return to Monkey Island an attraction well worth the curiosity. And that this traditional format still satisfies while remaining largely unchanged, several decades later, speaks volumes about how timeless their ideas and this world have always been.
Despite being set between the second and third games in the series, Return to Monkey Island feels like a beautiful climax to a franchise that's seen games spread across four decades.