«Return to Monkey Island»: as if Guybrush had never left

I just want to get on zombie pirate LeChuck’s ship. But for that I need a disguise and a mop. Which requires special mop wood. But that’s in the gloomy forest, where I always manage to get lost. Plus I don’t have a map because I need a piece of mop wood to make it. Ahhhhh. It doesn’t take more than 15 minutes until I’m completely immersed in the world of «Monkey Island» again, running from one task to the next.

The original devs are back

Work on «Return to Monkey Island» was led by Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman. Both developers, together with Tim Schaefer, are considered the creators of the cult adventure series. Gilbert, however, left the series after the sequel «Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge,» expressing little interest in a continuation. Odds of one releasing grew ever fainter in 2012 with Disney’s acquisition of LucasArts, the series’ publisher at the time. But contrary to all expectations, an agreement was reached, and Gilbert and Grossman decided to send their most famous character Guybrush Threepwood on another adventure.

Gilbert always made it clear that he would only continue the series if there was something new to tell. And there definitely is, as I can confirm after my first hours of play. It’s gratifying to see that Gilbert didn’t stick to ignoring all the events after Part 2 as originally planned. «The Curse of Monkey Island» especially is a highlight of the series for me, with legendary characters such as the talking skull Murray. He also found his way into «Return to Monkey Island».

Investigating the mystery of Monkey Island (again)

The game seamlessly picks up where the second part left off. At Big Whoop amusement park, two kids who look like LeChuck and Guybrush Threepwood are confronted by two adults about whether they’ve been up to mischief again. Players have been debating for decades about the meaning of this scene and whether the whole game is just a story these children have made up.

The role of mini-Gubybrush serves primarily as a warm-up exercise in Return to Monkey Island. The real adventure begins where it all started: on Mêlée Island. As soon as I see this iconic Caribbean island and hear the soundtrack, my heart swells with joy. Oh, how I’ve missed Monkey Island.

The game instantly hits me with nostalgia. In the first scene, I’m on the island’s lookout point, as I was 30 years ago, and I’m being made fun of by the same old pirate. Nice. The goal of my adventure is to finally unravel the mystery of Monkey Island. Contrary to the first game’s name, Guybrush hasn’t managed to do this yet. Nemesis and zombie pirate LeChuck are still up to no good, so it’s time to get down to business. I need a ship and a crew to sail to the mysterious island.

In the process, I encounter numerous familiar faces just in the first few minutes. My beloved Elaine fights for scurvy awareness, seedy salesman Stan is in jail for his scams and Voodoo Lady had to close up shop because Dark Magic is ruining her business.

It doesn’t take long before my inventory is full of curious items and I’m rushing from one place to the next for completely absurd assignments.

Clever puzzles and great comedy

Playing «Return to Monkey Island» feels like meeting a childhood friend again. In a way, it is. Most of the original English-speaking voice cast has returned. And Michael Land, along with Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian, have again contributed an eerily beautiful Caribbean soundtrack. The new graphical style also perfectly fits the whimsical pirate world with its oddball inhabitants.

«Return to Monkey Island» not only looks and sounds like its (great) predecessors, it also plays like them. It’s still primarily a matter of using the right objects in the right place. I need a disguise to get on LeChuck’s ship. But the one I need is locked away. I can only get the key by reading a tiny serial number. So how do I improve my vision? I won’t tell you the solution now, because that’s the real fun of the game. You can look the answers up yourself anyway, as for the first time the game now features an integrated guide. In your inventory, you have a book that will gradually give you hints if you get stuck – all the way to the complete answer. This is just one of several conveniences that make the adventure game more accessible without harming the gameplay.

Instead of using the mouse to scan objects to see if you can interact with them, everything that can be clicked is now outlined with a circle. So it can even be played comfortably with a controller. Items can now only be used in one way. There’s no need for tedious trial and error to find out whether pushing, pulling, looking or biting off works. Guybrush can even run – and not only when a pack of angry monkeys is chasing him. A logbook with your current tasks is also available. And if I ever skip some dialogue too quickly, I can display the last lines again at the touch of a button. It’s these little things that make «Return to Monkey Island» an up-to-date adventure game.

The second centrepiece besides the puzzles are the dialogues. They’re still just as inventive and funny as they used to be. Be it Insult Sword Fighting with former sword master Carla, now governor and someone to whom I have to apologise for a forgotten book using a frog. Or with good old Voodoo Lady, who has to brew something in her poisonous green pot for me again. At my improvised ingredients, she just shakes her head and says, «You’ve always been the type: good enough.» This doesn’t apply to the game. After my first few hours, I only have one thing to say: amazing!

What more could you want?

If someone had asked me to describe the perfect «Monkey Island» sequel, here’s what I would’ve answered: I want an interesting story, familiar faces, allusions to previous instalments, entertaining but fair puzzles and fun dialogue. «Return to Monkey Island» delivers just that and much more. It’s not just going through the same old motions. The game feels fresh and contemporary, although many old characters appear, places from the past are visited and previous gags are dug up. It doesn’t rely solely on nostalgia goggles to wrap retro fans like me around its finger. The puzzles are clever and so far never too hard. I advise everyone to play on hard difficulty, otherwise half of the puzzles will be missing, and with them the essence of the game. Conversations sparkle with so much wit and charm that I always want to exhaust even the very last dialogue option. I can’t wait to return to this weird and wonderful world.

«Return to Monkey Island» is available for PC and Switch and was provided to me by Devolver for this review.