Return to Monkey Island Review

Reviewed on PC by Ryan McCaffrey. Also available on Nintendo Switch.

"After decades of believing that we’d never see Gilbert get to make his Monkey Island 3, I was in no way disappointed with Return’s conclusion. In fact, it moved me, and made clear that Gilbert cares as much about these characters as we fans do. I expected Return to Monkey Island to be funny. I expected it to have good and often-zany puzzles and hilarious puzzle solutions. You can see that in its writing, its acquired-taste art style, and its delightfully upbeat music. But I didn’t expect it to have such heart. Monkey Island has been known almost solely for its comedic prowess over the past three decades, but Return reminded me of why I first fell in love with Guybrush Threepwood in a way that will have me thinking about it for a long time. What longtime fans get out of it is definitely going to be markedly different from what newcomers take away from it, but I can say that Return to Monkey Island meant a lot to me before I ever clicked to start a New Game, and it meant far more after the end credits rolled."