Return to Monkey Island

I have mixed feelings about this game.
The two writers have a good grasp on the kind of characters that should populate the world of Monkey Island, and indeed -if you're a fan of the series- you'll find your most beloved ones here just like you remember them, with a lot of the newcomers being funny and charming as well (LeChuck's crew stands out in this regard). The overarching plot, however, is another matter. There's quite a few minor plot points that go nowhere, and the overall story in general ends... not as unexpectedly as one would've hoped. Until the ending though, it's a decent enough plot, not too far off from the other games. The dialogue is solid too, doesn't reach the heights of the first three but it never sinks too low either. In this department the voice actors delivered: LeChuck's new one did a fine job, Guybrush's is as good as ever and kudos to Murray's for knocking it outta the park.
The problems with the game lie elsewhere, namely: the art. It's better in motion than what you've seen in the screenshots, but it's still a far cry from how the previous chapters handled it. It's a pity, because the idea behind some locations are interesting (like Terror Island), and it makes you wonder how they would've been with a better style. For better or for worse, Guybrush is the worst design-wise, none of the other characters are as ugly. Another problem with the game is its gameplay. Due to how the interface is structured it's way, way too easy, even on its hardest difficulty. The new interface also limits the possibilities of funny dialogue and interactions the previous games offered. It really makes it less fun than what it could've been.
So, why am I giving it a positive evaluation? Because I'm a long-time fan of the saga and I never thought I'd see another Monkey Island by Ron Gilbert, namely the one that would finally "reveal" the Secret. On top of that, the fact that he didn't de-canonize all the other games after the second like he originally planned, but instead kept his new one in continuity with them and even paid homage to them (save for a huge, unexplained retcon that however brought back a beloved character) makes for an even bigger surprise, because it goes against most if not all of what he had planned for his third Monkey Island. He even kept the romance between Guybrush and Elaine, ain't that sweet. I hate loose ends, I don't like retcons and, few exceptions aside, this is a game that concludes the whole saga without disregarding what came before, made by its original author.
It's not like I hoped it would be, it's not perfect or even excellent, but I'm still glad it exists.

This game is a delightful homage to the beloved series, blending nostalgic charm with fresh adventures. The witty dialogue and clever humor will have you grinning from ear to ear, while the updated visuals (I wish to see more of this art style) bring the quirky world to life in vivid detail. Exploring familiar locales like Melee Island feels both nostalgic and exciting, with plenty of new surprises to keep you hooked. The puzzles strike the perfect balance of challenge and fun, testing your wits without ever becoming frustrating. "Return to Monkey Island" is a must-play for fans of classic adventure games. It's a swashbuckling good time that proves Monkey Island's magic is as strong as ever.

Thimbleweed Park is a better Monkey Island 3 than Monkey Island 3.
Everything's there. The art style perfectly recaptures the originals while improving it. The ending is zany yet satisfying in its own controversial way. It's hilarious, unpredictable, and comically long, much like this review and The Curse of MI, which makes it so good. It’s a unique, Gilbertesque blend of humor, horror, mystery, sadness, and cartoonish stupidity, miraculously getting you emotionally invested despite its silliness. Gilbert's narrative is something of a signature—he is an incredible storyteller and gifted writer.
Return, on the other hand, feels safe and predictable most of the time. You've got to wait til the 4th act to get things moving. The first three fly by before you even realize it and the countdown in your head becomes very hard to ignore.
Then, finally, a glimpse of the true adventure, sailing the seas, twisted puzzles between different islands, plethora of objects and characters, an overall plot implying keys and a cinematographic build-up to the conclusion you've waited for years. As it gets closer and closer, with an epic act dragging you above and below, you try to bury all the negative sides, because the ending will obviously make them vanish…
Then, of course, the ending sucks.
It doesn't suck because it misses the mark or feels incoherent (TP for some of you folks). It sucks because they didn’t try. At all. It really ends with a letter saying, "we're not the same people as a few years ago, and the ending reflects the fact that the things that mattered to us in the 90s… doesn’t really anymore."
Which begs the question: if you feel this way, why create a new Monkey Island game in the first place ?
Think about it. You decide to return with a new entry in your beloved saga, but you do so with absolute pandering to modern audiences. You decide to indulge in all its whims. You tone everything down like a Netflix show, convinced it's the right thing to do, while repeatedly claiming the game is for die-hard fans first.
The main thing left from Monkey Island are references—everywhere, for everyone. It's kind of a "we put everything we had in the blend, so you’re not allowed to complain" situation, when you're mostly looking at an empty shell. The message is something along the lines of: "after all these years of crazy fan theories, it has become impossible to craft a satisfying ending anymore, so there won't be any ending at all."
The thing is, I agree with Gilbert. Crafting a fitting ending got harder each year. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't have tried, especially for a game that only exists by some miracle.
The thanks you get for playing are authentic, but this absolute act of cowardice of an ending remains unworthy of a pirate. Any ending would have feel better, even the infamous TP one, which is kind of the same. It's sad that after all these years seeking the secret of Monkey Island, the least remembered thing about MI3 will be the secret itself. I get it—the journey, not the destination. But while Gilbert awkwardly shoves this message in the end-game letter, I feel no less sad and disappointed. And I don't think I should.
I don't think the game is bad. It's fun, hilarious at times. The humor is similar to the old titles, if toned down. You'll laugh, have fun, think the ending is nothing expected and move on. But I think MI deserves a little more than that - at least a spot in your brain.
Two things: nobody would have talked about this game if it wasn't carrying the Monkey Island IP, and above all, this game wouldn't have been created this way if it wasn't carrying the Monkey Island IP. It's so, so shy. So protective of its own heritage yet so distanced from it. If it was a brand-new game, if it had been created from the ground up, I know for a fact it would have been fiercer, braver, less bland, less paralyzed by the possibility of displeasing. It would have been... Thimbleweed Park.
The game is not bad by any means, but it's paradoxical at heart and I try to share my frustration here. It is ultra-referential yet reinventing everything, as if trying to appeal to a modern audience. A modern audience? With a point-and-click? With a 30-year-old saga? My question is, why, why choose your beloved saga to experiment with ? And why make Thimbleweed Park, a new IP, everything a new MI should have been? If this game is for die-hard fans, why not bring a good conclusion and move on? It doesn't make sense to me that Gilbert decided to start everything over for a 30-year-old saga's conclusion. If you want to be the master of the ship, which I understand, why choose your old IP with its unresolved twist? And if you want more MI games, why not bring a fitting conclusion first? How can you think diminishing interactions and making the game waaay easier is a good idea ? Is modern audience reticent to fun ? Does being complacent with modern audience means making the game as least memorable as possible ? What the fuck is wrong with the character of Elaine (why does she looks like a one-faced robot, why is she acting like Guybrush's mother, why does she always appear from nowhere to give weird, Jiminy Cricket-like advices ??) WHY CHOOSE MONKEY ISLAND TO EXPERIMENT WITH ??? WHY DIGGING IT OUT OF ITS GRAVE TO STATE THAT THERE WON'T BE ANY ENDING AT ALL ??? Especially when Gilbert seemed to have figured it out years ago and it was apparently different ?
It was supposed to be a bittersweet farewell, right? Monkey Island never held back from bringing a tear in an ocean of jokes. However, this particular farewell give the terrible impression of a creator waking up one day to contemplate his work with the cold distance of 30 years and deciding that it is time to smooth things over to ensure his legacy. This is a cruel thing to do to fans who praised your work for being the way it was. I get that time have changed. We all get it. No need to wake up Threepwood from his slumber to teach us a lesson we all know about.
(I don't really mind the art style but it surely does nothing to lessen the feeling of blandness.)
I've had my fun with this game. But I speak as someone whose favorite game ever is MI2 - I have the right. I thought the game was for me. And I know for a fact that during the vast majority of my playthrough, I was fighting with all my heart a growing feeling of disappointment. My mind was emphasizing the good aspects of the game to make me fall in love with it, which is never a good sign, but also a sign of your investment in a work. And there's something to love here. The humor. The surprising first act. The nostalgia. Not the message of the ending, but the very last sequence, possibly the very last Monkey Island image we'll ever get, which made me sad, in a good way, because it actually looks like a proper farewell.
I don't know what to add. I don't think this game is a cashgrab - I think one quality of this game is its sincerity. But at least, Return is not a fatal mistake. Gilbert is at least right when he says the ending is less important than the journey, even if MI is the one saga you can't say that about. (Too bad.) This statement, though, is only valid if Return isn't the last of its kind. You don't bring MI back from the dead, subvert everyone expectations in a mid way, only to forget everything again. You only do it if you want to build something new from the ground up. So this game at least made me curious for the rest.
While not bad, I think Return is only a down in a saga which had its shares of ups and downs. In my dreams, Gilbert makes a sequel to Return which doesn't even need to be the proper MI3 : just its own thing. Not limiting itself for a weird, misplaced, half-imaginary new audience. (You know, kinda like TP didn't give a shit about pleasing anyone because it knew how sparse the demand is for point-and-clicks today). So, the first MI ark is over and I'm fine with it - but only in the prospect of sailing stranger seas.

I struggled to finish "Return to Monkey Island". I struggled not because I got stuck or because it was too hard or so, but because the more I played the less I knew it was left to play a Monkey Island adventure. I didn't want it to finish, so the first time I just slowed down and then stop it before finishing it. After more almost 2 years (of course I had it pre-ordered) I decided it was time to just enjoy it. It was a pleasure, an honour to be delighted with such a fine work. It warmed my heart, it made me laugh, it made me cry, but most of all it made me happy. It is such a great work, that, in my opinion, succeeds in the hardest thing: it does not leave any sour taste!...instead it leaves a fine, different although familiar taste. It feels a proper ending that respects the nostalgia without leaving any of it. Thanks Ron, thank you all for this final bite of something so delicious I will always wish for more.

The game is fun and definitely triggers nostalgia for series. That being said, I'd rate it as one of the weaker entries.

The story is okay-ish but somehow disappointing (including a typical Ron Gilbert ending), the riddles surprisingly easy. The humor is good but not as great as in the earlier entries. Voice acting, gameplay and music are top notch as always. While the new art style is beautiful and well crafted, it definitely needs some getting used to. The only thing I really didn't enjoy at all, are the spawn rates for the trivia cards you can find across the game, which result in tedious grinding.

The Monkey Island series is like pizza, even a bad one is still pretty good. So I'd recommend this one to fans of the series, but you should lower your expectations. If you're new to the series, go play the original ones instead.

I played all the Monkey Island games, back in the days, replayed them later on. Always had fun.
I thought I had too high hopes about this one, but it was just what I hoped for, even better actually! Really well made game, good job by the developers!
Monkey out

I've recently played through the first 4 Monkey Island games as well as Grim Fandango, so I had a fresh experience with the series to compare this game to. I can say it does a good job of finding the balance between having the classic feel of a Monkey Island game while also being willing to add some stuff that is new and different. I didn't enjoy every change that was made, but came to appreciate many of them and was glad the creators had the willingness to do some stuff differently with a new iteration than trying to play it completely safe. I don't think this game is the best Monkey Island game by any stretch, but is definitely good enough to deserve the Monkey Island title and is a good love letter to long-time fans of the Monkey Island series.