Return to Monkey Island for Windows

Misadventures continue in this Monkey Island game

Return to Monkey Island is a premium adventure game made by developer Terrible Toybox Studios. It's another entry to the long-running classic Monkey Island series. Fans get to continue with the misadventures of a hapless pirate dreaming to become the most notorious pirate in the Caribbean.

Continuing from The Secret Of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Return to Monkey Island will finally resume the story that was left off more than two decades ago. The single-player game cashes in on nostalgia which longtime fans can easily fall into, but risks pushing away newcomers.

Arrr Matey!

Monkey Island is a classic video game series by LucasArts that kicked things off with the first release, The Secret of Monkey Island, in 1990. Each title took place in fictional islands in the Caribbean around the Golden Age of Piracy. The story centers around the misadventures of Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood, a clumsy pirate who has aspirations of becoming the most notorious throughout the seas.

After more than twenty years since the release of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, comes the surprise follow-up aptly called Return to Monkey Island, picking up where the story left off. Apart from its updated graphics and art style, it will still (presumably) feature the classic point-and-click adventure with a wide cast of characters to meet and interact with, as well as various quests and mysteries to take on.

Music and memory

Nostalgia is what drives Return to Monkey Island, and it’s all over the place. Besides the rehash of the plot, it is in the music where the time portal seems to be opened. The original composers have returned to serve fans a new Carribean-themed score that can take them on a trip down memory lane. It is evocative and a delight to listen to.

The only problem with this nostalgia-driven strategy is its extreme focus on longtime players. Curious and hyped-up newbies willing to try the famed title are bound to be disappointed with the flood of references to previous installments. Players belonging to the present generation can suffer a similar fate. The length of the game does not help at all. Its short duration can be a drag, putting off newcomers.

A follow-up no one was expecting

To say that Return to Monkey Island comes as a surprise would be an understatement. After more than a decade since the last release in the series, no one was expecting it to be a thing. The 2D game heavily relies on nostalgia which makes for a good selling point to longtime players. Its music where the past works its magic is transporting and pleasing to the ears.