I don't always write my feelings here on a game straight after finishing it but this game especially I had to sleep on it.
Don't worry, no spoilers but I will say this game completely shit the bed at the end. If I had gave this a score after I was done it may be one of the lowest ratings I'd have posted.
Still, I have taken the night to think. Had a chat with pals who felt the same including one who also started and finished the game around the same time I did.
Overall Return to Monke is a great time, a lovely time for a person returning to the series which sadly means a lot of jokes will probably not hit at all if this is your first experience of Guybrush Threepwood and friends, even with the scrapbook that tells you some "previously on".
I appreciate the art style isn't for everyone, I'll be honest when I saw the first trailer I thought "this isn't my Monkey Island" but it's actually quite fun. Very detailed to be gross when it wants like Ren & Stimpy but I realise that's not for everyone.
Voice acting is top notch, jokes are consistently decent - not a huge amount of laugh out loud moments but plenty of chuckles and that's the sort of level I feel most funny point and click adventures hit.
The puzzles are mostly great, there isn't lots of pixel hunting thanks to a highlight option plus the art style makes items quite clear and there isn't a thousand item combinations to try because you'll see a big red X as opposed to the classic "that won't work" dialogue being repeated until it burns into your mind.
Part of the puzzle element I do need to highlight is the hints system.
In game you are given a hint book and you can use it from your inventory whenever, the way it works is it has dialogue choices in the form of questions to ask and each answer is purposefully vague and prodding unless you keep asking more and more.
More often than not hint systems are a three strike type thing where they'll be super vague, maybe show you something and then tell you out right but this builds up so gradually to still give you the chance to feel smart or get to the bit you're missing.
The story overall is a classic affair of trying to out do the baddie the classic LeChuck overcoming obstacles and making friends and enemies (old and new) along the way.
Without going to deep in, this definitely feels like a third game and reflects creators going back to their work, which the game expressly tells you upon completion.
I actually wish it dug into that more, the game already will suffer a bit with trying to engage completely new fans so I'd have preferred it went whole hog with this theme but then I am biased as I grew up with these.
Maybe that idea, that direction is why the game couldn't end properly but I will finish how I started.
The ending is crap. It can feel extremely sudden, it feels very unsatisfying and even if you see the gags they really do not land.
Return to Monkey Island was a game sitting at 3 and rising to around 4.5 for me in the final third, before slowly moving to around a 4 and crashing into what could have been a 3 or 2.5.
My feelings of enjoyment towards this game were a rollercoaster and sadly one that at the end I got off and was sick.
This amusement ride was not as amusing as it thinks it is.
Don't worry, no spoilers but I will say this game completely shit the bed at the end. If I had gave this a score after I was done it may be one of the lowest ratings I'd have posted.
Still, I have taken the night to think. Had a chat with pals who felt the same including one who also started and finished the game around the same time I did.
Overall Return to Monke is a great time, a lovely time for a person returning to the series which sadly means a lot of jokes will probably not hit at all if this is your first experience of Guybrush Threepwood and friends, even with the scrapbook that tells you some "previously on".
I appreciate the art style isn't for everyone, I'll be honest when I saw the first trailer I thought "this isn't my Monkey Island" but it's actually quite fun. Very detailed to be gross when it wants like Ren & Stimpy but I realise that's not for everyone.
Voice acting is top notch, jokes are consistently decent - not a huge amount of laugh out loud moments but plenty of chuckles and that's the sort of level I feel most funny point and click adventures hit.
The puzzles are mostly great, there isn't lots of pixel hunting thanks to a highlight option plus the art style makes items quite clear and there isn't a thousand item combinations to try because you'll see a big red X as opposed to the classic "that won't work" dialogue being repeated until it burns into your mind.
Part of the puzzle element I do need to highlight is the hints system.
In game you are given a hint book and you can use it from your inventory whenever, the way it works is it has dialogue choices in the form of questions to ask and each answer is purposefully vague and prodding unless you keep asking more and more.
More often than not hint systems are a three strike type thing where they'll be super vague, maybe show you something and then tell you out right but this builds up so gradually to still give you the chance to feel smart or get to the bit you're missing.
The story overall is a classic affair of trying to out do the baddie the classic LeChuck overcoming obstacles and making friends and enemies (old and new) along the way.
Without going to deep in, this definitely feels like a third game and reflects creators going back to their work, which the game expressly tells you upon completion.
I actually wish it dug into that more, the game already will suffer a bit with trying to engage completely new fans so I'd have preferred it went whole hog with this theme but then I am biased as I grew up with these.
Maybe that idea, that direction is why the game couldn't end properly but I will finish how I started.
The ending is crap. It can feel extremely sudden, it feels very unsatisfying and even if you see the gags they really do not land.
Return to Monkey Island was a game sitting at 3 and rising to around 4.5 for me in the final third, before slowly moving to around a 4 and crashing into what could have been a 3 or 2.5.
My feelings of enjoyment towards this game were a rollercoaster and sadly one that at the end I got off and was sick.
This amusement ride was not as amusing as it thinks it is.