Newly-released Nintendo Switch and PC game Return to Monkey Island is now one of the year's highest-rated video game releases. The game's review aggregate score currently has it listed at a 90 overall rating, and while the score could very well fluctuate, it should still remain one of the year's most highly-reviewed PC and Switch games regardless.
Return to Monkey Island, the first completely new Monkey Island game since 2009's Tales of Monkey Island, is said to be the final installment in the long-running Monkey Island franchise. It's notable for featuring the return of Monkey Island series creator Ron Gilbert. Gilbert worked on the first two Monkey Island games, but the titles that followed were made without his involvement. Considering this, it's no surprise that Return to Monkey Island is set after the events of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
Even though Return to Monkey Island is chronologically set after Monkey Island 2, and fans will only need to have played the first two games in the series to be caught up on the story, it's not going to contradict the canon established by later entries. This way, Gilbert can wrap up the story he started in the first two games without stepping on the toes of those who liked later entries, such as The Curse of Monkey Island and Escape from Monkey Island.
Return to Monkey Island Review Scores
The Monkey Island games are generally considered to be some of the finest point-and-click adventure games on the market, so many may have anticipated Return to Monkey Island to get high review scores. Reviewers have praised the game's puzzles, writing, story, and characters, so pretty much everything that was beloved about the old games returns for the latest installment in the series.
This overwhelmingly positive reception may also help ease the fears of fans who were upset about Return to Monkey Island's art style, though that remains to be seen. For the uninitiated, angry Monkey Island fans verbally attacked Ron Gilbert after the Return to Monkey Island gameplay revealed confirmed that the new game would be using an art style different from previous games in the series. The abuse was enough that Gilbert shut down his personal blog in response.
Return to Monkey Island's high review scores prove that the art style controversy was overblown, with the game now joining the ranks of other notable games in the 90 or above club for 2022, including hits like FromSoftware's Elden Ring and fellow point-and-click adventure game NORCO. Again, it's possible Return to Monkey Island's review score will drop as more reviews are counted, but it should still remain fairly high on the list of top-rated games of 2022.
Return to Monkey Island is available now for PC and Switch.
Source: OpenCritic