Recent reviews by Trynn

Fantastic game! A weird mix of base/city builder and action roguelike that reminds me of Hades' quick combat. The art is adorably ominous and the theme is satirically dark. If you like responsive combat, base building, and have a twisted sense of humor, this game is probably for you.

Return to Monkey Island is a worthy game in the franchise with perhaps a bit too much nostalgia call-backs thrown in.

The Good

• Music - The music, as is usual for a Monkey Island game, is simply fantastic. It keeps a lot of the same motifs from earlier games while giving them an update, and also fitting in with the vibe of the game perfectly.
  
• Gameplay - This is pretty typical point-and-click adventure game fare. If you enjoy those types of games you'll enjoy this. If you don't, you won't. The pointing and clicking has been updated to make the cursor a 'smart cursor' when hovering over items to interact with, rather than trying to figure out just what verb to use, and that makes the gameplay much smoother and more newbie friendly without taking away from the overall challenge of puzzles.
  
• Hint system - The game has a great built-in hint system that is usually pretty good at giving you just enough of a hint to figure out what you need to do next.

The Questionable

• Story - This is my personal opinion, but I did not like where the story went. There seems to be a fundamental difference in idea about what the Monkey Island franchise is about between Gilbert/Grossman and some of the fans of the series (like me). This is evidenced by the developer note written by Gilbert and Grossman and included in the game as a bonus feature where they describe the Monkey Island series as basically a reflection of their own careers in the game industry and growing older as human beings. Return to Monkey Island's story reflects that more than most of the other Monkey Island games, and has a lot of fourth-wall breaking references that allude to that theme. I, however, have grown up thinking of the Monkey Island games as their own fictional universe with a mostly cohesive storyline, and without spoiling the ending of the game, that idea is kind of shattered by where the story goes in Return to Monkey Island. There were also waaaay to many acknowledgements to nostalgia in the game. I've been playing Monkey Island games since MI1 back in the early 90s and am part of the target audience for those call-outs, but it was a bit much even for me.
  
• Art - The art style is divisive in this game. My thoughts are that it would be considered good if it were not a Monkey Island game. The art is definitely good art. However, in many places it really doesn't fit the kind of silly comedy feel that Monkey Island games are known for. I got a definite Ren & Stimpy vibe from some parts, which is not the kind of style I would expect to see in a Monkey Island game. The art did work well in some parts though, like on LeChuck's LeShip.
  
• LeChuck's Voice - The absence of Earl Boen as LeChuck is a big loss. I know it's because he retired, and I love Jess Harnell's other voice work, but I don't think Harnell pulls off a convincing LeChuck.

Overall I'd recommend at least trying this game out if you like point-and-click adventure games and are willing to look past some of the games flaws.

Do not purchase. This an online-only game, and the servers have been taken offline since the developers did not get the Shadowrun license renewed.