Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Return to Monkey Island
Series creator Ron Gilbert returns three decades later to finally conclude Guybrush Threepwood's story about the secret of Monkey Island. A hand drawn style, warm humor and clever puzzles meet a loving reunion with old friends.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Adventure / Puzzle, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
Difficulty stays forgiving, so progress rarely depends on your reflexes. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 5 platforms. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- Series finale by Ron Gilbert
- Hand drawn style
- Warmhearted humor
This fits you if
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- you enjoy being made to think
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
- you want zero frustration and no difficulty wall
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you want something light that leaves you in a good mood
Look elsewhere if
- you need real difficulty to stay interested
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you specifically want an open world to roam
- you want to play it side by side with someone
What it costs you in time
About 11 hours in total. At two hours per evening that is around 6 evenings, so about a week of casual play.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 92 out of 100, which puts it above 93 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 81 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Adventure averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 9 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 93 collected ratings.
Released in 2022 and 4 years old. Recent enough to look and run modern, old enough to be patched and often discounted.
The facts
- Release year
- 2022
- Genres
- Adventure, Puzzle
- Playtime
- approx. 11 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Relaxed, forgiving
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC, Switch, Xbox, Mobile, PlayStation
- Critic rating
- 92 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Monkey Island | 2022 | approx. 11 hrs. | 92 | Mid price |
| Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland | 2025 | approx. 8 hrs. | 87 | Budget |
| Edna bricht aus | 2008 | approx. 8 hrs. | 85 | Budget |
| The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition | 2009 | approx. 8 hrs. | 85 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy
- Edna bricht aus Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy
- Broken Age Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy
- Tangle Tower Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy, shorter
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Fantasy