Return to Monkey Island shows off a bold new look in its debut gameplay trailer

It was big news when Return to Monkey Island was announced in April, helmed by original Monkey Island co-conspirators Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman. Now, thanks to a trailer revealed during yesterday's Nintendo Direct, it's time to get our first look at some actual gameplay.

Not everyone was enamored with the new art style in the Return to Monkey Island reveal: Some longtime fans expressed disappointment that it didn't have a more overtly retro look, like Terrible Toybox's previous point-and-click adventure, Thimbleweed Park. Personally, I think it's a good fit: Modernized, as you'd expect after 30 years of technological progress, but also distinctly, well, weird, as a game like this should be.

We've also now got a bit more on what the game is actually about, and as usual it doesn't sound like things are going very smoothly for poor Guybrush. Here's what the website has to say:

"It’s been many years since Guybrush Threepwood was last locked in a battle of wits with his nemesis, the zombie pirate LeChuck. His true love, Elaine Marley, has turned her focus away from governing and Guybrush himself is adrift and unfulfilled, having never found the Secret of Monkey Island. Hip, young pirate leaders led by Captain Madison have shuffled the old guard from power, Melee Island has taken a turn for the worse, and famed businessman Stan has been imprisoned for ‘marketing-related crimes."

Speaking of ethically-flexible salesman Stan S. Stanman, this stretch in the slammer has given him some extra free time, and he'ss willing to spend some of it on chat and banter by way of a classic point-and-click conversation on the updated Return to Monkey Island website. It's predictably silly but there's real information salted in there too, including that the updated art is being handled by Rex Crowle, who previously worked on games including Psychonauts 2 and Knights and Bikes, while music is coming from original Monkey Island 2 composers Michael Land, Peter McConnell, and Clint Bajakian. Original Guybrush Threepwood voice actor Dominic Armato is also returning to the role.

And speaking of Dominic Armato, it turns out that he digs the new look too.

Unfortunately, we still don't have a release date for Return to Monkey Island, although it's expected to be out sometime this year. Pricing hasn't been announced either, but despite some age advice from long ago, you can be pretty sure it's going to cost more than $20. Inflation, you know.

(Image credit: LucasArts)
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
Uplifted chimp Penn and cyber-rat Trip in the key art for Animal Use Protocol
Animal Use Protocol's dysfunctional chimp-rat alliance drags the Stasis series into a horrible new first-person era
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii screenshot showing Majima with two companions aboard a ship
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope
Metal Gear Solid Delta
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater finally has a confirmed release date: August 28
Shodan, the villainous AI from System Shock
Nightdive's spent 6 years on its update of System Shock 2, so it's now the '25th Anniversary Remaster' and will finally announce its release date on March 20
A mish-mash of fantasy and modern-day characters, including a Viking, a necromancer, and a businessman
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser's new project looks like nothing special, to be perfectly honest
A ferocious fish-man
Frogwares shows off The Sinking City 2's first in-game footage and launches a Kickstarter safety net: 'After 3 years of this horrid war hanging over our daily lives, we've learned to adapt'
Latest in Adventure
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
A motley crew riding out in point-and-click adventure Rosewater
Promising '90s style point-and-clicker Rosewater rides out today, featuring trail-worn cowpoke authors and weird alt-universe science
It's ENA! From the free adventure Dream BBQ!
Mindbending free multimedia adventure ENA: Dream BBQ is out now, has activated all my neurons and opened my third eye
Image of illuminated manuscript-style drawings from the game Pentiment.
Random characters kept swearing in Obsidian's font-obsessed murder-mystery when its procedural error system ran amok: 'Naughtiness abounded'
An image of a corpse with the text "You've been re-educated."
I played the lost videogame sequel to 1984, and came away more nostalgic than ever for gaming's awkward adolescence in 1999
Rosella encounters a satyr in a forest in King's Quest 4
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
Latest in News
A screenshot from SaGa Frontier 2, showing one of the protagonists wandering through a quaint fantasy village
One of Square Enix' most underrated PlayStation-era JRPGs just shadow dropped on Steam
The titular character from Princess Mononoke is depicted riding the wolf goddess Moro and carrying a spear.
Studio Ghibli AI image trend floods social media, cheered on by OpenAI and denounced by critics as an insult to Hayao Miyazaki
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'