Return to Monkey Island

The Management thinks three decades is a perfectly fine amount of time for Will Freeman to wait to get an under-inflation pay rise.

- Will Freeman

The infamously bewildering ending to 1991's Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge left players longing for resolution that subsequent Monkey Island games never delivered. Three decades later, and after effectively saying it would never happen, key members of the original team -including series creator Ron Gilbert -have made the game that picks up after the final moments of LeChuck's Revenge. And they subvert our 30-year-old expectations about what happens next immediately.

Return to Monkey Island's mischievous opening confidently asserts that this is the authentic Monkey Island experience we've come for: sharp, self-aware and brilliantly silly. It bombards you with gags but the characters you meet aren't just comedic props, and the cunning stream of interwoven puzzles has been modernised to keep up the pace without losing the satisfaction of problem-solving. It's a massive success.

The opening prologue whips you through a homage to classic Monkey Island moments before thrusting the shambling Threepwood back into his past. Older, tireder and more challenged by holding his breath, Guybrush has grown with us, as have Monkey Island's classic locales and characters. Everything and everyone has gone on a journey. Wally the cartographer has been reshaped by finding his confidence without losing his charming spirit, and even LeChuck seems to have found a softer side despite remaining the furiously irritated villain we adore.

Everything is different but familiar, from the narrative and characters to the revised systems for interaction and puzzle solving. It can temporarily transport you to the '90s - at least if you also have cosy memories of staying up too late solving pirate puzzles - but it isn't stuck there.