Our Monkey Island Narrative Analysis: Back from the Vault and Free to Read—for a Limited Time Only!
Celebrate the Return to (and of) Monkey Island by revisiting our classic deep dive into Guybrush's Hero's Journey (Issues 2.4–2.6)—before they go back behind the paywall!
UPDATE (10/15/22):
The articles are back in the vault! If you’d still like to read them, all you need to do is upgrade to a paid subscription:
Original Post
This past Monday, September 19, 2022, adventure gamers of a certain age (👀) received a treat that’s been decades in the making: Return to Monkey Island, the sixth entry of Monkey Island, the beloved point-and-click adventure franchise about pirates and anachronisms, was released on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.
And as if that alone wasn’t enough, series creators Ron Gilbert and David Grossman reunited to spearhead the project, as did much of the old guard (including original composer Peter McConnell, and voice actors Dominic Armato and Denny Delk reprising their iconic roles as Guybrush Threepwood and Murray the Diabolical1 Skull, respectively).
And despite some really cruel (and really stupid) harassment towards the developers by some really entitled fans upset about Return’s art style, the game was ultimately vindicated, garnering a solid score of 88 on Metacritic, and nonstop praise from scores of very, very happy players throughout the Twittersphere.
Meanwhile, I’m not sure what became of those furious fanboys, but seeing as I haven’t heard much from them since the game dropped, I’m guessing their mommies punished their barbarous depravity by revoking their internet access and making them spend their days alone with their thoughts, forcing them to confront, face, and realize that they’re horribly sh%tty people. Hopefully, this will make them grow up a bit.
Me? I was ecstatic. Return is a delight from start to finish, nailing the playful, self-aware, witty humor that’s become the series’ hallmark, and reveling in holding a mirror up to the tropes it simultaneously deconstructs and plays entirely straight. The art style is gorgeous, I don’t care how many angry, entitled manchildren say otherwise. And the story ties up a few long-running mysteries (such as the Voodoo Lady’s name, and yes, the Secret of Monkey Island itself), without breaking continuity or established canon.
To commemorate the game’s launch, I’ve decided to temporarily lower the paywall for the three-part narrative analysis I did on Monkey Island. Through the end of September, anyone can access them by clicking the following links:
I’m also going to use this as an opportunity to create a cover page/issue director for Volume 2 at large (though just to be clear, all the other posts besides the Monkey Island analysis will remain paywalled).
Volume 2 Issue Directory
NOTE: Save for audio/podcast posts and the aforementioned Monkey Island analysis, the rest of Volume 2 has been archived behind the paywall and is only accessible to paid subscribers.
One More Thing…
💀😈🏴☠️
More like “diabolically incompetent,” if you ask me!