Return to Monkey Island details: Hint system and easy mode teased

Monkey Island: Return won’t exactly be returning to All fans may remember.

Recent (and very rare!) interview by Ars Technica revealed some of the first hints at what the long-awaited sequel to Monkey Island might look like. In a rare interview, Ron Gilbert (co-creator of Monkey Island) gave first glimpses at the future sequel in an Ars Technica interview.

They aren’t sure what to do next, but they keep their mouths shut. Monkey Island, Return will be about, they are open about a few things they’re looking to change.

“It’s a NeueMonkey Island is a better game than Other Monkey Island game, which is a subtle distinction, but an important one,” Grossman said.

There are two new features: A hint system and casual mode. In almost any other video game (except for maybe a FromSoftware title), this wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but with a Monkey Island title, it is. It’s a sequel. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (Monkey Island: ReturnI will not pay attention to the Ron Gilbert-less sequels). Monkey Island: Return is following up on the pinnacle of classic adventure games, famous not just for their wit, charm, and character, but also for wildly difficult puzzles that encouraged players to embrace the games’ sometimes-absurd logic and find everything the devs hid in each scene.

But it’s been 31 years since Monkey Island 2,Gilbert is adamant that expectations are not the same. Ars Technica

Gilbert stated that the Internet’s rise is a major reason he decided to change his mind. In the early ‘90s, before Internet access was widespread, getting stuck on completely impenetrable puzzles was just “what [adventure game] players expected,” he said. Today, though, ”if [players] don’t have a built-in hint system, they’re just going to jump over to the web and… read a walkthrough.” To prevent that, Monkey Island: Return will include a hint system that has been designed to make sense “in the fantasy,” Gilbert said. It will provide “more than just a walkthrough.”

The full interview is well worth reading —Gilbert and Grossman are both old-school legends that don’t like to make a big deal of their stature in gaming history, but are always incredibly insightful, even when they’re being grumpy.

Monkey Island: ReturnIt is expected to be released later in the year.