Ron Gilbert has provided another peek beneath the eyepatch of Return to Monkey Island the hotly anticipated adventure game that's a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, with a new gameplay snippet showing off the game's dialogue system and a new character, the honourable(?) Judge Plank.
The clip opens with Guybrush Threepwood dashing along a street in what appears to a blizzard, with buildings covered in thick snow and sleet lashing down from the sky. Not only it the frigid scene a far cry from Monkey Island's more typically tropical climate, the icy tempest also really highlights the strengths of the new art-style when everything's in motion. The slouching buildings, the crackling torches, the flapping banner. It all looks fab. You can see it embedded below (you'll need to click "See more.")
It’s odd that #MonkeyIslandMonday happens every 7 days. There must be some hidden pattern here. Any ides @phrenopolis? I’d ask Guybrush but he seems busy at the moment. pic.twitter.com/OZPYt2LaaNJuly 25, 2022
The scene then transitions into the chambers of Judge Plank, a newly revealed character who clearly takes his position extremely seriously, even if Guybrush doesn't. Plank immediately chastises Guybrush for not asking permission to approach the bench. At this point, the dialogue system kicks in, offering Guybrush a range of potential responses. The system seems like standard Monkey Island fare, with the dialogue options offering varying degrees of absurdity. It is perhaps more streamlined than the older games, however.
It's all more evidence that Return to Monkey Island will be a pleasingly preposterous piratical cap on the long-running adventure game series. It's also nice to see Gilbert sharing footage of his new game online again, considering he previously planned to stop posting about the game on social media, stating "The joy of sharing has been driven from me."
