The creator of the original Monkey Island, who made a name for himself in the industry, is finally back.

 

 

Anyone with even a passing interest in adventure games will have heard of The Secret of Monkey Island. Conceived back in 1990 by Ron Gilbert and Lucasfilm Games – no sh*t, LucasArts! – the game has had four sequels that have not disappointed the community. However, it seems that the original director still has some ideas, so Return to Monkey Island was officially announced today.

The pirate adventure, a collaboration between Ron Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox, Lucasfilm Games and Devolver Digital, will be released in 2022!

The rumour has been around for a few days – we reported on it, but now we’ve finally got a trailer, which you can watch at the bottom of this article. Although it doesn’t tell us too much about the story, it does not forget to showcase the classic fantasy aspects that made the first game a true wonder in the industry 30 years ago.

It’s also clear that there will still be a good dose of humour, as this trailer also drops a little joke about Ron Gilbert. The skull that briefly appears in the trailer – who, as we all know, is none other than “Murray the Demonic Skull!” – starts off with “Ron Gilbert said he’d never make Monkey Island again unless…” before another character’s punch cuts off the words.

We’ll be looking for more information on the new Monkey Island, as we’re sure this title will be met with massive enthusiasm by many. After all, it’s the trademark humour and really tricky puzzles that made the Monkey Island games so memorable. As for the puzzles, Ron Gilbert himself gave us one…

 

Ron Gilbert warned us how he’d announce when he returns

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ron Gilbert’s announcement last Friday seemed like an April Fools’ joke – many people didn’t believe he’d confirm the development of the video game until now. But there’s much more to the story: a promise made nine years ago has now been fulfilled by the veteran developer.

Master Gilbert had already warned his fans (see below) that if a new instalment in the series were developed, he would announce it on a very specific date, April 1st. Gilbert was true to his promise and confirmed it on Friday, although it was only yesterday that he revealed the title and shared the release window for Return to Monkey Island.

Sadly, we really don’t know too much about the project so far, except that it will be a project from the creators of the brilliant Thimbleweed Park, Terrible Toybox, a collaboration between Devolver Digital, LucasFilm and the creators of great games such as Maniac Mansion. Also, if all is true, series composers Michael Land, Peter McConnel and Clint Bajakian will return to compose the game’s score.

Dominic Armato, who has voiced the series’ protagonist Guybrush Threepwood in previous Monkey Island games, will also return to reprise his iconic character.

In addition, it is said to be a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, which is a pity because it would be a shame to throw the subsequent episodes out the window, even though Gilbert was not involved in their creation…

Source: returntomonkeyisland.com

If I ever get to make another Monkey Island, I'm going to announce it on April 1st.

— Ron Gilbert (@grumpygamer) September 19, 2013