If you’re a fan of the Monkey Island series, have we got some good news for you. It turns out that a new Monkey Island title is in pipeline and more to the point, it’s actually going to be released this year.
That’s not the only exciting bit of news about the game either. Ron Gilbert, the original creator of the series, is also the one who will be spearheading the game’s development. If you’re not sure why that is big news, it’s because Gilbert was only involved with the first two Monkey Island titles, the Secrets of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. If anything, it is likely that the game will pick up directly after the events of the second game, therefore rendering the events that happened in the following titles thereafter, non-canon.
Not much is known about the upcoming sixth Monkey Island installment, but there are some details that can be made out from the game’s latest trailer. For starters, the game is being developed by three studios. The first, Terrible Toybox, is the studio behind the retro-title, Thimbleweed Park, as well as Gilbert’s own outfit. The second and third companies are Disney-owned Lucasfilm Games, and Devolver Digital, the studio that purchased the company behind the Serious Sam games and also went public last year.
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For another matter, Gilbert isn’t the only one making a comeback to this beloved franchise. Dominic Armato will also be making a comeback to voice the game’s protagonist, Guybrush Threepwood, while the art style and direction of the game will be Rex Crowle, who is responsible for the art direction in other popular games like LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway.
Sadly, there’s no further information about the game and Gilbert, being his usual self, is being stingy about any and all details regarding his new title. However, if a 2013 post on his blog is anything to go by, we could expect a “hardcore adventure game” and maybe – just maybe – the return of the SCUMM engine that made the first two Monkey Island games so endearing. Oh, and it’s also clear that everybody’s favourite smack-talking skull, Murray, will be making a comeback.
(Source: Return to Monkey Island, YouTube)
