Period coverage and modern retrospectives across all six games.
1990–2000
Period Reviews
Computer Gaming World
The Secret of Monkey Island
5 / 5
"LucasFilm has released what may be the best graphic adventure of the year...
The writing is superb, the humour consistent and genuinely funny, and the
puzzle design is exactly what the genre has needed."
1991
Amiga Power
The Secret of Monkey Island
92%
"Funny, brilliantly designed, and with a musical system that puts every other
Amiga game to shame. The iMUSE engine is an achievement that deserves to be
talked about for years."
1990
PC Gamer UK
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
94%
"The sequel improves on the original in virtually every measurable way —
larger, richer, funnier, and with a score that is among the finest in
computer gaming. The ending will be talked about for a generation."
1992
PC Gamer
The Curse of Monkey Island
93%
"A triumphant return to form. The hand-painted art is gorgeous, Dominic Armato's
voice performance is pitch-perfect, and the comedy has lost none of the series'
irreverent wit. Murray is a star."
1997
GameSpot
Escape from Monkey Island
8.0 / 10
"The 3D engine is a step sideways rather than forward, and Monkey Kombat
outstays its welcome. But the writing remains sharp and the voice cast
excellent. A flawed but affectionate entry."
2000
IGN
Tales of Monkey Island
8.5 / 10
"Telltale has done the impossible: made a new Monkey Island game that feels
authentic. The episodic format suits the series' chapter-like structure and
the voice cast is in fine form."
2009
2022
Return to Monkey Island — Critical Response
Eurogamer
Return to Monkey Island
Essential
"Ron Gilbert has made the Monkey Island game he always wanted to make, and
it is extraordinary — funny, bittersweet, self-aware, and culminating in
an ending that earns its emotional weight after thirty years."
2022
PC Gamer
Return to Monkey Island
88 / 100
"A game about nostalgia that refuses to be merely nostalgic. The art style
is divisive but deliberate. The writing is the sharpest Gilbert has produced
since 1991. The ending is exactly what it needed to be."
2022
The Guardian
Return to Monkey Island
★★★★★
"A remarkable achievement — a sequel that justifies its existence and then
some. Gilbert has thought deeply about what it means to return to something
you loved, and the result is moving as well as funny."