# Return to Monkey Island Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/return-to-monkey-island/ 7 people recommended Return to Monkey Island in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. Fans call it a satisfying, well-made point-and-click ending to the saga, with appealing art and characters. Common caveat: critics say the ending repeats an overused trope. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Ending retcons or ruins series (4 comments in the sample): "Also it completely retcons the ending of Monkey Island 2." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49110113)) "After the endings of Thimbleweed Park and Return To Monkey Island, I lost a lot of respect for Ron Gilbert." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49111259)) "he coldly murdered it in the long-awaited "official" sequel, Return" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47410139)) - Overused ending trope (3 comments in the sample): "The issue is that it's ok the first time, but after the third time it's an overused trope" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49124142)) "He repeated the same trope in Return to Monkey Island. At this point, I expect all of his endings to be abstract and meta." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49113740)) "yet another game Gilbert ruined with this tired trope" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49109628)) - Lazy puzzles and few interactions (2 comments in the sample): "the flat humor, the lazy puzzles (like clicking multiple times on multiple objects to open the porthole) and the meagre number of interactions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49110078)) "sadly felt like a puzzle-free story for children and their parents to sit together to play" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46264371)) - Weak story and flat humor (1 comment in the sample): "I liked the art style and the characters. The story wasn't amazing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49110595)) ## Why people recommend it - Satisfying, bittersweet ending (3 comments in the sample): "It felt like a fitting conclusion to me that neatly tied a bow on the whole saga." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46158045)) "the ending of Return to Monkey Island actually was pretty satisfying to me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49120411)) "I truly appreciated the bittersweet finale of RMI which told us all" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49124576)) - Well-made point-and-click adventure (2 comments in the sample): "Now THAT's how you make a point-and-click adventure game!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786598)) "Monkey Island 5 was really really good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49111614)) ## Other adventure games people recommend - [Sid Meier's Pirates!](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sid-meier-s-pirates/): 41 recommend, 16 mixed, 10 criticize - [Grim Fandango](https://hackerapproved.com/p/grim-fandango/): 30 recommend, 10 mixed, 6 criticize - [Myst](https://hackerapproved.com/p/myst/): 22 recommend, 8 mixed, 7 criticize - [Doki Doki Literature Club](https://hackerapproved.com/p/doki-doki-literature-club/): 22 recommend, 1 mixed, 6 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://returntomonkeyisland.com/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Return to Monkey Island", https://hackerapproved.com/p/return-to-monkey-island/ (7 recommend, 2 mixed, 12 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.