• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Gameranx

Gameranx

Video Game News, Lists & Guides

  • News
  • Features
  • Platforms
    • Xbox Series X
    • PS5
    • Nintendo
  • Videos
  • Upcoming Games
  • Guides
  • News
  • Features
  • Platforms
    • Xbox Series X
    • PS5
    • Nintendo
  • Videos
  • Upcoming Games
  • Guides

Return To Monkey Island Won’t Be Retro Or Have Pixel Art

May 4, 2022 by Alexandra Nicholson

In a surprise to many in the gaming community, Return To Monkey Island was announced last month. It may come as an even bigger surprise to some fans of the long-standing franchise that creator Ron Gilbert isn’t in fact a huge fan of the earlier games’ graphic and art style.

In a post recently shared on his Grumpy Gamer blog, Gilbert has revealed that the pixel art style graphics used in Thimbleweed Park are the only ones he’s ever used as he’s not really that keen on the retro art style. He also explains a bit more about the rationale behind leaving Lucasfilm to work in a different art direction on the next Monkey Island game.

Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren’t pixel art games. They were games using state-of-the-art tech and art. Monkey Island 1 was 16 color EGA and we jumped at the chance to upgrade it to 256 colors. Monkey Island 2 featured the magical wizardry of scanned art by Peter Chan and Steve Purcell and we lusted to keep pushing everything forward. If I had stayed and done Monkey Island 3 it wouldn’t have looked like Monkey Island 2. We would have kept pushing forward, and Day of the Tentacle is a good example of that. I never liked the art in DotT. Technically and artistically it was fantastic, but I never liked the wacky Chuck Jones style.

Ron Gilbert

Gilbert also elaborates on the move toward a more “provocative” and “shocking” style of art in Return To Monkey Island, which is being spearheaded by Little Big Planet‘s Rex Crowle. He acknowledged that it may not be what some more hardcore fans of the earlier games were expecting, but unfortunately, they’re just going to have to deal with it.

When Dave (Grossman) and I first started brainstorming Return to Monkey Island we talked about pixel art, but it didn’t feel right. We didn’t want to make a retro game. You can’t read an article about Thimbleweed Park without it being called a “throwback game”. I didn’t want Return to Monkey Island to be just a throwback game, I wanted to keep moving Monkey Island forward because it’s interesting, fun, and exciting. It’s what the Monkey Island games have always done.

Ron Gilbert

Ultimately, Return To Monkey Island may be getting a makeover in terms of its visuals, but it’s clear that Gilbert and his team are very much planning on making the game they want to create. “Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting,” he explains in the post, “but it’s the art style I wanted”. Retro fans may just have to learn to deal with a modern style of graphics when Return To Monkey Island is ready for release at some point this year.

Source

Share this post:

FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterest

Recent Videos

10 Games That LOST THEIR MAGIC

10 Games That LOST THEIR MAGIC

10 Games That Go 0 TO 100 in A SECOND

10 Games That Go 0 TO 100 in A SECOND

BATTLEFIELD 6 FINALLY LISTENS, NEW GHOST RECON CONFIRMED & MORE

BATTLEFIELD 6 FINALLY LISTENS, NEW GHOST RECON CONFIRMED & MORE

20 Game Levels That Are LEGENDARY For A Reason

20 Game Levels That Are LEGENDARY For A Reason

This NEW Fallout Game Looks INSANE

This NEW Fallout Game Looks INSANE

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - Before You Buy

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - Before You Buy

Top 10 NEW Games of AUGUST 2025

Top 10 NEW Games of AUGUST 2025

20 Best ZOMBIE Games You Shouldn't Miss

20 Best ZOMBIE Games You Shouldn't Miss

10 Games That DESERVED Better

10 Games That DESERVED Better

Category: UpdatesTag: Monkey Island, Return To Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Tales of the Shire Team Reveal Inspirations Behind “Cozy Title”
  • Former Rockstar Dev Says Fans Might Favor 30 FPS For GTA 6
  • Is The Creator Of Dead Space Done Directing Video Games?
  • Activision Blizzard Accused Of Using AI-Generated Content For Recent Crossover
  • Blooper Team No Longer Underdogs After Silent Hill 2

Copyright © 2025 · Gameranx · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme