Sea of Thievesplayers are about to set foot on a legendary pirate island not seen in almost 33 years. An island full of dastardly and ghostly pirates, talking skulls, pieces ‘o’ eight, grog, and rubber chickens with a pulley in the middle. Fans of pirate games with an adventure-style twist will soon be swashbuckling with the legendary pirate captain Guybrush Threepwood in a multipart Tall Tale titledSea of Thieves:The Legend ofMonkey Island.DeveloperRarehas once again reached deep into well-known pirate lore after previously finding success crossing their game withPirates of the Caribbeanin A Pirate’s Life.
Developed by LucasArts and originally released in 1990,The Secret of Monkey Islandcombined absurdly funny comedic situations, odd puzzles, and memorable writing to create one of the all-time best adventure games.Sea of Thieveshas grown over the last few years into a robust leader of the pirate genre itself as well, so this combination of legendary old and enjoyable new titles has the chance to be a match made in heaven. When the firstMonkey Island-focused Tall Tale releases on July 20, users will get to explore the very first island Guybrush set foot on when beginning his search for the famous Monkey Island: the less famous, but still full of deadly pirates, Melee Island. Only this time players will have a level of freedom to explore the island that was unfathomable in the early 90s, though some restrictions will still exist.
Game Rant was allowed a preview of the first of three Tall Tales to be told inThe Legend ofMonkey Island, and the adventure is shaping up to be a memorable one. Everything shown on the island, from the various characters to the music and even the scenery, has a good chance to inflict an absurd amount of nostalgia on those that may have started their gaming careers directing Threepwood around. Rare has strived hard to create an enjoyable mixture of the two games, and it shows in almost every aspect of the new adventure. There is a hearty mix of things that had to be changed toadapt to theSea of Thievesworld to enjoy as well, but the overall feeling of joy at the freedom to explore Melee Island in all its 3D goodness might be almost overwhelming forMonkey Islandfans.
There are limits to that exploration, though. In the preview build, players’ positions were reset back into a specified position if they strayed too far away from certain areas. It is a necessary step in order to keep the focus on the current Tall Tale, but it might still feel odd toSea of Thievesplayers used to much wider exploring freedom. Opening up the whole island at once would be a grand undertaking, though, so hopefully future Tall Tale episodes will give access to more areas found inMonkey Island. Despite this, standing on the top of Melee Island and seeing a few of the more famous places will be an absolute treat for many fans.
One of the more famous places that are open to players right off the bat will be the SCUMM bar, a place that might invoke a mixture of feelings that bounce between something brand new layered together with the old. This will undoubtedly include the remixes of the original music that should feel right at home to mostSea of ThievesandMonkey Islandfans alike. Indeed, almost all the music players will encounter will strum that same nostalgic feeling that the game’s visuals grant at every turn. Every strum, every gloomy tune, every time players walk into the SCUMM bar (as well as a few other locations that are found closer to the end of the Tall Tale), will undoubtedly add to the player’s enjoyment. The entire sound design is a pleasant mix of past and future, using the old tunes as the basis for the newer ones and mixing some together to create seemingly new music.
The mix of puzzle-solving methods might be the crossovers only glaring detriment. As puzzles need to be solved usingSea of Thievessystems, this creates a bit of an adverse experience for those expecting to pick up everything they possibly can like they did inMonkey Island. This makes the puzzle-solving take longer than some might like, having to physically carry one item at a time to its location. This causes a lot of trekking back and forth, and some players might be annoyed at having to remember where they dropped an item they didn’t need at that moment, only to find after a few steps they need to find that item again. The puzzles themselves are seemingly easier than previous Tall Tales as well, and fans ofMonkey Islandmight not enjoy that fact most of them are pretty straightforward forward find-insert item puzzles. On the flip side, the ones that are more odd in their design to accommodate those same fans' senses of humor might grate on regularSea of Thievesplayers a little. The balancing of those two aspects will be interesting to watch unfold as the rest of the crossovers Tall Tales are released.
The game’s new dialogue is written well, partly helped by porting over some of the originalMonkey Islandscripts. Throwbacks are plentiful, but the new dialogue tries hard to channel much of the older titles' energy with mixed results. Indeed, as the tale doesn’t strictly follow the original game, the newer parts might grate a little bit against the legendary story it is pulling from. These parts can include some of the voice acting, though it was mostly the new characters that felt or sounded a little off in their environments. But this might strictly be a product of trying to compare the new and old aspects of the games on the same levels.Sea of Thieveshas grown over the yearsinto a very popular pirate game in its own right, and the rose-tinted goggles of older players might cause a harsher-than-fair tone when comparing it to their old favorite.
This first episode of theSea of ThievesandMonkey Islandcollaboration is setting up the potential for something grand. The other Tall Tales will also add to the overwhelming nostalgia feeling, but it may create an odd desire that most people didn’t know they had: an inclination for a fully 3DMonkey Islandgame. There is so much love being put into recreating an enjoyable atmosphere while also using pieces of the original story in the most effective way that it’s going to be hard for players to not begin pondering the possibilities. This Tall Tale might not be the most ambitious one that Rare has created to date, but it has the prospect of being the one fans of both games enjoy the most. Just don’t forget to ask aboutLoom™while in the bar.
Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Islandwill be released July 20 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this preview.
