Tales Of Monkey Island: The Trial And Execution Of Guybrush Threepwood review

After the impressive episode three of the Monkey Island Tales series, I had high hopes for this continuation, and thankfully, I’ve not been disappointed, as this is the best episode yet.

First, a quick, and spoiler-tainted recap, just in case the month away from Mr Threepwood has caused a pox-like smog to cloud your memory. Episode three saw Threepwood and Morgan LeFlay get swallowed up by a giant manatee, and, in the style only Guybrush could manage, they escaped the bowels of the sea mammal, eventually helping it find a mate in the great manatee mating grounds. These grounds also just so happened to be the resting place of Le Sponge Grande, only the sponge wasn’t exactly as grand as Guybrush hoped. Before Guybrush could celebrate and cure his wife Elaine from the Pox of LeChuck, Leflay double crossed him and set about returning him to the evil French scientist, the Marquis De Singe.

Episode four, The Trial And Execution Of Guybrush Threepwood picks up with LeFlay delivering Guybrush to De Singe on Flotsam Island, but, before De Singe gets his prize, Guybrush is marched off by the now pox-ridden inhabitants of the island to stand trial for several crimes. De Singe also has new interests, including an unhealthy obsession with Guybrush’s now pox-stricken wife, Elaine Marley.

This episode of the series initially runs a big risk, in that it takes place in many locations we’ve seen before back in episode one, as it’s set ,once again, on Flotsam Island, but thankfully, this isn’t much of an issue, as this dialogue and puzzle heavy outing has more than enough new content to stand out.

New areas not previously accessible are visited this time, including the pirate courthouse and Club 41, and the quality and quantity of puzzles is generous, indeed. There’s also plenty of conversation to be had, especially during the courthouse sections, and some of the aforementioned puzzles are devilishly tricky, but once again, are all fairly logical, and can be solved as long as you experiment with objects and pay close attention to the environments. These challenges require a might more interaction with the world, too, instead of relying on simple item combinations.

This is certainly the longest episode so far, partially due to the tricky and numerous puzzles, and the quality of the writing, whilst not as humorous as the previous episode, is as high as ever. There’s also the return of some familiar faces from previous episodes, as well as Monkey Island veteran, and compulsive arm waver, Stan the Salesman and his eye-bending jacket.

The story also develops nicely with some surprising twists (just wait for the cliff-hanger), and even reveals a major plot-thickener that covers the whole Monkey Island series.

Telltale has continued to do the Monkey Island series justice with this great outing, and it looks like the final chapter is set to be a classic finale. 

• Chapter 1 -The Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal PC review
• Chapter 2 -The Siege Of Spinner Cay PC review
• Chapter 3 -Lair Of The Leviathan PC review