Monkey Island creator, Rob Gilbert, has shut down comments on his website and will no longer be sharing news about Return to Monkey Island following personal attacks and toxic comments.
During this week’s Nintendo Direct Mini partner showcase a new trailer for Return to Monkey Island was shown as well as the announcement that it would be a console exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. There was a range of responses to the new footage, though many players are excited to see a return to the story of Guybrush Threepwood after a 12-year hiatus.
Gilbert, who created and has written for the Monkey Island franchise since its beginning in 1990, was responding to fan feedback via the comments on his grumpygamer blog. However, he decided to shut down comments on his website – which at the time of writing is unavailable – following backlash from commenters.
In a post he wrote, “I’m shutting down comments. People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments. It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it,” he continued. “Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else. I won’t be posting anymore about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me.”
Previously, he had been engaging with fan theories based on the trailer on his Twitter page, but he has not commented since writing this post. The majority of criticism surrounds the new art style shown off in the first look gameplay.
The original games were drawn in a detailed pixel art style, and the remakes had a 2D animated style. The new art style is still in 2D but takes a more simplistic, stylised approach. Artistic style is subjective, and it is common that developers will try out new styles within a franchise as it progresses. Memorably Nintendo received a huge amount of criticism when it used the chibi art style for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, though it was later widely acclaimed.
Unfortunately, comments were no longer civil when stating fan preferences and included personal attacks against Gilbert and his team. It may be some time before we get more updates on Return to Monkey Island.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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