Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 54 Ratings

  • Summary: While explosively stripping the evil pirate LeChuck of his demonic mojo, Guybrush Threepwood inadvertently infects the entire Caribbean with the arch-fiend's expelled voodoo, which threatens to transform buccaneers into unruly pirate monsters. Pursued by a notorious cut-throat Pirate Hunter and a creepy French Physician who believes that Guybrush's eerily-infected hand holds the secret of eternal life, Threepwood sails the seven seas in search of La Esponja Grande, a legendary sea sponge with unparalleled voodoo exfoliating abilities. But little does Guybrush know, his quest is part of a larger, more sinister plot, and good and evil are not always as they seem. [Telltale Games] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 54
  2. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. 100
    Whether or not you've ever experienced Monkey Island's ridiculous puzzles and eccentric characters, this is a great opportunity to explore the reemerging world of adventure gaming.
  2. An amazing purchase. From the spot on comic humor, to the amazing voice acting, everything adds up to a worthy investment.
  3. Overall, the first outing in the Tales of Monkey Island series feels a lot like riding a bike for the first time in over a decade. Sure, you may wobble a bit at first and you may not be able to pull off all the same tricks as you could in your younger days, but things ultimately fall into place and it isn't long before you relax into a nice rhythm.
  4. As this is a classic adventure game, the story is a big part of the experience. As such, the pace will probably feel somewhat slow to those who've never played this type of game before. I wouldn't put the story on par with that of the original Monkey Island, but it's certainly better than average.

See all 54 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. I specially sing in to Metacritic to rate this game. I saw some reviews and decidet to write my own. For thoese who likes pirates and love homor will love this game. thumbs up! At the first some minutes i was so banned that i had to play the game to the end. i played 80 hours.
    80 hours full of fun wonderfull story and humor.
    Expand
  2. AndrewL
    10
    Firstly, the graphics at first are foreign, how could they not be? Luckily, they grow on you within the first 15 seconds of gameplay. The controls are beyond simple, using WASD to walk is easy and thankfully it doesn't follow the same control scheme as Escape from Monkey Island, it's not confusing in the slightest. The story so far (being that we're only given the first taste of 5 chapters) is amazing, there is so much excitement in the plot. The boyish, smart-alec humour of Guybrush is cheekier than ever and you instantly fall in love with him again. Every puzzle is as entertaining as its end result, consequences of doing your piratey deeds always reward the player, and it's just that much more fun, and somewhat sinister, in Tales of Monkey Island. Although short, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal does its job as an enjoyable start to a Monkey Island game. It's not up there with Curse of Monkey Island, but it sure comes close. Dare I say, it's already more enjoyable than the fourth instalment to the series. At the point you finish chapter one, you're overwhelmed with joy that there are 4 more parts to come! Thank you Lucasarts, for reviving what is possibly the best game series of all time. Expand
  3. Monkey Island is back. And in a BIG way. Almost a decade had passed with no new games and many fans had begun to loose faith there would never be another portion of their favourite pirate adventure game. However LucasArts in association with Telltale Games have brought Guybrush, Elaine, LeChuck and the others back for a really fun title. The voice acting is fantastic and luckily many (although not all) of the original cast have returned. The puzzles are challenging in a good way, however some fans might be turned off with the new graphics. Expand
  4. NathanM
    6
    In general the humor and the attitude is all there...in general... This is to say it "feels" like playing a classic Monkey Island Adventure...however the original complexity and difficulty is not present. The sheer number of scenes or locals with which Guybrush must interact simultaneously to solve the puzzles is simply not present. Another lacking feature that no one has mentioned to my knowledge. Where did the "Pick Up" "Open" "Close" "Talk To" "Look At" "Use" "Push" "Pull" go? These options added a great level of depth to the previous games, if even in the form of red herrings, which is lost here. In essence to make a strange comparison... I feel that if we might call the original Monkey Islands "Pokemon" then this latest is more like "Pokemon Snap!" Understand that I am not comparing Monkey Island to Pokemon in content. I am comparing Pokemon to Pokemon Snap in order to more clearly quantify the differential in the level of "gaming depth" between the classic Monkey Islands and this latest release. Same theme, same attitude, but shallower. Expand

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