Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season
Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season
Game
Game2018
Escape from Monkey Island™
Developer LucasArts
Escape from Monkey Island is a 2000 adventure game developed and published by LucasArts. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series, and the sequel to The Curse of Monkey Island (1997). The game was first released for Microsoft Windows in November 2000, and was ported to Mac OS and PlayStation 2 in 2001. It is the first game in the series to use 3D graphics, and the second game to use the GrimE engine, which… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
225 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Oct 12, 2026 · last updated Oct 17, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
53
Mixed
98 positive · 87 negative
95% range 46–60%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 98 | 87 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 1 | 34 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
247 of 438 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
53% recommend · 99 yes, 88 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 187 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (423 of 745 positive).
Many players love the game's humor and story, calling it a worthy Monkey Island entry. [1][2][3] The controls are widely criticized as clunky and frustrating, especially on PC. [4][5][6] Technical issues like crashes and bugs are common, with some recommending alternative versions. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [10]
Hoo boy... this is a hard one: Pros: The voice acting The humor The music Cons: The controls Some of the puzzles are unforgiving and frustrating Monkey Kombat!!! The kinda mixed-up story MONKEY KOMBAT!!! While I don't hate this one, it's definitely the black sheep of the franchise. Also, reason I didn't say anything about the graphics was that it didn't seem fair -3D graphics were still a new thing at the time, and …
- [6]
Escape from Monkey Island... where do i even begin... I was excited to play this fourth installment after having a great time with the 3 prior games. One thing i immediately noticed was the mixed Steam reviews which was a big contrast compared to the reviews of the prior games but i didn't think too much of it. I launched the game, watched the intro cinematic and there i was stuck on a ship with no idea how to …
- [1]
I'm gonna go against the grain here and admit that I love this game. It's at least tied for my favorite in the series (with LeChuck's Revenge), so I feel compelled to come to its defense and explain why it's worth a try, especially if you enjoy Monkey Island games. The most common complaints about this game are its controls and it's puzzles, especially Monkey Kombat. I'll address these in order. CONTROLS: As you'll …
- [4]
After getting used to the controls, I really enjoyed it. (Apart from Monkey Kombat, which was tedious) PSA for those who want to play: - Use dgVoodoo2 so it renders at a good resolution without crashes. - Cap the framerate to 60fps to prevent bugs. - Use a controller, and rebind the buttons in the menu when you load the game. But yeah, apart from that - it's another Monkey Island game. Very kino.
- [2]
I'm seeing this game get a lot of negative reviews and I thought I might give my 2 cents on this. In terms of a monkey island game, it's a really fun time. The writing is still as funny as ever and the puzzles are still what to expect. The steam version of the game might be a little bugged though. When I launched the game the cutscenes wouldn't appear until I set launch options then copied & pasted this in: -gl -w …
Summarised from 34 of the 228 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Escape from Monkey Island™ sits at 53% positive across 185 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Discussing Escape from Monkey Island's performance in December 2000, Simon Jeffery of LucasArts said that the company was "really happy with the [game's] success". He noted that it was "selling well" in the United States and "incredibly well in Europe", which he called proof that a market still existed for adventure games, despite a widespread belief that the genre had died. The game's computer version sold 55,275 copies and earned $2 million in the United States by the end of 2000, according to the market research firm PC Data. In the German market, Escape debuted at #4 on Media Control's computer game sales chart for November 2000. It placed ninth and 16th in its following two months,…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 225 · most liked firstI'm gonna go against the grain here and admit that I love this game. It's at least tied for my favorite in the series (with LeChuck's Revenge), so I feel compelled to come to its defense and explain why it's worth a try, especially if you enjoy Monkey Island games. The most common complaints about this game are its controls and it's puzzles, especially Monkey Kombat. I'll address these in order. CONTROLS: As you'll note, this is not a point-and-click adventure game like the rest of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hoo boy... this is a hard one: Pros: The voice acting The humor The music Cons: The controls Some of the puzzles are unforgiving and frustrating Monkey Kombat!!! The kinda mixed-up story MONKEY KOMBAT!!! While I don't hate this one, it's definitely the black sheep of the franchise. Also, reason I didn't say anything about the graphics was that it didn't seem fair -3D graphics were still a new thing at the time, and it still carried a Monkey Island vibe. So while I don't think it's a terrible…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Look, the entire Monkey Island series are the most fun adventure games ever. Am I biased? Of course I am! The original two were the games of my childhood and the rest have come along and sustained the same humour and adventure. So much fun to play and now I have played through them all with both my daughters, who have also been hooked! My 7 year old asks me nearly weekly, "Is Monkey Island 6 out yet?!" I recommend these games to anyone who likes puzzles. And Pirates. Fun fact, the entire…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm seeing this game get a lot of negative reviews and I thought I might give my 2 cents on this. In terms of a monkey island game, it's a really fun time. The writing is still as funny as ever and the puzzles are still what to expect. The steam version of the game might be a little bugged though. When I launched the game the cutscenes wouldn't appear until I set launch options then copied & pasted this in: -gl -w -16. Controls are not the standard point and click either cause I believe it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: Save often to avoid game breaking bugs, you can stop playing during Act3, watch a video if you're curious about the end. Or you can skip this game altogether, you're not missing out. I'm a big fan of the series, and there honestly wasn't a game I didn't like... until I played this one. I agree with most people who say this is probably the worst in the series. There are some very good moments, but I wouldn't recommend it. Pros: * Humour always on point * Great voice acting * Most…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's one of my favourite games but this version doesn't work at all on here.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game. Very enjoyable, and difficult. Took exactly 52 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds to finish.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't play the steam version find a different way to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After getting used to the controls, I really enjoyed it. (Apart from Monkey Kombat, which was tedious) PSA for those who want to play: - Use dgVoodoo2 so it renders at a good resolution without crashes. - Cap the framerate to 60fps to prevent bugs. - Use a controller, and rebind the buttons in the menu when you load the game. But yeah, apart from that - it's another Monkey Island game. Very kino.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Escape from Monkey Island... where do i even begin... I was excited to play this fourth installment after having a great time with the 3 prior games. One thing i immediately noticed was the mixed Steam reviews which was a big contrast compared to the reviews of the prior games but i didn't think too much of it. I launched the game, watched the intro cinematic and there i was stuck on a ship with no idea how to control Guybrush. I spent over an hour just switching between keyboard and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Outline: This is not based on quality of the content but on the nature of the program itself - I do not recommend playing this version of the game due to issues with stability, resolution, and all other technical problems that ideally need a remaster to rectify. This deserves to get an updated version made, but I'm not hopeful that one will be.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Two words: Monkey Kombat. Honestly, apart from that, I actually really love this game. It's warm, zany and has nice music. I particularly like Luca Island's town ambient song. I just hum it away while I play. It rates lowest on my list for the whole franchise, but that says more about the franchise than the game as a whole. If this is the lowest Monkey Island ever got, then damn is this a good franchise.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the second-worst attempt at bringing a classic point-and-click game series into 3D I`ve ever seen
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DON'T BUY IT (even on sale, and I had MI 1 when it came out): -> the controls are the worst (I cant state this enough, I playing now with the keyboard), -> controller barely functions and in some parts of the game are not playable with controller -> game crashes randomly (SAVE OFTEN) -> AND WORST the game is boring -> some puzzels are so contrived / "witty" that they are not really solveable (not like in MI 1-3 ) -> the game is filled with repetition to pad the runtime I'm one major…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love this game but as someone who's played both versions, I would recommend you play the PlayStation 2 version if you still have one. It almost feels like the game was designed for consoles (weirdly enough, Grim Fandango, what this game was built off of, controls the exact same but was only designed for Windows) and using a controller makes things 10 times better. Also, you get a hint sheet in Monkey Kombat if you hold down R2 which takes away 90% of what you need to write down in the PC…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Port is a bit stinky, and it took about 30 minutes of tinkering to get the controls to work on Steam Deck, and PC, however it's still a childhood favourite, and once it works, it is a fantastic experience. Nothing makes me laugh like a Monkey Island game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game didn't quite hit the mark for me. The departure from classic gameplay, lackluster humor, shift to a more simplified interface, overly convoluted puzzles and the introduction of clunky 3D graphics left me feeling disappointed. It's a forgettable entry in the series that failed to recapture the magic of its predecessors. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3237427212 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3247641371
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has redeeming qualities, the writing, the humor, the wacky puzzles, it still is a monkey island game and there is enjoyment to find in it That is if you manage to get over the many ordeals the game puts you through : - The ugly 3D , I mean okay it's early 2000, it's their first 3D game, I shouldn't expect good graphics but C'mon ! their previous entry was a top notch 2d handdrawn, for them to go so low begs the question of why'd they go for bad 3D over good 2D - Random Crashes, yup, it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Escape from Monkey Island was my favorite as a kid and I'm happy to say I still found it very funny 22 years later. Elaine definitely acts like a stuck up woman of privilege but I felt that attitude was implied by the 2nd game so it didn't feel that out of sorts. Opinions will vary on her portayal but in general the humor is on point and stands alongside the rest of the series in chuckles per minute. For an early 3d game(2000 on pc) the pre-rendered backgrounds are pretty charming and you can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you can get the game to run properly and maintain patience with the frustrating controls, this is actually an entertaining game. The puzzles, for the most part, are logical, but you will need to resort to the old "use everything in your inventory on everything you encounter" strategy to solve some of the cringe-worthy puzzles. Also, Some items you will need are very hard to spot in the environment which can provide additional frustration. The bottom line is that there are probably very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game. I don't know what some people have against the controls.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tried to play and it cruined my display, had to reboot to fix. I would love to play but will stick to watching a playthrough unfortunatley. The games 1-3 are excellent though
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a tough one to review. Most of the time, you catch yourself thinking, “Why fix what’s not broken?” The previous three games kept the point-and-click formula focused on actually clicking. Escape from Monkey Island came at a time when 3D graphics were everything, but sadly, I do not think this series needed that change. Forget about your mouse; you will be using your keyboard or joystick, if supported. The movement is clunky and will drive you crazy. While in the previous games you spent…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Okay. So. Let me ask you a few questions. 1) Do you like the Monkey Island series? (And if so, do you NOT care about Guybrush or Elaine's characterization?) 2) Are you okay with downloading external software and messing with the game's files a bit in order to even get it to run? 3) Are you very stubborn and/or patient, enough that you can deal with intense glitches and some very broken puzzles? 4) Are you okay with putting up with VERY dated humor involving things like racism and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Escape from Monkey Island is fine, but that’s exactly the problem. Most of the game is just okayish and it’s missing the heart and love that defined the earlier entries. The issue isn’t the controls for me, it’s the story and humor, which never reach the cleverness or warmth the series is known for. The graphics also feel generic and today very dated. And then there’s Monkey Kombat. If you want to experience one of the most frustrating mechanics ever put into an adventure game, you’ll find it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game brings a lot of nostalgia to me, as I was first introduced to the wonders of Monkey Island when I was, approximately, 8 years old. My mother, brother and I would sit for hours, pondering the puzzles and scouting for clues. We would spend hours, playing and then re-loading a previous save because the method of how to complete the puzzle wasn't correct, so you can imagine the time it took to complete in the year 2008! My mother, bless her, wrote a step-by-step guide to this game-which I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i consider myself a patient man, but these controls are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ terrible!!!!!!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It took a fair bit of effort to get into this one. I'd recommend using the Dreamm engine to play it on modern systems. The two biggest flaws with this game are the controls and the art style. It put me off playing it for so long. The controls are absolutely terrible and even hours into the game are still difficult to get a grip of. As for the graphics, early 3D styles like this have aged so poorly. Its especially disappointing when you consider how beautiful monkey island 3 was. However that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →sad no mouse support for game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let me just say to those who have never played this game but love Monkey Island - don't be put off by the negative reviews. Yes the game hasn't aged as well as the others and yes, the controls are a little clunky but let's keep things in perspective... I've been playing the MI games for around 25 years now and I remember playing 1 & 2 on my uncles Amiga. These were copied versions with no save function, so we had to start fresh EVERY time, meaning we had to basically speed run the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved every other entry in Monkey Island, but this one is practically unplayable. The writing and voice acting is great, but the controls are so terrible. Getting Guybrush anywhere specific is like pushing a shopping cart with stuck wheels. Trying to get him to simply walk up to a door is so infuriating I wanted to pull my hair out. Every other entry in Monkey Island is a point and click adventure, and this one utterly abandons that concept. No mouse use at all. Two of the previous entries…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Escape from Monkey Island™ is the fourth main entry in LucasArts’ iconic adventure series, released at a time when the genre itself was undergoing a dramatic shift. Coming after the warmly received The Curse of Monkey Island, this installment takes a bold step into full 3D presentation and a new control philosophy, attempting to modernize a franchise that had long been defined by hand-drawn art and classic point-and-click interaction. The result is a game that is unmistakably Monkey Island in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The writing is still great but holy hell the port condition and just the gameplay in general is awkward and bad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even if you manage to get it working, the controls are horrible and the game is just not that great. Watch a walkthrough video on youtube instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the story is very good, controls very bad, but I got used to them. i played at linux and i didn't had any bug problem. from me is 6/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This barely worked on Windows 10 with some gimmicks (see the guides). It doesn't start at all on Windows 11.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is great, the puzzles are good and the humor is on point. I can not recommend this because I had to install a 3rd party software to have it display in the right aspect ratio (dgVoodoo) and if I have to do this why wouldn't I download this game in "another way" also there is a game breaking BUG at the school that will prevent you from interacting with guybrush from this point on. This can be fixed by downloading another savefile from the internet. The file was french in my case and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the last game I've completed in the series before playing Return to Monkey Island, and man, what a disappointment. Despite this game often being mentioned as the worst entry in the franchise, I still went in with high hopes. Unfortunately, that goodwill was crushed throughout my playthrough, leaving nothing but a puddle of lukewarm takeaways. In some regards, I believe this game is definitely treated unfairly. The 3D graphics, while primitive nowadays, were great for their time and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This one's just crap, plain and simple. Swing and a miss. If Curse was the middle child of the series, Escape is the half-brother we don't talk about that's in prison for doing Prince Andrew-related activities. Let's start with the most noticeable bad thing about the game, the controls. My oh my, these controls are horrid. The previous games had perfectly fine point-and-click controls, nothing state of the art, but it worked fine and didn't really need to be changed. This one, however, has…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easily the worst game in the series. I'm not surprised that Tales From Monkey Island makes no reference to the events of the game. Monkey Kombat is terrible as well as the new villain. Some fiendish enough puzzles but the humor isn't there and even the great voice casting doesn't save it. For Monkey Island completionists only. For everyone else, you can skip straight from Curse of Monkey Island to Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island. Shame we never got Tales 2.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 38 hours, I have finaly beat the Escape from Monkey Island (TM) without using any guide or help. I must say, this is not worth it. Main story is okay at best, but in general character dialogs and writing is good and funny. And story literally takes of and continues from the previous game, so if you want to know what happens next, you should also play Escape from Monkey Island (TM). But you will not be able to enjoy Escape from Monkey Island (TM) compare to other monkey island games that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good Aim - Escape from Monkey Island Clip We finish the game tomorrow, Friday at 5pm ET on Twitch #retrogaming #monkeyisland #escapefrommonkeyisland
neutral · AI labelView post →The real challenge is figuring out how to play it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great nostalgic game, but sadly this version on steam has such poor functionality it's a frustrating mess. No window mode or resolution options. On windows11 launching disables most windows commands so have to Alt Tab Delete to even (ironically) escape the game. Controller support is near on non-existant and very janky to try and work around. Unfortunately needs a re-work to be compatible to newer software and shouldn't be sold as is.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I managed to finish the game and learn the ways of MONKEY COMBAT. This is a new low for me i'm sure, oh well at least i have Elaine :/ Recommend you just do Monkey Island 1 and 2 then stop playing any others.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Currently playing through Escape from Monkey Island again, and am wholeheartedly in love just like I was as a child. I remember spending hours with my grandpa trying to solve the stubborn puzzles in this game, and still find myself getting stuck on the same ones I used to now that I’ve forgotten a lot of them. The controls are fine, y’all really just like making a big stink about it because it’s not what you’re used to. They’re VERY easy to get used to. Took me a minute or two tops upon…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cons: * Tank controls * No mouse support * Seems to be designed for consoles Pros: * Writing, humor, and voice acting are top notch * Played with a walkthrough is very enjoyable
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy 25th Birthday Escape from Monkey Island! Often under-appreciated, but a fun Monkey Island game nonetheless! #EscapeFromMonkeyIsland #AdventureGames
positive · AI labelView post →I don't understand why people hate this game. Except for the Monkey Kombat sequences and clunky controls, the game is pretty damn good. I'd even say that this is one of the best adventure games ever made, because the plot is well-written, full of twists, the dialogues are funny af and the puzzles are fun to solve. Plus, the deuteragonist Elaine Marley is more present in this game which was lacking in the previous Monkey games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mixed bag of a game but won me over big time once I got into it. There are plenty of downsides, graphics and sound are rough, some of the writing hasn't aged well, protagonists come off as sleazy or unlikable at times, controls are frustrating at the start, BUT there's also lots of good content; engaging storyline, throwbacks, silliness, GROG, challenging but logical puzzles (I recommend a notebook for some of the more complicated ones).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →By far the worst in the franchise, stay away. What a stinker
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the game when it was released back then, after MI1, 2 and 3. It was by far the worst of the 4 MI games. For more than 20 years I remembered this game as being very bad. I recently re bought every MI game here on Steam and replayed them. I have to say that EFMI was not as bad as I remembered. I even enjoyed it. Honestly I don't know if it's a good game or a bad game. Back in 2000 it was a terrible game. Now in 2024 I managed to enjoy it. Still worse than MI1, MI2 and MI3 by a few…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Escape From Monkey Island (Steam PC version, played with Proton under Linux) has unplayably awful controls. No mouse support, bad keyboard interface, and a gamepad setup that calls all the buttons "GameButton N" (so "GameButton6" rather than "Right Trigger" - also half the buttons are not in fact supported, Also also it started stuttering for cutscene video. The gameplay by all accounts is good but the interface kills it. This should have been properly overhauled to work with a PC idiom. As…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was 10 years old, and wishing my PC was strong enough to run this game. It used to run at one frame per 10 seconds, and I still managed to get to Chapter 3 before giving in. Truly a masterpiece in 3D adventure gaming - think point and click, just with a keyboard and WASD-like mechanics. This was the 'test-run' before LucasArts made Grim Fandango on the same engine. As with all other Monkey Island stories, this one is legendary, emotional, funny and humbling. Michael Land and Clint…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Your game is not broken. Here are the controls for your keyboard: Turn left/right: Left Arrow/Right Arrow Move forward / backward: Up Arrow / Down Arrow Run: Default action: Cycle sentence line/hot object/dialog: / / Alt-Up Arrow / Alt-Down Arrow To help remember this, take a photo of this with your phone or print it out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unable to finish, despite resorting to a walkthrough. Couldn't get one of the puzzles to work so had to give up around 75% of the way through. Bit of a waste of money.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the series a lot, that's why I played this game. The story is nice and fun, but the unbearable controls and the game breaking bugs are a deal breaker. Not worth it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →for everyone who buyed the game, use a controller. it workes even if steam said it doesnt work. start the fame press f1 then o and g. somewhere must say somewhere controller/gamepad. aktivat that. now youz must figur out the controlls but its better, than the keyboard (sry for bad english but hoped it helped. for better info use this website https://appsupport.disney.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000748643-What-are-the-keyboard-commands-for-Escape-from-Monkey-Island-
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loads of good reviews here covering the good, the bad and the downright ugly aspects of this game. It is my least favourite in the MI series, and I've not put myself through a full replay since 2000, but it has some charm. My only recommendation - change the controls to 'camera relative'!!! Just do it. Please.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The controls are awful. This game also seemed to lack something that the other Monkey Islands had. I would avoid this game if you haven't played it yet.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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