Monkey Island: The Siege of Spinner Cay, another pirate treasure from Telltale

Now a firm fan of the episodic game format, it is with great excitement that I await the release of the new Monkey Island episode each month. I was impressed with the first instalment which didn’t impress some die hard fans but ticked all my piratey boxes. Sure the controls were different, and Guybrush had some new facial hair which some found dismaying (which I have to say has grown on me, I think it’s catching) but I found it both amusing and enjoyable in the story and puzzle department. It wasn’t a perfect Monkey Island experience though, but the Siege of Spinner Cay goes a little way further to tickle your ribs and deliver top-notch pirate puzzling adventure.

When we last left Guybrush he had been ambushed by the pirate hunter Morgan Le Flay, and the game opens this time with his attempt to escape that particular predicament. One introductory puzzle later and Guybrush is free but has to head to Spinner Cay to get his mast repaired. While there he is reunited with Elaine who has been helping the now good Le Chuck return all the Monkeys he kidnapped to the wild. This is also where the puzzle action really begins as it is here that Guybrush learns of the ancient summoning artefacts which can be used to summon some powerful ancient sea-creatures. These sea-creatures will help Guybrush locate La Sponge Grande, which will help him cure the evil pox which has infected his hand and also Elaine.

Unlike the first game, the player is not confined to one island but there are several to explore, and as in true Monkey Island fashion you can hop between them using the map on the deck of the Screaming Narwhal. The main location is Spinner Cay and the two islands that, with Spinner Cay, form the Jerkbait Isles. Spinner Cay is well designed, as are the Merfolk and Spoon Isle will bring back memories of the forest in the first game. The game design on the whole looks great, and the graphics are brilliant, capturing the feel of previous Monkey Island games while still retaining that characteristic Telltale look.

The puzzles this time round, I found more difficult, but that’s a good thing. Though they taxed my brain this made finding the solution to them more rewarding. All the puzzles could be worked through logically to their conclusion which is the one of the best features of Telltale’s games as you will rarely get stuck for ideas on what to do next. I like how items that you retained from the first game, were important to the puzzles on this game, as often it’s easy to forget after a month what you have in your inventory. This helps make the games feel like one continuous story and shows a certain amount of forethought in the puzzles.

My favourite thing about this episode was the humour. I found Spinner Cay made me laugh much more than The Launch of the Screaming Narwhal (and that made me laugh a lot) as there’s some classic one liners from Guybrush and some great subtle jokes that aren’t always obvious. The Siege of Spinner Cay took me a little longer to complete than The Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, and I was glad. With a suitably hilarious cliff-hanger ending I’m counting down the days until next month’s episode.