“I’m shutting down comments. People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments,” Gilbert wrote. He went on to defend the upcoming release of Return to Monkey Island, Gilbert’s first return to the series since 1991’s LeChuck’s Revenge. “It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else,” he said. “I won’t be posting anymore about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me.” This decision by Gilbert has been highlighted by Guybrush Threepwood actor Dominic Armato. “I’ve seen a lot of passionate but polite/polite-adjacent discussion going on, but the comments on Ron’s blog were a total shitshow.” He then went on to tweet: “Whatever you want Monkey Island to be, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that making this a chore rather than a joy for the devs is the quickest way to ensure it won’t be anything for anybody.” Gilbert had previously released a candid blog post specifically addressing the new art direction that Return to Monkey Island has taken. “Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it’s the art style I wanted,” he wrote in May. Gilbert went on to state the game has “a team of incredible artists, animators, sound designers, programmers, and testers all pouring their souls into this game and it’s beautiful to see, play, and listen to”. Following the release of Return to Monkey Island’s gameplay trailer earlier this week, Armato also shared his thoughts on the series’ new look, saying, “for my part, I freaking love it.” “I loved it during my play through in the spring, and it’s gotten a TON of polish since then. It’s distinctive, it’s fun, it feels ALIVE to me… I just adore it.” He went on to say he hopes more than anything “that those who aren’t enamoured of the new look will still be able to let themselves enjoy the game” as there is “SO MUCH AWESOME SHIT in this game.”
