How to play Return to Monkey Island for free

Any fans of point-and-click adventure games in the room? Their golden age may have ended at the turn of the new millennium, but fortunately, game developers are sometimes kind enough to grant us a little gem here and there… like the latest sequel to the classic adventure series, Return to Monkey Island, which is now available on Apple Arcade. Created by Ron Gilbert and developed by Terrible Toybox, this long-awaited sequel brings back the legendary Guybrush Threepwood for one more swashbuckling, insult-slinging adventure.

The Apple Arcade library has grown considerably over the last few months, and the variety of games available through it is now pretty broad. Whether you are old enough to be nostalgic for the good old days of wit-infused adventures or you have a soft spot for pirates, puzzles, and treasure islands, Return to Monkey Island is definitely one to try and I’d definitely describe it as one of the best pirate games and the best Apple Arcade games – and it’s its presence on this platform (as well as Google Play Pass) that enables you to play it for free.

I personally love the Monkey Island series for its razor-sharp writing, cartoon style, and witty characters, and Return to Monkey Island absolutely delivers on that legacy. From the ever-sarcastic Elaine Marley to the undead menace LeChuck, this latest chapter is full of familiar faces, deep-cut references, and delightful new additions. The puzzles, granted, may be a bit easy for hardcore point & click veterans (the 90’s were a tough time, man), but if you’re not a fan of pulling your hair out of desperation after being stuck for 3 hours and having tried all the object combinations… Well, you will probably appreciate its relative levels of ease.

So, how can you give this little treasure a go without spending anything? Easy. Return to Monkey Island as the game is now available on Apple Arcade, you can play it with no ads or extra payments by taking advantage of its month-long free trial. Also, if you recently bought an Apple device, you might even be able to get a trial of up to three months. That’s plenty of time to finish the game. Outside of the Apple sphere, the game is also on Google Play Pass, which also offers a free trial.

Read our list of the best puzzle games if you appreciate the puzzle-oriented challenges of the Monkey Island series. Meanwhile, take a look at our list of the best mobile games if you’re looking for other recommendations.