Choosing a difficulty in a video game is always a bit tricky, especially if you haven’t played the game before. Most players tend to just go with “average” or whatever the “intended” average experience is, but players often find themselves scratching their heads when they have too many options, or when the aforementioned “intended” experience is unclear.
In Return to Monkey Island for Switch and PC, the player has a choice between two difficulty options when first loading a new game: Casual Mode or Hard Mode. Since Return to Monkey Island is a puzzle game, the differences between the two options aren’t exactly clear, as opposed to being a bit more straightforward. Here’s what you need to know about both options before you start playing.
Return to Monkey Island: Casual Mode
Choosing a difficulty in a video game is always a bit tricky, especially if you haven’t played the game before. Most players tend to just go with “average” or whatever the “intended” average experience is, but players often find themselves scratching their heads when they have too many options, or when the aforementioned “intended” experience is unclear.
In Return to Monkey Island for Switch and PC, the player has a choice between two difficulty options when first loading a new game: Casual Mode or Hard Mode. Since Return to Monkey Island is a puzzle game, the differences between the two options aren’t exactly clear, as opposed to being a bit more straightforward. Here’s what you need to know about both options before you start playing.
Return to Monkey Island: Casual Mode
With this information about Casual Mode in hand, understanding Hard Mode usually means the opposite: the puzzles are harder, have more steps, and can take several sittings to complete if you’re really overwhelmed. Additionally, more puzzles will stand in the way of you and your goals, which is a dream come true for puzzle lovers, but those who want to easily experience the game’s story may want to avoid it. Additionally, playing Return to Monkey Island on hard mode means that the game will give you fewer challenges to control the game. As mentioned above, playing in Hard Mode will not change the story and you will have the same experience as if you were playing in Casual Mode.
Help book
Playing on hard mode doesn’t limit your access to the hintbook either. The Hint Book is an in-game hint sheet available to both Casual and Hard players that can point you in the right direction if you’re struggling with a puzzle. However, you won’t have it in your inventory at the start of the game. To get it, go to the Voodoo shop in Low Street as soon as you get to town at the beginning of the game. Talk to the person in the shop and she will give you the book.
While the hint won’t tell you what to do, you can use it to get a general idea of what goals you should be working towards as you progress through the game.
Difficulty options are common in shooters and action games, but not so much in the puzzle world. However, Return to Monkey Island gives its players two different options for the point-and-click progression. When starting a new game, you will be prompted to choose between Casual and Hard Mode. This cannot be changed once the game is launched, so it’s important to know the differences so you can make an informed decision.
What are the differences between Casual and Hard Mode?
The descriptions of each mode, as seen above, are very clear. Casual Mode removes some steps from larger puzzles, giving players fewer overall tasks to tick off. For example, joining LeChuck’s crew in the first act requires you to apologize to another character. In Hard Mode, you have to write a more specific note; casual players may not be so meticulous. They also get multiple on-screen prompts early in the game to help them with the basic control scheme and interactions. Veterans will probably want to get the full Hard Mode experience, but if this is your first Monkey Island game, then Casual Mode should be much more comfortable.
what is the same
This means that the two problems have more similarities than differences. The story and main objectives are exactly the same – you won’t miss any key moments by playing in Casual Mode. Additionally, both difficulty levels give you access to the hint book. This is especially useful on hard mode, as you’ll need to clear some extra steps during specific puzzles. These extra steps are really the only major difference between the two modes. Compared to previous games in the series, Casual and Hard are really more similar to Easy and Normal.