As the fourth part in a five episode series, I don’t think this Tales of Monkey Island game needs any broad explanation; anyone reading this probably knows what these games are about and how you play them, so I’m probably just speaking to those wondering about the quality of the episode before they plunk down any cash. Put simply, Episode 4 simultaneously manages to have both some of the best and worst writing in the series so far, with puzzles that similarly vary in quality. Nonetheless, it’s a good episode overall.

This episode picks up shortly after the end of the previous one, with Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate dragged back to Flotsam Island to face trial on a variety of charges. One of the more amusing things to come out of this is the return of Stan, who appears within just a few minutes of starting play. He’s every bit as erratic, shifty, and hilarious in this episode as he has been in previous Monkey Island games, with most of his signature mannerisms intact. Truth be told, Stan’s humor really carries most of the first half of this episode, which is otherwise fairly bland.

Things improve after that first half however, with a variety of plot threads from previous episodes either being resolved or moved along in very interesting ways. In fact, it’s fair to say that fans should come for Stan but stay for the surprising depth toward the end. There are a few sections that border on insulting the player’s intelligence, but these thankfully don’t last long and the episode recovers from such faults well enough.

The puzzles bear discussion, as some of them are very well done. A map-related one turns out to have more depth than you would immediately expect once you understand how the map really works, and is probably the most challenging one in the Tales series so far. On the other hand, a few puzzles are terribly designed; even a single errant click can require you to backtrack through three large ’rooms’ and restart one of them, and there was one where the solution seemed needlessly long. I saw a way to omit a step or two from one of these puzzles and have it still make sense, but the writers apparently didn’t expect it and I lost some time figuring out what extra step they wanted.

Notably, most of this episode takes place in very dark and poorly lit areas. For the first half-hour or so I had no idea where I was going, far worse than the manatee interior in the third episode. I finally realized Telltale didn’t intend this and got back on-track once I raised my monitor’s brightness, but I wish to make a feature request for Season Two if Telltale does one: Please add an in-game brightness adjustment. I honestly could not see where I was going for the first few puzzles, and relied on pixel hunting until I figured out this wasn’t intentional.

Despite these complaints, Episode 4 remains a strong entry. With Stan’s antics carrying the first half of it and the story moving along at an excellent pace after that, the varying puzzle quality can be mostly forgiven; especially since the segments that shine are very good indeed. Overall I think it’s worth your time and money, and I will recommend the season deal at this point so you save a few dollars.