The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition

The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition brought the classic LucasArts point-and-click adventure to touchscreen phones with reworked graphics and new voice acting, while keeping the original pixel-art version just one tap away — the player could switch between the modern and retro look at any time and watch the same scene transform between two decades of game graphics development. The controls translated the classic point-and-click mouse scheme to touch: tapping moves the character, double-tapping examines things, gestures open the inventory — and it all worked surprisingly naturally even without a physical cursor.

LucasArts released this remaster in 2010 as part of the wave of classic adventure remasters kicked off by the first Monkey Island, and the mobile version let a new generation of players discover the story of the pirate Guybrush Threepwood and his search for LeChuck's treasure without needing to dig up an old computer or an emulator. The humor, dialogue trees full of absurd puzzles, and the unmistakable music remained untouched, just wrapped in a more modern shell.

The port succeeded above all thanks to a well-thought-out adaptation of the controls to touch, which didn't shortchange the precision the adventure genre needs, and the ability to switch to the original graphics worked as a nice nod to players who already knew the game from the nineties. Unlike many other retro remasters, you could also switch between the old and new look at any moment during play, not just at the start of the game, letting the player compare what's on screen scene by scene.

Why play it: An ideal choice for fans of classic adventure games and newcomers alike, since it offers comfortable touch controls without losing the spirit of the original.