Fixing Return to Monkey Island Crashing and Black Screen Issue

A point-and-click adventure game, Return to Monkey Island is slowly becoming a favourite of many!

The ultimate goal of this game is to solve the narrative-based puzzles and keep exploring the grounds. This game is a sixth addition to the Monkey Island series and was recently released on September 19, 2022.

You can now enjoy this game on Mac, PC, and Nintendo switch. Even with loads of positive reviews of the PC version of Return to Monkey Island, some users have reported crashing and black screen issues.

Knowing that you will constantly witness stuttering while playing a game is kind of a buzzkill. But the good news is, this guide has all the fixes to Return to Monkey Island crashing along with the black screen problem.

What causes the Black screen issue?

Behind the stuttering or crashing of any game, there are various root causes. Some are easy to comprehend, while some need a deep technical view. Whatever the reason is, they definitely belong to the following list:

– Outdated Graphic card driver

To do any activity on your PC that requires access to the social world, such as gaming, streaming, or communicating, you must download the most recent patch of system drivers, including the graphic card driver.

Using an outdated graphic card driver may cause the game to crash frequently or cause other glitches. Furthermore, an outdated graphic card driver poses a security risk, exposing your system to malicious software.

– System doesn’t meet the minimum requirement

If you saw a pop-up alert while playing RTMI on a PC saying, ‘The Computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software,’ that means your PC is not suited for the game. When any software fails to meet the game’s minimum requirements, it often results in glitches and stuttering. Hence, make sure if your system meets all requirement need to play the return to monkey island.

Following is the minimum system requirement for Return to Monkey Island:

• DirectX: Version 12
• Graphics: Radeon HD 7750 (1024 VRAM) or equivalent / GeForce GT 640 (2048 VRAM) or equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: AMD FX-4300 (4 * 3800) or equivalent / Intel Core i3-3240 (2 * 3400) or equivalent
• A 64-bit processor and operating system
• Storage: 4 GB

– Corrupted game files

If your PC crashes or shows a black screen when you try to open a game, there is a possibility that your game files are corrupted. The system’s force-closing indicates that the game files might threaten the system.

File corruption is a typical result of viruses and other malware. Even if the saving procedure completes successfully, bugs on your hard drive or other storage media can still result in file corruption. File corruption is a common result of viruses and other malware. Sometimes the antivirus in our system prevents the game files to work properly and incomplete download causing an error or glitch.

– Full access is not granted

Did you fully access the Return to Monkey Island before playing the game? If you did not, you wouldn’t be able to access all game features. The lack of administrator privilege causes the game to operate improperly once the game file has been fully downloaded.

Online games need full clearance to change some game settings, access game files, and make adjustments for lag-free gaming. Running the game as an administrator will fix this. The program will start with its original, unrestricted access.

– You have not updated OS

Operating system updates help fix software bugs or glitches. It also helps eliminate the corrupted files that may slow down your system or any other application. Before trying any given solution, update your OS.

Here’s how:

1. Choose Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
2. Then click on Check for updates.
3. Install updates, if any are available.

Quick Fix to try

Now you know what may cause Return to Monkey Island to crash and black screen issues, it is time to learn about the methods to prevent those conditions. Let us get started:

– Close background Program

The first thing you need to do is to close all the unnecessary applications or games in the background. Remember that the more background resources your system uses, the more likely your primary application will crash. This method is also helpful in other tasks that guarantee a seamless running time on the PC.

Here’s how you can close the background programs:

1. To launch Task Manager, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Click on Processes to see which tasks are using the most resources.
3. To forcibly end a particular process, simply right-click on it and choose End Task.
4. Likewise, close all third-party app processes.
5. After finishing, exit Task Manager and restart your computer.

Now, launch Return to Monkey Island.

– Run game as administrator

Running a game with administrative privileges enables User Account Control (UAC) on the system. In this case, some games or app files are an exception that requires UAC access permission.

To run the game as an administrator, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Return to Monkey Island directory.
2. On your PC, right-click the application file.
3. Go to Properties and select the Compatibility tab.
4. Check the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
5. Once finished, click Apply and then OK to save your changes.
6. Finally, double-click the game app file to start it.

Do the same with game launcher application you are using.

– Verify Game files

While downloading a game, if your internet is interrupted, there is a chance of downloading corrupted files. This issue can cause Return to Monkey Island to crash constantly. But when using Steam, you get an effective way to verify game files on your computer.

With the help of the following steps, repair the installed game files:

1. Start the Steam client > Select Library.
2. From the list, right-click Return to Monkey Island.
3. Select Properties > Local Files.
4. Select Verify Game File Integrity.
5. This procedure could take some time to complete. The waiting time depends on the game size.
6. Once completed, restart the computer to apply the changes.

If verifying the game files from Steam Client did not solve your complication, move to the next step.

– Change the compatibility setting

The operating system may update to the point that the game is no longer compatible with the newer OS version. You must configure Windows settings to make the game compatible with the current OS version. This can be done by running a compatibility troubleshooter from windows settings. You can still give this strategy a try even if it won’t work for newer games that demand complex settings.

Here’s how you can change the compatibility setting:

1. Right-click on RTMI icon from the main menu, and then select Properties.
2. Select the Run compatibility troubleshooter option from the window.
3. Wait till the process is completed.
4. Click OK to apply the changes.

Move to the next solution when the issue persists.

– Update the Graphics card driver

Another thing you have to ensure is always to keep updating the Graphics Card driver. Whenever there is an available update, download and install it then and there. When you keep using an outdated graphics card driver, it can cause several issues and glitches in the games or other applications.

Here’s how you can update the GPU:

1. To launch the Quick Access Menu, press Win+X simultaneously.
2. From the given list, click on Device Manager.
3. To expand the Display adapters, double-click on it.
4. Navigate the graphic card you are using and right-click on it.
5. Select Update Driver> Search automatically for drivers.

In most cases updating a graphic driver solve application crashing issues as it fixes bugs and glitches.

– Update the Game via Steam

Checking regularly for game updates is the easiest way to ensure seamless play. The best option is to update the game via Steam so that the outdated game files do not interfere with the current gameplay.

Refer to the following steps to update the game via Steam:

1. Launch Steam, then select Library.
2. From the left navigation window, select Return to Monkey Island.
3. Steam will immediately look for the available updates.
4. Click Update to see if there is an update available.
5. Make sure to give the update some time to finish.
6. Once finished, make sure to restart the computer to affect the modifications.

– Change the Power management option

Another great option is to change the power management option to rectify the crashing and black screen issues on Return to Monkey Island.

Here’s how you can change the power management option:

1. Using the search bar in Windows 10, type ‘Edit power plan.’
2. Then select the Edit power plan.
3. At this point, choose Advanced power settings.
4. Click to expand PCI Express.
5. Select Management of Link State Power.
6. Change the options to off.

The black screen will be definitely solved with this setting.

– Change settings to High performance

Some games are incompatible with balanced power plan settings, which could negatively impact your gaming sessions. That is why changing settings to high performance is highly recommended to avoid force closing issues.

Here’s how you can change settings to high performance:

1. Press wins key and type Control Panel to open it.
2. Verify that the Category is chosen in the View by mode.
3. Select Hardware and Sound > Power Options
4. Click Create a Power Plan from the menu on the left.
5. Choose High performance, then give your power plan a name.
6. Click Next> Select Create

Changing power plan settings to high performance will use high power making your game run smoothly. However, it may increase CPU load. We recommend you to use this settings while gaming only.

– Disable Fullscreen Mode

One can also try disabling the Fullscreen mode. The Fullscreen mode uses more system resources that may result in crashing and black screen issues. That can be done via Steam and Windows.

Via Steam

Here’s how you can disable the Fullscreen mode via Steam:

1. Start Steam on your PC.
2. Go to the Games Library and select Return to Monkey Island.
3. Right-click the game and select Manage.
4. Select Browse Local Files and navigate to the game’s installation folder.
5. Select the game’s ‘exe’ file and then click ‘Properties.’
6. Choose Compatibility> Disable Fullscreen Optimizations.
7. Check that box.

From Windows

Here’s how you can disable the Fullscreen mode via Windows:

1. From the main menu, select Settings.
2. Choose Graphics> Basic
3. Select Windowed as the Display Mode.
4. Save

If you cannot launch the game, the following steps will help you disable the Fullscreen mode without starting the game:

1. Right-click the Return to Monkey Island.exe file.
2. Select Properties.
3. Navigate to Shortcut.
4. Pick the Target field.
5. After the quotations, add the suffix ‘-w.’
6. Save.

Relaunch the game to check if the issue is fixed.

– Launch Hardware and Device troubleshooter

The hardware and device troubleshooter helps to fix the common bugs and glitching issues on your PC. Furthermore, it helps discard the corrupted files from your system to ensure seamless gameplay.

Here’s how:

1. To launch the Windows Run dialogue, press Windows + R.
2. Enter msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic in the Run dialogue box and click Enter.
3. This will run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
4. Click next to launch the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
5. It will automatically find hardware and device issues on your computer.

– Check your PSU

You will run into several problems while playing games if the power your PSU (Power Supply Unit) delivers to your graphics card is less than the power it needs to function correctly. Connecting a different PSU to your graphics card will allow you to verify this. You can ask your friend for his PSU to test your gameplay. If it works, then replace your PSU. It will solve your black screen issue for sure.

– Tweak your monitor’s response time setting

The monitor response time setting is different for different monitors. If you are stuck with the wrong settings, that can result in lagging issues. The monitor response time can be adjusted in three ways: low, medium, and high. See whether any changes result when you set the response time of your monitor to medium.

You can look at the forum community for an ideal response time setting for your monitor.

– Don’t overclock Graphic Card

Many users overclock their graphics cards to improve gameplay and performance. If you recently overclocked your system, delete any overclock settings, as overclocking can cause PC game crashes.

But first, you’ll need to boot into the Bios mode. You must press a specific key during the boot-up (starting) procedure to access the BIOS menu. To enter BIOS, use DEL, F1, F2, and other standard keys.

Then, perform these instructions to prevent the CPU from overclocking:

1. Restart your computer by pressing and holding the Shift key.
2. Choose the “Troubleshoot” tab and then click “Advanced Options.”
3. Select “Advanced” from the BIOS menu.
4. Choose “Performance.”
5. Look for a selection that includes “overclocking” or something similar.
6. Turn off overclocking.
7. To accept the adjustments, select Yes.
8. Restart your computer after leaving the BIOS menu.

To undo CPU overclocking on your system, try the following settings. If the following settings do not apply to your system, you can try other options. You can look for appropriate settings on the internet or in a forum. If you’re having trouble with technical issues, you can use online tools to adjust an overclocked CPU. It will make your job easier.

 Final Words

Playing Return to Monkey Island might be on your bucket list, or you would have already played the game. Even though the PC version of this game has a good accessibility, some players still face crashing and black screen issues. If you are one of them, then at least one of the fixes mentioned above will be helpful to you. Start from the basic methods and move to the intense fixes. Furthermore, always keep the OS and drivers updated to avoid lagging and other issues.