Admittedly, it didn't feel like too somber an occasion, as we walked into the decently-sized art gallery, greeted at the door by members of Telltale Games's PR staff. It's never difficult to get San Franciscans to wear black, and sure enough, most of the crowd assembled had dressed appropriately. One of them was even wearing a piratey hat.

A large standing display of Guybrush leaned against a nearby table, bearing a bowl of black rubber mourning bracelets with Guybrush's name inscribed thereupon. We took ours and meandered over to a large table laden with crackers, cheese, grapes, sliced salami, olives, and other assorted munchables. Sampling just a few, we looked up from the table to watch a large screen displaying images of Guybrush's past adventures, all the way back to his gloriously pixelated days. There aren't too many characters these days who can boast such longevity -- and now there's one less.

Let's back up for a moment. The fifth and final episode of Telltale Games's Tales of Monkey Island series is coming to a close. Those who have been following the storyline know that our beloved hero was run through by LeChuck in the fourth episode, and fans have been wondering if Guybrush is really dead, and if he is, is he coming back?

Telltale isn't saying. They allowed the press to check out a bit of the demo, which will be hitting us all this upcoming Tuesday the 8th (watch for it here, of course), alongside the full episode. We can tell you that while he may be mostly dead (shades of "The Princess Bride"), he's still lively enough to know that he's got a job to do back in the Land of the Living ... LeChuck is still a threat and he's taken Elaine to be his demon bride. To make things right, Guybrush must navigate the Netherworld and find a way to escape.

Taking a little time to watch the demo, we noticed a wonderful moodiness to the Netherworld, as one might expect. The normally vibrant palette has made way for a much more subdued mixture of tones -- greys, browns, blues, all contributing to the overall misty and dank atmosphere. Guybrush himself was a sight; he glowed with an eerie light, and his skeleton was plainly visible beneath his partially transparent outfit.